The GBGB has whittled down the nominations for the board director’s role, assigned to a greyhound owner, to two candidates, Bob Boswell and Paul Ephremsen. Details of the ballot procedure, in which every registered owner will be invited to participate, will be revealed this week. Both candidates are due to appear as guests on RPGTV on Wednesday.
We are happy to produce the two ‘manifestos’, starting with Bob Boswell’s . .
Bob Boswell, an owner for more than 20 years at Wimbledon and Hove, and chairman of the owners associations at both tracks, sees the current election for the owner’s role as a ‘peculiar contest’.
He said: “Paul Ephremson and I are on the same side. He is clearly a very bright guy with a business background and some good ideas. My interests and experience is on the retired and welfare side of the business, and drawing on nearly twenty years experience of negotiations with promoters and management of greyhound tracks.
“With ten owners expressing an interest in becoming the owners representative on the board, this clearly shows that there are a good number of people who have a passion for greyhound racing and ownership and want to be part of planning its future.
“If I were to be elected, I would certainly be looking at using that passion and seeking people with particular knowledge or experience to serve on a sub committee and certainly using Paul in looking at the commerciality of owning greyhounds and the other areas he has expressed an expertise in.
“One of the areas that concerns me is the divide between training and retired. Most people who take home a retired dog are interested in its racing career. No matter how modest, yet they are discouraged from knowing anything about the dog. I want to move Greyhound welfare and Retired Greyhounds up the agenda.”
Boswell is aware that as an attendee of meetings held by the Federation of British Greyhound Owners Associations in the last eighteen months, may not work in his favour with some voters, though he feels much of the criticism is unfair.
He said: “I have had decent people ask me, ‘what has the FBGOA done for me as an owner?’. But it was never designed as that sort of organisation. It was an amalgamation of various owners associations, not a political body. Through attending FBGOA meetings it has given me a small insight in to the workings of the GBGB Board and sub committees, the complexities and personalities, which means if elected, I would not be going in totally blind.
“As years have progressed, a lot of the associations have dropped away and having a handful of people meet at a hotel to discuss owners issues is less relevant. Going forward I would suggest that owners could come together in region groups and then we could discuss issues using video conferencing to ensure greater participation.
“In terms of priorities, obviously increased prize money is at the top. It is only through increased prize money that, this sport can truly grow, ensuring trainers can be paid fairly for the services they provide, kennel staff receive a living wage, and to own a greyhound can once again be the proud claim of people from all walks of life”
“I am also encouraged by the appointment of Peter Harnden as the trainers representative. His handling of the recent “anti” radio interview on Radio Nottingham was a masterclass in diplomacy and tact. Working together with a strong trainers representative can only be beneficial for owners.”
