• In a further blow to the IGB, the Irish Tourist Board suspend links to greyhound racing. However the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar remains loyal to the sport by stating “Varadkar said “From my own part I go to Shelbourne Park every Christmas, I have a very enjoyable evening , I intend to go again this year and I recommend that anybody wishing to form an opinion on this (the current RTE issue) go along themselves to their local meeting and see for themselves whether or not they wish to promote the sport”.
  • Towcester’s remaining 10 horserace fixtures, which had been included among its assets when the racecourse went into administration, are sold onto the Arena Racing Company (ARC).
  • Star Sports Bookmakers is looking at the possibility of giving Wales its first licensed greyhound track in over 40 years. The independent track at Ystrad Mynach, known as the Valley is the last surviving track in Wales and there were rumours of it closing.
  • Mark Wallis hits the front for the first time in the Trainers Championship having trailed Patrick Janssens since the first week in January.
  • Pond Natalya slips through a gap on the inside of the traps and runs across the centre field causing a heat of the SIS Doncaster Leger to be declared void. Trainer Harry Williams has no hesitation in his bitch going into the re-run three days later and she duly qualifies. The final eventually goes to the veteran Droopys Live with a superb display of front running.
  • Former Towcester handler Jon Blencowe announces he is to give up training.
  • ARC announce that they have acquired the leases for Perry Barr and Belle Vue from Clive Feltham’s GRA Acquisitions company.
  • Kevin Boothby signs a ten year deal to re-open Towcester Racecourse.
  • Dave Firmager, Britain’s biggest breeder a decade ago, announces plans to breed six litters in 2020 after his Romeo Rumble causes an upset in the British Breeders Stakes.
  • GBGB Trainers rep Peter Harnden challenges the RSPCA over an advertising campaign featuring a greyhound and the words ““Caboose is in need of new owners who will appreciate him and love him as a pet dog, as opposed to thinking of him as just another dog to make quick money at the track” The charity’s position is swiftly defended Thankfully we also had some more positive stories
  • Ice On Fire put himself into prime position for the Greyhound of the Year title with a stunning victory in the Alconex All England Cup
  • One of the most popular stories of the year concerned a puppy bought at 12 weeks old and reared and trained by a young family in Norfolk. We are talking Batteredbroccoli. As an update to the tale, Broccoli has raced another five times for three wins (A6, A5, A4) and two seconds.
  • A study into volumes of racing shows that since the year 2000, the average number of races per track per year has risen by roughly 20%, The full story.
  • This website breaks its own record with more than 25K individual users in a calendar months. (It actually hit 26K a week after we ran the story).