BOB BOSWELL: GBGB OWNERS REPRESENTATIVE

I have been a bit lax in keeping my blogs up to date, this is because I have been involved in quite a lot of meetings, and needed to draw breath before reporting back on them.  Firstly I attended a dial in for the Racing Committee, the main agenda item was the Sky contract and discussing the plan to agree with promoters a schedule and getting the dates published in the calendar.  It would not be an understatement to say that I was amazed that the following day Sky withdrew from signing.

I have yet to hear the real reason why this happened at the last minute, when even if the ink was not actually dry, the pen was in Sky’s hands and about to be applied to the paper.  What adds to the frustration is that I know the very hard work put in by a lot of parties that had worked in collaboration and made many compromises to put the deal together.

From disappointment comes opportunity, and this now gives the greyhound industry the chance to look at this situation with fresh eyes and take steps to possibly produce their own product, who knows we might even “do it better”. 

I was also invited to an awayday to discuss the direction and purpose of the GBGB over the next five years, this was something that Paul Emphrensen had indicated was crucial for the industry.  It was an excellently facilitated day, and the attendees were certainly made to work hard, and made to think very carefully about their personal roles as Board members, their representation and  thoughts for the future direction of the GBGB.

Over the coming months much of the work carried out on that day will be rolled out.  This will also shape the direction that the new Chair of the GBGB will need to take the organisation, and I welcome the appointment of Jeremy Cooper and I am certain that he is the correct appointment to take the GBGB forward. 

As promised previously I convened a meeting of the Innovation Panel, this again was done through a dial in and was very successful, and was better attended than if all the members had met in one place, and facilitated a very quick meeting.  Dial in meetings are very easy to organise and conduct, and should be the norm if possible to facilitate the work of the Owners Rep.  The agenda on the day was a reprise of the previous minutes of the Innovation Panels and other items highlighted from the various Blogs that Paul had published.

The Panel were able to quite quickly work through the priorities for the future, some ideas and innovations were put on the back burner and others confirmed as being matters that need to be pursued.  One of the issues agreed to be continued with was the Syndicate Scheme, and to this end I am attending a meeting in Nottingham on 29th June.

Another agreed action was that the Innovation Panel would issue a statement to the GBGB regarding the essential need to encompass Greyhound Welfare in every action they take.  I am still working on the exact wording, but will have completed that by the date of the meeting.  There was a further request that the option for Euthanasia be removed from the green form, and I have conveyed that request to the GBGB, and will be raising that on the 21st. 

Work on the Owners VIP Scheme has not yet been completed and although not on the Agenda at the Nottingham meeting, I hope to get details and a timescale for implementation on that day. 

It was agreed that the exact structure and formalisation of a Representative body for Owners would be left until the new Owners Rep was in post, but it has been mentioned to me more than once of the last couple of months that a body below the owners reps position is imperative, and should be the natural method by which further owners reps are in the future put forward for selection as Board Members. 

I will also be checking on progress with the Injury Recovery Scheme, the delivery of which is seen as crucial by the Innovation Panel, to impact on the euthanasia figures, but also to send out a clear and positive message regarding welfare and commitment to the Greyhound promise. 

Contracts for Owners/Trainers and Syndicates have not yet been produced and I will be discussing progress with the people working on them, I know that they have been started but await their completion. 

Since the Innovation Panel meeting the subject of the Bookmakers levy has moved on, firstly influenced by the governments announcements in respect of FOBT’s, and the forming of the “Pay Up” campaign to bring pressure on the Bookmakers to pay a fair sum to support Greyhound Racing, but more importantly to not jeopardise the very crucial welfare initiatives planned by the industry. I am a little surprised that the current temporary Owners Representative was not asked to add their voice to the campaign, but perhaps I fly so low under the radar. 

The Innovation Panel also requested a further press release regarding the agreed Apprenticeship for kennel staff, believing that this had gone unnoticed by some.  This request has gone to the GBGB. 

I shall also be attending a Welfare Sub Committee meeting on 21st June, and I hope that I will be able to continue to attend these meetings in the future after the new Owners Rep is appointed. 

Some of you may have seen me at Towcester selling the Derby Finalist rosettes on behalf of Towcester Retired Greyhounds. I apologise if I did not get the opportunity to speak to too many people, but we were really busy, and then when things were a bit quieter most people were concentrating on the racing, or just lost in the sea of people.  We raised an amazing £950.00.  This was my first post “Wimbledon” Derby live. Last year I watched the final on my I Pad from Florida.  I think that Towcester have got it just about right, I know they will review what went well, and what could be improved and 2019 will be even better, so congratulations to Kevin Ackerman and his team. 

I am pleased to see the fight back against the antis, which is being orchestrated at Kinsley, and would welcome this being replicated at all tracks.  I know that the management at Hove are taking some positive steps and I am working with them to put in place some other initiatives. When I am at Hove with my retired dogs I am tired of people having run the gauntlet of the antis, asking me if what they say is true.  Now is the time to have a concentrated effort in producing our own publicity to combat their misguided and often incorrect propaganda. 

To conclude a very busy three to four weeks I attended a Board meeting on 19 May, on checking my notes and the agenda for the meeting there was nothing discussed or briefed which is not already covered in this blog. 

I will do updates on the Welfare meeting and the Syndicate Scheme after 29 June. 

Bob Boswell