Hope on horizon for trainers

If you haven’t yet seen the Red Mills “kennel visit” to Graham Holland, it’s time to find your way to the IGB site for the link or go directly to YouTube.

I’ve always found him to be refreshingly frank with his views on greyhound racing and the industry here and in England, and in this video he raises a number of points which are difficult to argue with.

But possibly the most pertinent point came in relation to his son, Timmy, who has already shown the right attitude and aptitude for the sport. Asked whether or not he thought there might be a future in the sport for his son, Graham was realistic in his view that it would be very difficult and is keen to ensure Timmy has different options open to him.

This struck a chord as I’ve seen similar situations elsewhere, where young people who love this sport and would really like to make a career in it are being forced out.

Making a living as a trainer is very difficult and having hired help is really not viable in most cases.

Costs — particularly travelling — are extremely high and realistically there isn’t an option to push the excess onto owners. I’ve spoken to a number of trainers here in the south who are adamant that between fuel, road tolls and refreshments, they have very little change out of €100 when travelling to Dublin with a greyhound. And that doesn’t take into account the hours involved.

While having a dog good enough to run in Shelbourne on a Saturday night is the ambition for must owners, it’s not sustainable without a decent return.

I know from my own experiences over the years that it’s not cheap to have a greyhound in training but considering the cost has not been and cannot be reduced to work in line with lower prizemoney, it’s more expensive than ever.

If you’re lucky enough to win one race every month with a greyhound – a rare, prolific winner – you’re unlikely to come close to covering the cost of keeping it in training.

I don’t suppose any realistic person goes into ownership expecting that every dog will pay for itself. But, even allowing for the enjoyment of being an owner, the dream of unearthing a superstar or winning a valuable stake, when it comes down to brass tacks it’s about keeping costs as low as possible.

Even the very top handlers are teetering on the brink at this time.

Think of a prominent trainer and then remove their biggest owner and all of his/her greyhounds from the kennel. What have you left?

But I haven’t given up hope yet. A recent release from the IGB in relation to a three-year deal with Eircom suggests we could be in for a hugely significant change in the way the sport is presented and with more exposure could be the first step into the future for the sport.

Although it needs exploration, the deal provides a platform from which an RPGTV-style programme (race analysis, interviews, commentaries, live discussions) will be broadcast through the IGB website.

We have the best greyhound racing in the world and if this is developed properly, we could be on to a real winner worldwide.

As Graham Holland said in his interview and I have oft mentioned in print, the IGB site in its current guise is unsatisfactory. Perhaps that’s all about to change.