CENTRAL PARK racing manager Dan Homewood is keen to finish what he and the track started before the shutdown – namely a series of kennel sweepstakes backed by Colossus Bets.
However, he admits some outside-the-box thinking will be required to complete the various competitions given the Kent track have lost the services of trainer Gemma Davidson, who is switching to Hove.
“A couple of Gemma’s dogs qualified for the finals from that first batch of heats we staged on the Monday before the shutdown so we’re going to have to think about how we play it.
“We wish Gemma all the best at Hove, but for us all it’s about being able to race again when it’s safe to do so,” said Homewood.
In the meantime, Central Park is supporting its trainers in light of the break in racing due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“We’re paying our trainers £5 per greyhound per week from April 1 and this will be done for three weeks before the situation will be reviewed,” added Homewood.
Down the line a decision will be made on competitions like the Grand National and the Kent Silver Salver, which had been due to be backed by Colossus Bets.
“When open-racing was suspended we postponed the Kent Silver Salver, but the competition has a new sponsor and they offered to support a kennel sweepstakes series – across the grades – instead.
“The plan is to pick these up when he resume, with the finals hopefully on RPGTV when the channel returns, too.”
For the record, the Ray Butler-trained Hollyoak Dexter won the first heat – an A4 – in 30.13sec, while Jason Foster’s Nuke Na Bansha (30.42sec) won the other heats in this grade.
Two sprint competitions also kicked off, with wins in D2 for Gemma Davidson’s Boreen Mad (16.87sec) and Uptown Brandy (16.96sec), while Butler’s Hollyoak Harmony (17.21sec and Davidson’s Birleys Lad (17.09sec) won their D3 heats.
