Lemon Tas – waiting for her turn on the gallop

1) Made the best of a bad situation

2) Enjoyed the break

3) Want to be back racing

The three statements seem to sum up the attitude of greyhound folk since the tracks shut down on March 24th.

 

Romford trainer Maxine Locke is making best use of the time by renovating her kennel block.

She said: “GBGB recommended lining the walls of the kennels in a type of plastic sheeting and we’ve been getting on with that with the extra time we’ve had by not racing. We have everything we need, I had four pallets of GAIN delivered just before this all started, so food certainly isn’t a problem.

“I have four full-time staff here and thanks to the payments from LadbrokesCoral, have actually been a week in front, it has meant I haven’t had to let anybody go. The owners have been brilliant in supporting us too with all kennel bills paid.

Slaneyside Sylvy – coping with a more leisurely lifestyle

“We took GBGB advice and the staff all have their licenses with them in case they get stopped on their way to work. Looking after animals, they are critical workers.

“Including pups, we have 107 dogs here. The dogs are getting plenty of long walks, spending time in the paddocks and in the small paddocks with bones keeping their teeth clean.

No place for the idle

“The gallop has been in constant use, we have had 82 different dogs on it, anything between three and six times a week.

“That is the biggest challenge at the moment, keeping the dogs entertaine. A few of them are starting to get a bit frustrated without any racing.”

 

Belle Vue trainer Ron Smith has 10 racers, two retireds and four 12-month old pups in his kennel which is run by his son and assistant trainer, Grant.

Ron said: “Financially we are just about okay. I have pensions coming in now which means I’m not a burden on the kennel. We have half a dozen owners who are all decent and paying their kennel bills. We were paid for last month by Belle Vue and have had some money through, I think from ARC. Peter Rosney (stipendiary steward) has been in touch to check that everything is okay. I guess the only thing that would help would be a bit more advice on how we stand and what we can claim for.

“There hasn’t been any problem getting food for the dogs and the break has given us a chance to get a few things done. To be honest, it has been a bit of a holiday for us and the dogs.

“But I have noticed in the last few days that the dogs are getting very restless, missing their racing. They have been tearing up and down the paddocks. The other day, we started introducing the young pups to the cages in the vans, so they will be comfortable when we start taking them to the track. As soon as the racing dogs heard the van doors open the whole kennel kicked off.”

 

Henlow’s Jason Bloomfield and partner Kelly Windebank have 54 racers on-site at Henlow and are used to racing up to seven times a week.

Jason said: “Everything is fine. We are getting by fincancially, the food is delivered ‘as and when’ and we are getting a few jobs done. I don’t take the dogs onto the track because I don’t want them to get into the habit of messing around. That is where they go to work. Besides we have two large paddocks, an acre field and walking machines to keep them fit.”

Combined with Graham Payne’s and Steve Fletcher’s kennels, Henlow could stage a race meeting from just the three racing ranges located on the grounds.

Jason said: “I hope this doesn’t go on too much longer. We are all missing the racing now, us and the dogs.”