Like a lot of professional kennels, we have had to diversify to stay in business. We rear a few litters, board a few for the RGT, (that’s in addition to our own half a dozen retired dogs), and board a few pets for people on holiday.

By far the most lucrative is the boarding. We charge £10 per day for just feeding and taking care of the dogs while their owners are away.

We charge £8 per day for racing dogs with all the extra care and attention that they need. I am one of the dearest trainers, yet my mother Linda was charging exactly the same amount when I took over from her 15 years ago.

Virtually every single expense has gone up since then: feed, bedding and of course wages. To employ one member of staff for a 10 hour day on minimum wage, you need eight dogs in the kennel, and that’s before anything else is taken into account including food, electric, vehicles, your own wages and so on.

Greyhound racing isn’t just failing to keep up with inflation, it is actually going backwards.

I was among the 20-30 trainers who attended a meeting with Tom Kelly on Racing Post Juvenile night at Wimbledon.

Tom said, that if we were to get now, what we were getting pro rata when the BGRF was at its peak, we would be looking at £14-£16m per year, instead of about half that. He said he couldn’t promise to get the money, but he would do his best.

Clearly the acoustics in the room must have been bad because I never heard him give any guarantees, other than to keep trying, and I was sat in the seat next to Ricky Holloway.

I trust Tom Kelly to a point that if he can’t deliver, I honestly don’t think anybody can. Given the way the GTA have not been able to work with GBGB, and the seriousness of the situation, I decided to join the new professional trainers association.

I have known John Coleman since I was a kid, and think he is the best negotiator that we could have.

 

I mentioned breeding earlier, and for anyone who has never tried it, winning a race with a dog that you have seen grow up is the ultimate buzz.

My brothers and I were reared alongside the pups and our parents had quite a bit of success over the years, at least with the greyhounds (notably Sports Promoter and Palace Issue -Ed) and Debbie and I haven’t done too badly, either breeding or rearing, including some category one wins.

I am taking three of the pups we reared – they were bred by Patrick Janssens – to Swindon for the Produce Stakes. They are Whatyougunnado, Meadow and Bada Bing, and are by Kinloch Brae out of Ardrine Lunar.

We have room for about 20-25 pups and currently have Toosey Beannie due to whelp to Deanridge Pennys.

We are hoping to have a couple of litters by Swift Keith but so far, it hasn’t quite gone to plan.

Keith is retired now, loving life with regular trip to the golf course with his owner. Whether he ever becomes a dad or not, he has a home here for the rest of his days.

 

Lots of people still ask about mother. I am pleased to report that she is in good health and living in Kelveden, which is roughly halfway between my brother David and I.

I don’t get to see her as often as I would like, but she knows better than anyone how tough it is to get time off when you run a kennel.

I don’t think she misses the game anymore – she always says ‘I lived through the best days’.