For Crayford company Jay & Kay Coach Tours, there has been a longstanding relationship with greyhound racing. Karl Brazier and his wife Jackie run the business which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. They have sponsored at Crayford since around 2017 with the Kent St Leger normally carrying their name. This year it is the Gold Collar which starts this Sunday over 540m.
“Looking forward to it, happy with the entrants” Brazier told us as the runners came out late on Wednesday. Rightly so, it is an excellent field this year. The full cards and form can be found below.
Greyhounds has been a long time interest for Brazier. “Many years ago I used to go to Milton Keynes with a few mates, we got a couple of dogs and used to go flapping at Bedford and at Henlow when that was a flap. In the early 80s I lost touch with it but came back into it when moving down to Crayford.”
It was immediate success on moving down to Kent as the first dog that Brazier bought was Off Topic. He went from A8 to A1 for Barry O’Sullivan who also handled the 2016 Gold Collar winner Yahoo Victor for Brazier. It’s a nice full circle moment with the ex-Catford race now under the Jay & Kay Coach Tours banner.
Brazier still has seven or eight in training, spread across a few different trainers but still has his eye in with O’Sullivan.
A different Crayford race has been sponsored by Brazier in recent years but “there was a bit of a mix up with the Kent St Leger” and when “Dan Smith approached us about the Gold Collar instead” the company jumped at the chance to continue their association.
Brazier is very complementary about Crayford. “He (Smith) and Ray (Neal, stadium manager) have been great. Ray has come in, he does a good job, it’s quite vibrant there at the moment. I like what they are doing, they are very proactive.
“We’re looking to continue (sponsorship) next year, we’ll be sponsoring one of them (Kent St Leger or the Gold Collar), depending on the dates.” The company has also sponsored graded competitions which is something that Brazier would like to continue.
“Owners and trainers being treated better is important as there is a danger that there will be no owners. There needs to be more initiative shown to get people involved to own graders and win £1,000 graded competitions. Should be a carrot dangled to bring people into the sport.”
Brazier has done his bit to bring people greyhound racing, organising coach trips to bring people to the track. He admits that it is a little harder now that Crayford race on a Tuesday or a Sunday night rather than Friday and Saturday but it remains a sport that he is passionate about. That passion is evident when speaking to him and we hope to see Jay & Kay Coach Tours sponsoring for many years to come.
The Jay & Kay Coach Tours Gold Collar starts on Sunday, November 10 at Crayford.
