Owners are set for a boost as the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) today confirmed that each track will be asked to stage three events for greyhounds on their graded strength, between 1st August and December 31st.
The ‘Owners’ Bonus Series’ races, which have been developed by the GBGB Racing Committee, will be funded from money secured by the committee to support racing at graded level. This will enable tracks to each stage two gala meetings (one Summer, one Autumn), across 12 graded races, along with an event in December which will span 30 consecutive races, aimed to benefit as many owners and trainers as possible.
Each event will feature:
- Extra prize money of £50 to the winner, and £10 extra to also rans, in addition to the track’s existing prize money for that grade across 12 races.
- A trophy will be provided for each of the races for the connections of the winning greyhound.
The grades of each event will be determined by the track’s Racing Office depending on dog strength to ensure competitive racing, and to cover as many grades as possible. These races cannot be Opens or Inter Track races, and are not open to greyhounds owned by Racecourse Executives, Track Owners or Senior Management at the same track taking part in the enhanced prize money races. Each event will be held at customer-facing meetings on weekends and evenings to maximise opportunities for owners to attend.
Scott Harvey, Racing Operations Executive for GBGB, said: “This additional funding towards graded racing is welcomed and will help to provide a highlight at each track in the final quarter. We’ve got a busy schedule of well supported open race competitions throughout the year and this a good opportunity to support and reward racing at a more local level.”
