Shawfield racing manager Daniel Rankin believes this year’s RPGTV Scottish Derby (starts April 18) could benefit from developments in Ireland and England.
He said: “We don’t know how the owners dispute in Ireland will develop and whether Shelbourne will stage the Easter Cup. We normally clash with it, and would probably benefit if it gets cancelled. Also, because we have put our dates back this year, we have also avoided a clash with the Arc; though realistically it does tend to be dominated by southern trainers.”
Meanwhile, the Shawfield racing strength continues to rise with the new owner trainer licences already bearing fruit.
He said: “We had our first runner last weekend, Desirable Fella who was beaten a short head. There are six owner trainers with runners this week and more signing up and qualifying dogs. There have been quite a few looking to sell their sprinters and get middle distance dogs and I can only see the numbers rising.
“We have gone from eight races Friday and Saturday to nine on Fridays and twelve on Saturdays. We are also noticing an upturn in business in general on the Friday. Although the new permit guys get free admission, they are spending in the bars and with the bookies who have noticed an increase in turnover.
“I don’t know how many more of the owners trainers there are to come through but I expect it will be a year before the applications start to level out.”
