Sir, Can I sincerely thank the 387 greyhound owners who voted for me to represent them on the GBGB Board. With the result published in today’s Racing Post I received just 30 per cent of the 1,303 voting slips actually returned. More disappointing is the fact that I couldn’t represent those 387 owners, particularly in the Midlands, North and Scotland, was the owners apathy that only 1,303 owners even bothered to return eligible voting slips from 5,517 slips sent out to owners. A dissipation of 4,214 slips by greyhound owners who could not be bothered to put a cross in a box and return it in an addressed and prepaid envelope. That is a shocking indictment on greyhound owners apparent pitiful interest in who represents them at Board level?
If that was the nadir interest level and response from registered owners to being represented, at tracks all over the UK and Scotland, then surely the GBGB should think about reverting to an interview situation and let the Board decide who they felt was best qualified and suited for the role?
I sincerely hope that John Coleman fulfils the confidence of the 813 who voted for him, mainly from the South of country I venture to suggest, as the previous incumbent was, who then resigned, for whatever reason, in just a matter of months after being elected in-situ on the Board.
Mr Coleman’s election submission, widely reported in the Racing Posts column on June 16th, along with his photo, a facility not afforded by the Racing Post to the two other candidates, some would say slightly prejudicial of a fair and unbiased election? I sincerely hope that Mr Coleman realises that we have moved on significantly from his, and my, training days in the 1960s, his principal concern for the election was criticising in the Racing Post, bookmakers, the Betfair/Paddy Power organisation and Sky Bet for not contributing voluntarily to the GBGB £7.2 million funding by other bookmakers for our lucrative betting shop service. “Voluntary” being a key factor word on the contributions.
In any business negotiations the opening gambit is never criticism across the table, anyone with negotiating skills and experience will have learned that aspect as paramount from the very outset. my family company recently won a many millions pound contract, paradoxically, being the highest bidder, but negotiating skills won the day with many other aspects of the deal impressing the clients. Those Racing Post criticisms by John Coleman, will have been read by Betfair/Paddy Power, with copied in their offices all over the UK and Ireland. Those published criticisms will seriously hamper the negotiation abilities of Mark Bird and his team and simply obfuscate the negotiations in dealing with these successful betting companies, leading to the current contribution cul-de-sac.
There was little mention in John Coleman’s election submission of the paramount concern of greyhound welfare and rehoming, kennel staff’s remunerations, track safety, with Mark Wallis and other top trainers losing valuable dogs this summer. The veteran and highly respected North East trainer, Harry Williams, in today’s Racing Post, compliments the GBGB managing director, Mark Bird, I echo those remarks, the GBGB is very fortunate to have such a man in-situ, so much so that even coming second to the Southern owners lobbied selection on the Board, I have agreed to stay around and available and assist Mark in any way I can with the, at times, the intractable issues he now has to deal with. Harry Williams also mentioned today a statutory levy similar to that in Horse Racing via their BHA. That levy for 2017/18 was £94.7 million, their spending was £73.8 million of that sum, still holding a surplus of £20.9 million, is that a similar route for the GBGB to take with the current malaise felt by Betfair/Paddy Power and Sky Bet?
Had I been elected then these were salient issues that I would have put to the GBGB Board, sadly not to be but I haven’t gone away, but to the 4,214 greyhound owner’s who couldn’t be bothered to put an envelope in a post box, shame on you, as in life you will invariably “reap what you sow,” to use a hackneyed bible analogy. Several had said to me that a place on the GBGB was nothing more than a “poisoned chalice,” but one that I would have gladly drank from working with the inspirational Mark Bird, a man the GBGB is so lucky to have in the cockpit. We’ll have to see where greyhound racing moves on from here, but I have confidence in the new GBGB, led by Mark Bird, who impresses me more than hundreds of Chief Executives and Managing Directors that I have personally dealt with over many years in business and greyhound racing.
Michael Kelly
Birmingham
