With only weeks to go to the start of Britain’s richest ever competition, Wimbledon racing manager Gary Matthews admits the racing office is at its lowest ebb.
With Tony Collett and George Andreas due to return to Sittingbourne, the Wimbledon racing office fear a black hole of around 60 runners when BAGS racing returns to Plough Lane after the Derby.
Matthews said: “It’s a sickener. We are all working hard to keep the ship afloat and the crowds are good, but there aren’t any trainers.
“We were already short of about 40 dogs before George and Tony leave. Now instead of needing another trainer, I probably need ‘two and a half’ trainers.
“I don’t blame them for seeking better rewards, I have heard rumours of how much the Sittingbourne trainers are being guaranteed, but we don’t have the resources to compete with other tracks.
“We are also not the only ones on the look-out for trainers. I know of at least two bookmaker owned tracks who are also searching, and they have much greater resources than us.
“We keep hearing that the industry needs to sit down and push its case for more money from the bookmakers, but it just never happens.
“At this stage I really don’t know what we will do.”
