Changes afoot as to how greyhound racing will be presented going forward

You may have noticed a number of changes to starting times at the tracks around the country in the last week or so. According to the board, this is to facilitate the use of the pictures in different sites around the world.

Most of the infrastructure required is in place, and it seems we’re not too far away from that day.

To add to that, the previously mentioned idea of a night of Irish racing on RPGTV is also advancing at quite a rapid rate, and, hopefully, will be on our screens in the not-too-distant future. Limerick and Youghal appear to be first in line to be part of this show, though I expect there will be a third track to have live action every five minutes.

I believe these pictures may also be going live into the betting shops, which will also be a boost as, in truth, unless there is an injection of cash from somewhere, the future of some of the tracks has got to be in doubt.

Figures in the region of €2,500 per meeting have been mentioned, and if that’s to be the case, a small venue like Youghal could go from loss-making to break-even or possibly even into profit. I have the same concerns as many others with regard to the change of focus, but the other alternatives are far less positive.

All of this ties in quite well with the fact the bookmakers are showing more interest in betting on stakes from provincial tracks. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of them being priced up in recent weeks, and, as mentioned previously, there is value to be had.

Although it was great to have the option to watch the racing from Limerick and Shelbourne last Saturday night at Curraheen, it’s all but impossible to keep track of that many races in such a short period of time.

With that much happening as quickly as it is, you almost need to be guided through it. I don’t know how or if you could introduce some sort of presentation to a stadium environment without it being too intrusive, but it’s just the type of situation which would thrive on an RPGTV-style show.

Last Saturday night alone we had the final of the Supersprint in Cork, the entire first round of the Kirby Memorial in Limerick, the quarter-finals of the Easter Cup at Shelbourne, the Cesarewitch at Mullingar and the Unraced Bitch Stake in Newbridge, not to mention the first round of the Scottish Derby.

Perhaps if the RPGTV gig takes off, some of these domestic stakes which have been somewhat lost in the fray, might consider switching to a night when they can be shown live. Wouldn’t that give them a greater profile and a chance to shine?

On the subject of watching racing from the tracks, the video taken at the first round of the Unraced Bitch Stake in Newbridge is available online (IGB Website and on the redmillsfeed YouTube channel) but it will also be shown on RPGTV (Sky channel 212) tonight.

Many of the videos from this channel are sent in to and shown on this channel, so, even before Irish racing makes a live appearance, it’s worth tuning into RPGTV.

Webstats are looking for our thoughts on the IGB website once more, and I suggest everyone gives some feedback. It’s very important for the development of the site that issues are raised and addressed to make it a better experience for all.

In the past, I’ve had my say on a number of changes I’d like to see, but the one which continues to infuriate is the issue with being logged out almost randomly.

It’s something which most have become somewhat used to, which isn’t necessarily a good thing, but the fact you now have to watch a 30-second advert every time you log back in (and every time you watch a video from a track which you haven’t watched one from) exacerbates the issue.

The advert itself isn’t too bad (apart from the glaring typo) but even American and Australian cable TV wouldn’t go so far as to put 30 seconds of adverts with 30 seconds of video. Anyway, there is a way around that (click the video icon twice) — if only it was as easy to avoid the more irritating issue of being logged out.

Owner and trainers should note the IGB has issued new guidelines with regard to the use of suppressants on bitches, and also addressed the issue of dietary contamination in all greyhounds.

In recent months, in particular, there has been much talk of greyhounds testing positive for Procaine and Morphine, and the board has decided to follow the lead of other racing countries by introducing a ‘screening limit’ of one microgram per millilitre.

In their release, there is more detail on the use of ‘therapeutic substances’, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. With this is revealed a ‘policy decision’ ‘not to declare positives for such samples containing residual traces of the substance in question’. It’s important that owners and trainers familiarise themselves with the details of all these and other changes introduced. They are available in the ‘news’ link from the homepage of the IGB website.