When I was researching the Savva book, Nick was as happy to talk about his mistakes as his successes.
One that always amused me was his plan many years ago to grow a spinney, a small clump of trees, in the far corner of his property, which would attract wild life.
It was a complete success and in no time at all there was a small population of rabbits. Whenever he let the young pups into the big field, they would go ‘hunting’.
The rabbits, is their own terrain, had long since disappeared into the undergrowth and warrens long before the youngsters arrived with much barking and excitement.
All went well until the same crop of pups reached schooling age. Unfortunately, as they reached the fourth bend of the schooling track and the hare disappeared around the bend, the pups took a detour to where the rabbits always went to hide – in the spinney.
Doh!
I bring up the subject in relation to a story that we ran with Rab McNair earlier in the week saying that he took one of his bitches ‘lamping’ to sharpen her up.
Now the term is itself a traditional one, but there are no lamps involved.
It is basically shining a torch to see the rabbits.
Rab told an honest story of how he let this bitch ‘go hunting’ until she got too close to the rabbits, and then he would switch the light off.
The net result was that this particular lady came back fully wound up with her hunting instinct revived as the bunnies returned to graze on Rab’s paddocks.
Now the more ignorant among us might think, ‘I bet he let her catch the rabbits’.
Untrue for a whole variety of reasons. The first, is that it is self defeating.
There was a time, when racing greyhounds were closer to allied to their coursing cousins, when ‘blooding’ a greyhound was quite common.
For a short time, the dogs had extra motivation when they went racing. However as many gambles were lost as were landed when the dog got himself so frantic that he would either lose his race before he even got to the track, or by being manic in the starting traps.
The other huge downside is that ‘blooding’ is a slippery slope. It might be all well and good for a 1970s Irish farmer to set his dog after a wild hare before he wins in a fast time and sells him on.
But eight races later, when he is running graded in England and hasn’t seen as much as a Bugs Bunny cartoon, he is not the dog he was – and never will be again.
Rab would have known that. Apart from the moral issue of hunting itself, on a pure practical basis, the last thing that anyone wants is losing control of their dogs. They escape, go through barbed wire, run into a road or run them selves into exhaustion or injury.
Besides – vomiting a dog that has attempted to eat a rabbit, guts and all, is not conducive to good training.
Now the deluded antis can either believe the above – or not. I really do not care.
Nor do I give a damn about a campaign that the most corrupt organisation of them all is now attempting to stage to exploit a non-story. I am not even going to mention them by name. Let’s just call them ‘Dodgy Reet’s mob’
To put this into context, you have to remember that it can’t be easy running a lucrative scam as you see your meal ticket disappearing down the road.
The waiting list for greyhounds looking for homes has been replaced with a waiting list for kennels begging for ex-racers to re-home.
A whole raft of initiatives brought in over time by GBGB are making it harder for the welfare scammers to extort money from the gullible.
When it gets to a point that they set themselves up as agent provocateurs to try to persuade breeders to send dogs to China, you get an inkling as to how desperate they are.
No – my concern is GBGB, or more particularly, the regulatory body of GBGB.
I sincerely hope that they do not rise to Dodgy Reet’s bait and give credence to Reet by questioning the wee man.
Because if they do, I would like to confess that every morning when I walk my ex-racer, we go to a corner of a field where I know she will find rabbits. She knows it too. It is the highlight of her day.
She has never caught one, though will try to eat anything that a fox has left behind.
But if I am going to confess, I would also ask any trainer who has ever taken a couple of dogs into the woods, or onto a golf course, early in the morning, or at dusk, and seen them come to life looking for their quarry – to report themselves to GBGB too.
I’m serious. If necessary I would ask you all to report yourselves to Senior Steward Paul Illingworth.
I would also like old Mrs Harding, who lives opposite, to hand herself into the RSPCA for interrogation.
Every morning, she opens her back door and tells Billy (a Jack Russell crossed with something that must have resembled a toilet brush) to ‘see off that nasty pussycat’ who is shitting on her begonias.
You’re a sick bitch, Mrs H!
That is the level of what we are dealing with here and it had better be handled that way.
“Nothing to see here, move along’
I was interested to read that Swindon are now to feature on SKY Sports Racing every Thursday until Christmas.
Is this related to the talks over RPGTV and which media rights company they will be dealing with in 2021?
No idea.
Will the bookies be making more money on greyhounds?
Tick!
Will that result in extra benefits for Swindon owners and trainers?
What do you think?
One of the problems with the televised meetings is that whatever money is generated, must come back through the industry via the media rights companies.
SIS factor in what they think they can sell when drawing up their contracts with the tracks. ARC operate under a different model whereby tracks are guaranteed a set (lower) income per meeting – because they have fewer customers.
Their tracks will only really hit the jackpot if SIS folds and ARC can control the product exclusively.
Until then, the tracks only get paid what the media rights companies are willing/able to pay them.
Working the equation to its conclusion, owners and trainers then only benefit what the tracks are willing/able to pay them. So no – Swindon will not be making bundles and screwing their trainers.
Now, imagine you are a Romford owner looking at the Betfair exchange market last Friday and see race after race matched into six figures, including one, I am reliably informed, that topped £150K.
Are you not thinking – is this fair Betfair?’
Better still, think back to the Derby.
How much was turned over on all those RPGTV broadcast races, and how much found its way back into the industry and then into prize money?
Not stirring – just asking. It’s my job.
Of course there is a simple solution to this and it rests with GBGB.
They already charge a special licence fee, which goes towards the running of the organisation itself. It is paid on all broadcast races and has traditionally relied on betting shops.
As the industry and betting habits evolve, is it not now time to look at a premium special licence fee for TV broadcast meetings?
Better still, increase that fee for any meeting that includes open races.
I can already hear the whining ‘well they will stop showing opens if it is going to cost them more money.’
Really? £150K in a single minor open at Romford?
But once GBGB has secured the cash, it SHOULD NOT be funnelled back to the tracks as a rebate, as currently happens when there is a surplus.
No – use the ‘televised special license fee’ to fund open racing.
Open racing generates it – open racing should benefit from it!
On the subject of both media rights companies and open racing, here is one story that I don’t think has had its fair share of attention.
Last years SIS announced that they were to sponsor British breeding to the tune of £100K in 2020 and the benefits just keep coming.
Throughout the year we have seen a string of new British bred events, using SIS and BGRF cash, superbly managed by Liz Mort and her committee at the British Greyhound Breeders Forum.
We are currently midway through yet another Cat One event at Nottingham with a new British Bred Midland Sprint closing today.
It will be followed by the British Bred Derby at Sheffield with a supporting £3,000 staying event, and more confined opens on final night.
Then there is still Central Park for the British Bred Leger.
This has been a horrendous year but not for British breeding.
