Despite staging the most races of any track in the country, Romford do not anticipate any runner shortages in 2015.
Last year the London Road venue held over 300 meetings and in excess of 4,000 races. But when local handler Alison Ingram decided to retire, she was replaced by John Simpson, who took on her staff and kennel strength. In February, Ernie Gaskin will be forced to give up his kennel and will seamlessly move in with Ongar based Dave Lee.
The track also boasts the country’s biggest racing kennel, but like the stadium, the Paul Young range operates like a well maintained machine. Racing manager Peter O’Dowd said: “Every trainer at this stadium is very capable of getting results when the right dog comes along. Although Paul has around 120-130 dogs on the strength at any one time, twice as many as the next biggest kennel, and probably 200 greyhounds in total, he knows every single one of them. Ask him about any dog in the kennel, its fitness or running style, and he can give you an answer straight away. It is quite remarkable.”
