Walker moves on

Leo Walker, Entain’s Head of Stadia is departing his post for another senior position within the company.

A popular appointment among greyhound folk, Walker took over the role following the restructuring of the greyhound operation and the departure of Ian Smyth.

Walker ‘pratically grew up’ at Monmore where he accompanied his father who was an odds compiler. He has made a significant number of ‘greyhound friendly’ decisions. He was not so popular with speedway fans having made the decision to dispense  with the motorbikes having concluded that they had an adverse effect on greyhound injuries.

Walker chose to separate Smyth’s old role by appointing Dan Sheppard to head the track’s retail operation while Paul Illingworth was put in charge of racing. Richard Lang will temporarily return as their direct line manager.

While Walker’s new appointment would appear another significant addition to his CV, he does confess a sadness at leaving the greyhound operation.

He said: “Overseeing Stadia at Entain has been an extremely proud moment in my career, but time is right to move on. I’m pleased with the progress we made and solid foundations have been laid for the future.

“And it’s been a fitting end, with our Stadia Stars event held on Monday this week. A great night of celebrations with our stars of 2023 – who they and the wider Stadia team, I will forever be thankful too for their hard work and dedication”
We wish him well
Expect a warm Winter
Next Saturday sees the start of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby and all the evidence so far suggest it will be an absolute cracker.
The omens can only be good when one of the trialstakes returns a tricast of Category One winners with Kent Derby Churchfield Syd leading home defending champ Coolavanny Shado followed by Arc Classic winner Jonny Whiskers on Saturday afternoon.
But it wasn’t the quickest run of the day. That belonged to Maxine Locke’s Droopys Eddie with a 28.09 run.
Belinda Green picked up a notable double with Getup Me Boy (28/1) and Getup Me Lad (6/1).
Last but far from least, Richie Taberner’s local pup Aero Sacundai made it 4:4 with an impressive 28.18 run.
Yet none clocked the fastest time of the day.
That belonged to the KSS Syndicate’s King Capaldi with a 28.00 solo trial. Kennelmates King Sydney and Queen Joni recorded 28.16 and 28.25 respectively.