With only 280 runners to fill 300 slots in their weekly four-meeting schedule Doncaster are coming up with short and long term solutions to a potential runner shortage.
Despite running to such fine margins, none of their dogs have more than 35 races this year – way less than some tracks – and they average less than two empty traps per meeting.
So how do they do it?
Matt Stagg, a recent arrival in the racing office said: “The racing strength is holding its own because our trainers have been buying dogs from other tracks. We have had quite a few from Belle Vue with trainers selling dogs on, and a number from Sunderland.
“We could do definitely do with a few more, but a number of trainers are still bound by contracts at other tracks. Some are for a year, others are for 18 months, but a lot of them run out in December.”
The track’s most prolific winner remains Paul Prior’s Jet Stream Trip (Rio Quattro-Forest Mollie, Jan 16) with 11 wins from 23 outings. If you had bet £10 on him every time he went to traps this year you would be almost £160 in profit.
Martin Haythorne is short heading Ricky Overton as the leading graded trainer with 119-118 wins.
The racing office are tipping Trevor Evans to have a good autumn with a string of promising young ‘Ballymac’ pups.
The best of the lot is Ballymac Macken (Ballymac Matt-Blanemore Sasha, Sep 16). He has won seven of his 14 races to date, his most recent effort being timed at 27.36 for the 450m, just six spots outside Headford Johnny’s fastest of the year.
Wait until he tackles the 483m trip!
