The crisis in the number of greyhounds being bred in Ireland is highlighted by the number of ‘old’ greyhounds in what was formerly the Irish Puppy Derby, which has had to be renamed the Dublin Coach Juvenile Derby to accommodate them writes Jason Craddock.
In tomorrow’s Irish Classic at Harolds Cross half the field would be ineligible to run if the race was a UK Puppy event.
Organisers changed the conditions to allow greyhounds 25 months old at the start of the event to take part fearing the race would not fill.
Of the 72 runners, 18 were bred in September 2013 and another 18 were bred in October.
With the final taking place on October 16, the winner could potentially be 25 and a half months old or technically 26 months old.
