I understand that the licensing of Towcester will go before the GRB stewards today, though it may be Monday before a final decision is passed.
Senior Steward Paul Illingworth visited on Thursday night though the track was unable to trial any greyhounds due to a last minute hitch. They had been asked to provide additional padding to the outside fence at the first bend, and the work had been completed earlier in the day.
Unfortunately the digger driver, who was due to replace the fence posts, had to leave early. The work will be completed this morning.
Promoter Kevin Boothby said: “Paul was very helpful, and positive, and said he was prepared to recommend that we be licensed providing we can provide proof of certain small issues, such as demonstrating that the photo finish is operating properly. We also need to replace some bulbs for the track lighting. We will send video proof through on Monday and would hope to have it signed off.”
The distances will be set at 270m, 500m and 712m, with a marathon trip of 942m.
Boothby added: “We are conscious that we may eventually need to add a shorter six bend trip for graded runners, though the 712 should be magnificent. Basically we will be running the same distance for six bends as Crayford are for eight.”
Boothby has been interviewed by The Times for an article that is due to be published on Monday.
He said: “The reporter is from Huntingdon and had been to Henlow though he had no idea of the scale of what we do. I explained the importance of greyhounds to the betting industry, but also detailed how we could continue to operate safely during the Coronavirus outbreak.”
Mark Wallis was present at last night and walked the track with promoter Kevin Boothby.
He said: “It looked magnificent. Obviously we will need to see how dogs take to it, but the running surface was a huge improvement. Apparently they will need a lot less water to keep it in perfect condition than previously.
“To be honest, I didn’t have any issues with the previous circuit, though this certainly looks better still. I can’t wait to get some dogs there. I probably have around 60 for Towcester including the open racers, leaving around 35 at Henlow. A lot will depend on how many Towcester can take.”
The option to run the open race string in graded races has come as a big relief to Wallis who quipped: “I am hoping to get Antigua Fire in an S3.”
The track promoter (and greyhound owner) was joking a little less when he suggested, a graded marathon: “Bumblebee Bullet, Micks Little Gem, Savana Winner . . . .”
Among the trainers looking to join the strength and boost the A1s, S1s etc is the fourth placed handler on the Trainers Championship table, Ernie Gaskin
He said: “I absolutely loved Towcester. It was the reason that I got back involved in training again. I am still due to speak to anyone at the track, but it is very much in my plans. I can’t wait for it to re-open.”
Horse racing has even bigger issues than greyhound racing at the moment so my thanks to Mike Kelly for forwarding this link to a major scandal among the American thoroughbreds.
The subject of the future of bookmaking has been discussed many times in these ‘Editors’ columns over many years.
While most industry observers seem to believe the same as myself – that the betting shops have a very limited lifespan – the biggest question is the length of that lifespan. My personal belief is on the shorter end of the scale.
But shop numbers, already on the decline, could be one of many aspects of life affected by Coronavirus, and not is a good way.
So out of interest, who are the biggest global players on the internet? You might be surprised. At least by the scale.
According to the website Top 100 Bookmakers, there is only ONE player of any importance. Bet365 totally and utterly dominates the market.
Personally, I was fully aware of the big firms luke warm approach to greyhounds on the internet. This greyhound racing specific website is approaching 30K unique monthly users but seems to be of interest to any of the major betting firms.
But Coronavirus may change much of what we have known. No sooner had Racing Post increased its daily cover price to £3.50 than horse racing was shut down.
It continues to publish, but who is to say what the future holds.
With graded racing become more and more relevant, we are introducing a new feature – RACING TODAY.
We aim to provide links to the full form cards for all meetings, and gradually build up a team of local experts to donate their local knowledge. Probably no more than 100 words on each meeting, but something to give the non-locals a heads up on two or three fancies and the card in general.
Given the anticipated influx of open racers into graded company, it could be quite entertaining
The new feature will take a while to build – and may flop miserably – but if you fancy contributing in the experiment- contact me at [email protected].
Peterborough have backtracked on their plans to open their bars and restaurants on Friday and Saturday evening. They will now race behind closed doors
Finally – as you may be aware, I usually try to lighten the mood at the end of drivel with a funny, quirky or bizarre story.
While I don’t want to hype this particular tale beyond its merit, I seriously doubt whether I will ever be able to equal this next piece, courtesy of SIS’s ‘Welsh lad’, Richard Brankley.
“Have you written anything about Rudolf Hess flapping dogs at Abergavenny?” was not a phrase I ever expected to hear in a lifetime.
