Graham Holland relies on local hopes after Irish Laurels draw

The draw for the 2015 Irish Laurels was made yesterday afternoon at Curraheen Park and, despite concerns of a lack of numbers, management have brought together 66 greyhounds for Saturday night’s opening round.

What the stake lacks is depth, with just 13 of the entries currently restricted to full open class.

That is due, in part, to the current grading system, in which it is somewhat easier to move down through the ranks, but 36 of the runners have never performed to a level which entitled them to be considered open class (AA0).