As a Coral employee almost two decades ago, Kim Sanzone re-wrote the book on track relationships with owners. Among many other initiatives, it was Kim who originated the idea of tracks offering complementary tables for all Category One finalists.
Kim Sanzone
Now the personal assistant to the Star Sports directors, Kim will be doing her utmost to make the Star Sports & ARC Derby finalists treasure that most special of all owner experiences.
She said: “To say it’s been a difficult year would be a complete understatement. When I joined Star Sports back in May we were already in the throws of lockdown – 5 months on and we look to be returning to those restrictions. So it’s incredibly disappointing when I read some of the criticism levelled at both Nottingham and Star regarding the Derby as people really don’t see what is happening behind the scenes.
“Ben is passionate about greyhounds and insisted on keeping the show on the road despite having the opportunity to pull out of his commitment due to the current Covid situation – likewise Nottingham for agreeing to maintain this fixture and ensuring it can still proceed albeit at a different date and with different criteria.
“We are already looking at contingency plans should we not be able to have the annual Derby lunch originally scheduled to be at the Ritz in London and then provisionally moved to the restaurant in Nottingham to allow for further social distancing measures to be catered for. It’s currently a waiting game to see what can and can’t be done regarding numbers and table plans – that’s if we are allowed to proceed at all – and it will be a case of wait and see what government guidelines are in the next few days.
“If we can’t go ahead with the lunch then Ben & Star Sports will arrange a special treat for each finalist, it would be disappointing for everyone not to be there as we know how much being in a major final means to owners, trainers and their staff and so we will do our very best to ensure we make it as memorable as we possibly can for them in the circumstances. Additionally, I’ve personally arranged a little memento for each greyhound making it to the final (individually handmade by the amazingly creative Linsey Avery) and these will be at Nottingham ready to hand to connections on the Finals night.
“It has been a logistical nightmare to finalise plans and I want to take this opportunity to thank Nathan Cordon and his fantastic team at Nottingham for ensuring things have run as smoothly as possible and for being so accommodating and helpful – they have been a dream to work with under very tricky circumstances. So many things that would normally be straight forward have had to be reconsidered – such as branded parader’s jackets – these can’t be shared due to Covid guidelines so we made the decision to reserve them for the final – and presentations to winning connections can’t take place the way they normally would due to cross zone restrictions.
“So as you can see both Nottingham and Star Sports are doing their very best to bring you an exciting competition in the most difficult of conditions, all I ask is that you please take this into account when passing judgement – hopefully we will be back to some semblance of normality for the 2021 Derby.
“Finally, good luck to all greyhounds and connections who make it through to this years’ final – try and enjoy the ride – it’s been a bumpy one!”
