If British breeding was in need of a boost , it most certainly received a double dose in London on Sunday evening.  The greyhound racing community gathered for the annual GBGB awards ceremony at the Park Plaza hotel.  Nick Savva and Bob Morton for years with their Westmead greyhounds were the envy of all.  I’m sure there is more yet to come from that pairing but Brendan Keogh , the KSS Syndicate and the training team of Liz and Rab McNair are currently in the midst of something very special.  Their home bred dogs proudly carry the King prefix whilst the bitches are all Queen’s.

Tough prefixes to carry, but their greyhounds are doing their names justice and more.  Skate On was a terrific bitch on the track , winning a total of 29 times from a career spanning 63 races , winning at 11 different tracks , winning out of every trap from box one through to six , from distances as short as 255m upto 480m , this was a bitch that had it all.  Rab McNair made no secret that he didn’t believe this bitch received the full recognition that she deserved. I have to agree with him, she didn’t.  How better put herself on the map though than to produce one of the best litters in recent years!  The October 2015 litter to Tullymurry Act have so far won 38 races between  them.

They’ll be adding to that in 2018 and I’d be surprised if that didn’t include a big competition or two along the way.  Skate On was head and shoulders above the competition in the Best Dam of British Bred award and duly took the honours.  The star performer from her litter is King Elvis.

A winner of 16 of his 23 career races so far , at seven different tracks and so far winning from four different box positions, Elvis proving as versatile as his mother.  The stats that really matter though are these , Produce Stakes winner, Trafalgar Cup winner , Henlow Derby winner and finally Servoca British Bred Derby winner.  It was those stats that saw King Elvis walk away with award after award on Sunday.  Newcomer of the year , British Bred of the year , Standard distance performer of the year and finally Greyhound of the Year 2017.  The KSS Syndicate also took the Owners of the year award for good measure.  This is a team that all of us in greyhound racing should be looking to emulate , though I’m positive they’ll not be giving up any of their titles lightly.

As Rab himself said on the night, this year it’s the Derby !

Money cannot buy British breeding this type of publicity.  Which is actually just as well as with not enough money in our yearly budget to cover our events for 2018 , we are still actively seeking sponsors.  I am concerned that as we approach February , the only event firmly pencilled in to the calendar is the British breeders stakes at Nottingham.
I have again expressed my concerns  to chairman John Marriott. We are in uncertain times and breeders need and deserve an element of certainty so that they can make plans.
Achievements like those mentioned above aren’t achieved on a wing and a prayer.  They’re achieved with meticulous planning.  John has assured me that “we will stage all of our events this year”.
We do need sponsors however , that’s the top and bottom of it and without them , something will give.  Hopefully John can provide the British breeding community with some concrete news soon. I give you my personal guarantee that I am working each and every day to try and ensure that we don’t take any backward steps.