John Walton is to join Monmore in late March ending a 30 year association with Belle Vue.
The Ashton-Under-Lyne based handler made his mind up following the decision to scrap the Friday evening fixture at the Manchester circuit.
He said: “That is no use to me or my owners, just one evening meeting and the rest in the day. I have become very disillusioned and decided to approach Ladbrokes. They have a top class operation, they pay very well, and I enjoy having runners there. I want to think longer term for the sake of my family. Thankfully, I didn’t sign the contract when it was offered to me.
“Monmore is 80 miles compared to the journey at Belle Vue which is just eight miles, but we have enough drivers and they have promised that I will never be asked to travel with less than four runners.
“I inherited a few from June McCombe when she went to Doncaster and they may stay, but I expect to be taking around 40 dogs with me.”
Belle Vue’s Mick Hardy said: “We wish John all the best but I do not anticipate a runner issue. Pat Rosney will be rejoining us shortly with between 15-20 dogs. We recently took on Ernie Upton and Eddie Smith, an enthusiast in the game for 30 years, has recently been granted a greyhound trainers license and hope to build from there.”
