Newcastle are to stage two ‘monkey’ competitions in addition to their regular ‘first Wednesday of the month’ open race schedule.
GM Ian Walton said: “The Wednesday September 1 opens will take place as usual, but the following week (Wednesday 8th) we will have two competitions for 18 runners with the finals set for the following Wednesday (15th).
“The competitions will be open to maidens or ‘winners of one’ open. It is difficult to put into words, but it basically means any greyhound can be entered providing it hasn’t won more than one open race. In the past some trainers thought that a dog must have won an open to be eligible.
“It creates a bit of interest because you can get some hot ones in there, particularly new dogs coming from Ireland. The last one went to Duke De Janerio in 28.18. Or it might just be dogs who are coming out of top heat and have never won an open.
“The heats all pay £300 to the winner with £50 for the rest. The finals are worth £500 with £50 for the rest. We will have one competition over the 290m and one over the 480 metres. There will also be supporting opens over various distances on each night, all worth £300 to the winner, £50 the rest.”
Walton reminds trainers that in line with company policy, all entries must have trialled or raced at the track previously.
He said: “I realise it might be an inconvenience for some people, but I think most owners and trainers approve of the idea. The way I look at it is, ‘if I had just spent a lot of money on an open racer, would I want to take a chance by running him without a trial?’. In my view, most trainers don’t.”
