Sharp fall in registrations
The number of greyhounds being registered to race in Britain continues to fall at an alarming rate.
In 2023, GBGB registered 5,899 new greyhounds, a fall of 408 (6.5%) from the previous year. Of those, 4,861 (82%) were Irish imports.
But this is not a blip. In the last five years, the number of new greyhounds registered has declined by 19% and the number is less than half of the 11,912 registered by the old BGRB back in 2004.
Why that becomes an issue is that although the number of new runners in those 20 years has fallen by 50.5%, the number of tracks has only fallen by around a third, even allowing for the impending closure of Henlow (31/20).
That situation has been further exacerbated by the GBGB decision to introduce the ‘four day’ rule.
How many fewer races has it cost us?
Well back in 2019, the 10 most prolific graded runners averaged 71 races each in the year. In 2023, that figure was 65. If that average of five races lost per year per greyhound, the implications are obvious.
It also seems most unlikely that we will ever again see greyhounds reaching the career 200 race mark.
The only ‘plus’ is that the number needing to be rehomed will also continue to recede.
Entry for the BGBF British Breeders Cup at Oxford has been held over until today. The 450m event, open to British bred pups whelp Feb ’22 or later gets underway on Saturday and is worth £10K to the winner.
With defending champ Hopes Paddington engaged at Central Park the previous day, new track record holder Romeo Command seems set to to head the ante post market for the Blue Riband which gets underway at Towcester on Sunday.
Patrick Janssens’ British bred has drawn the red jacket in the sixth heat where he takes on Derby Plate winner Whyaye Man.
With the Welsh Parliament currently considering the future of greyhound racing, a new video – by a Cardiff University student and trainee journalist has made a fair attempt at impartiality when explaining the current state of the industry.
