The dates for the 2019 RPGTV St Leger have been finalised this week writes Perry Barr Racing Manager Martin Seal.

The heats will take place on Saturday 2nd November, with the semi-finals on Saturday 9th November and the final on Saturday 16thNovember, with all rounds broadcast live on RPGTV.

In all likelihood, the competition will be advertised for 36 dogs. With regard to the race distance, we’ve staged it over 710m for the past two years, with great success in my eyes.

But I had been wondering if this trip was perceived as being too demanding so I emailed a dozen or so of the country’s leading trainers for their views.

From the replies that I received, the vast majority were in favour of keeping the race distance as it is, citing a true, fair test and the long run to the bend as being most important.

  • Open races commence this coming Saturday 1st June for the foreseeable future starting off with a bumper ten open race card, and in line with a number of other tracks, we’ve taken the decision to pay £15 travel expenses per dog to trainers that are not attached to Perry Barr. Interest so far has been good, and potential Leger entrants will have plenty of opportunities for a recce or two over the Summer months.
  • I’ve been in touch with sales organiser Richard Walsh and we’re hoping to stage a greyhound sale sometime in late July or early August. This will be the first sale at Perry Barr since October 2016.
  • On the trainer front, May saw the retirement of Corren Price after a brief ten month spell at the Barr. Corren and partner Frank Wright are well known and popular figures around the Midlands, having had long spells at both Monmore and Coventry. Corren enjoyed plenty of success in both open and graded races throughout her career, usually with good quality greyhounds, and her many friends at Perry Barr wish her and Frank, together with their loyal kennel staff a prosperous future.
  • In addition, Robert Hall has switched tracks from Nottingham to Perry Barr and is currently in the process of qualifying a large number of dogs. Robert’s strength will likely cover most grades and he also has a litter of pups out of his brood Caribbean Dream to add to the mix. We wish Robert and his staff well in their time at Perry Barr.
  • On the greyhound front, bitches are setting the early pace in the race to achieve most wins in a calendar year with Jayne Meek’s Glorious Poppy (8), Gerry Ballentine’s Drahbeg Dior and Kevin Whitehouse’s Brews Hill (both 7) at the head of affairs. There have been quite a few hat tricks racked up since our last newsletter with John Lambe’s Sabbatical, Carol Evans’ Our Lucky Star and Bitofachipolata, Ian Walker’s Ballymac Ennis, Jayne Meek’s Barnesmore Gap, Phil Naylor’s Some Detail and the aforementioned Brews Hill all enjoying purple patches.
  • Improvement work continues on the running surface and surrounding areas as we head into the Summer months and a section of hare rail around the first and second bends is due to be replaced shortly.