The first owner trainer ‘permit’ trained greyhounds have trialled at Shawfield and are just one run away from making their racing debuts.
Racing manager Daniel Rankin said: “Our first four trainers trialled last weekend, and are due their second trials this weekend. They will then be ready to race. There will be somewhere between four and six additional new trainers having their first trials this weekend.
“A lot of the dogs have come from the flaps and are sprinters so I have agreed to run some sprints to help them adapt. I don’t want to run all sprints, but it is only right to give owners time to adapt the type of dogs that they are bringing in. If we end up with too many sprint dogs, they might not get a run every week. But on the plus side, we have had some more owners saying that they would take out licences too, now we have sprints for their dogs.
“There are still a few blips to overcome. The most recent is that some of the dogs are jointly owned by husbands and wives, and the rules say that the dogs must be solely owned by the trainer. Providing that they are living at the same address, I would hope that common sense could prevail.”
