There will be huge sighs of relief across the industry as Premier Greyhound Racing unveil their 2024 fixture list writes Greyhound Star editor Floyd Amphlett.

From the moment it was announced that the Entain had signed a long term deal with Arena Racing Company (ARC) to provide racing content from January 2024, long suffering UK greyhound racing supporters have been braced for bad news.

Would the newly formed partnership – PGR – be able to integrate content from the four Entain tracks (Crayford, Hove, Monmore, Romford) into the ARC portfolio?

Assuming ARC also protected their own tracks (Central Park, Newcastle, Nottingham, Perry Barr and Sunderland) would the new organisation dispense with the services of their BAGS contracted venues (Kinsley, Pelaw Grange, Sheffield, Swindon and Yarmouth)?

The answer is a resounding, ‘no’.

With the increased revenue from the Entain betting shops, Premier Greyhound Racing have increased the original ARC fixture list from 37 to 59 meetings per week.

Not a single meeting has been lost.

Nor does there appear to be any immediate threat to any of the tracks.

Many favourite fixtures are retained. For example, the SIS Romford Friday night simply switches to PGR.

And no doubt, when the full fixture list is digested, there will be perceived pluses and minuses.

For example, Swindon racegoers will see the return of two evening fixtures.

Yarmouth have only had two fixtures thus far with their Saturday evening meeting being on the less lucrative ‘digital’ service.

Under the new deal, they gain a full Sunday morning BAGS fixture. But will they have enough hounds to continue to stage a Saturday evening card?

Or will the extra revenue enable them to increase prize money to attract more runners to fill that Saturday fixture, particularly during the summer season?

Sheffield have also gained a full contract for their regular Friday evening fixture.

Is it a plus or minus for Pelaw regulars to get a Sunday evening fixture, given some of the locals love their Sunday lunchtimes?

Given it is impossible to please all the people all the time, even PGR critics must acknowledge the skilled efforts that have gone into producing the new schedule.

Commenting on it, Lord Lipsey, Premier Greyhound Racing Chair, said: “This schedule is Premier Greyhound Racing’s plan for the future. For bookmakers, it will offer a race every few minutes for their retail and online customers. For fans it will bring the best of greyhound racing action direct across a range of platforms, not to mention top quality entertainment at their local track. We will be delivering a bigger, bolder and sustainable vision for our sport.”

Mark Kingston, Director of Media & Technology, Arena Racing Company, said:  “We are pleased to announce this schedule which meets the needs of the sport’s stakeholders. This includes retail bookmakers, all of which are contracted to take PGR from 1 January 2024, alongside additional fixtures to support our digital and international partners. We look forward to continue working closely with Entain, given our mutual commitment to maintaining high standards of welfare across our venues.”