Apologise for not having posted my ramblings recently. I've been rather busy and unfortunately I've not had a lot of time to sit in front of the blank page.
Greyhound racing, in the past couple of months, seems to have begun to freefall from the gentle gliding that it has been. Dog numbers are quite clearly down, not just at Swindon but at every track, owner numbers are down, and generally morale, it has to be said, is very low at the moment in the sport.
Before I go spouting, I'll just point out that I'm discussing greyhound racing as a whole here rather than Swindon.
The problem is that everyone blames each other without actually looking at a solution to the problem. Promoters, in particular, seem to be doing very little to actually promote ownership at their particular track. In the race card, there should be a page dedicated to publicizing trainers numbers, whereby members of the public can make inquiries to trainers about such things as retired greyhounds and ownership.
At the same time, I really believe in Syndication. At Swindon, we have several different syndicates such as The House Of Razor and others that get people into ownership for a relatively low fee. You cannot advertise greyhound racing as a cheap sport to get involved in anymore, as quite honestly it's not. Take this example:
Mr. X buys a pup from Ireland for £300 say (I know it's euros!), he transports said pup to the UK, at a cost of roughly £100. Pup has to be marked up and registered, and I believe this costs roughly £40. Then the pup has to be inoculated and micro chipped, so add another £30. Then, you have to grade the pup on and let the pup settle in. In the best case circumstance of a month to grade on, you have to take account of your kenneling fee's of £200 roughly before you even race. From this, that pup that Mr. X bought for £300 has turned into a £6/700 dog before he's even had a race. I'm sorry, but for the average Joe on the street, to have to fork out such sums in this economic climate (one thing that people seem to easily forget, WE ARE IN A RECESSION!). If this were a syndicate of, say, 10 people, then the costs are cut dramatically.
Of course, there is a flip side to this argument, one for which I do tend to agree with. Hobbies cost money, this is true of everything. When you go to watch Swindon Town on a Saturday, you spend your £20 (haven't been to footy in years!) on a ticket, buy a program etc, and you have a good time. Thus, every week, your paying out, but it's your hobby and for your enjoyment. The same goes for owning a racing greyhound.
Again, the other way of looking at this argument is that the BAGS situation at tracks means that you need a supply of greyhounds to run, which in turn has made a lot of trainers have their own dogs. The problem with this, in terms of getting owners, is that there is a serious line between a paying owner and a trainer/owner. I have spoken to people who get annoyed when they see owner/trainer dogs in races such as the Owner's Bonus Series, however surely these trainers are just as much owners as outsiders?
The overwhelming issue of prize money is one that is constantly bought up at near enough every track I attend. It's a real bug bearer for a lot of people. Again, I'm on the fence really as I don't actually own a greyhound, but I understand people's points.
Back to Mr. X again and his pup. His pup comes out for his first race, in an A8. For running in the race, he picks up £17. For winning this race, he wins £33 (using Swindon's prize money as an example). So, if the pup wins 4 A8's in a month, by my count, the owner will still have a £70 odd bill at the end. That to me is a bit off really.
However, the flip side that alot of people seem to want to avoid, is that greyhound tracks have to make money. Promoting the racing to 6-packers and filling up the restaurant, as much as alot of people dislike some of the racegoers that attend, is part of the track making a profit at the end of the year as a business. Prize money levels, I'm sure, are looked at in terms of turnover etc. You have to remember also, that the outgoings in greyhound racing really are significant. If you look at just the general running, you'll see:
> Hare Equipment: rollers, hare cable, skid, windsocks, hare motor maintenance
> Track: Tractor w/diesel to plate the track, watering the surface, general upkeep
> Kennels: fresh bedding each meeting, staffing, general upkeep
> Staffing: Racing Office, Super-Awesome Cameraman, Haredriver, Restaurant, Tote.
> Stock: Bars and food outlets.
> Advertising: Creating media, distribution
> IT: Tote systems, televisions, computer systems, ongoing maintenance
Just to run a meeting, there's alot of outgoings before you start, and also it's worth considering that greyhound racing isn't a daily occurence.
I've tried to look at both sides of the fence in looking at greyhound ownership (and confused myself writing this in the process!). What everyone should be able to see, however, is that we need to attract new owners to the sport.
I feel, what is required, is that a group of promoters and owners need to come together and carefully work out exactly what is needed to get greyhound racing on the up again. Rather than everyone at eachother's throats all the time, we need to work together, or else the owners will become more rare than a £50 note.
