Trainers “get out of the game” for a handful of reasons. The most common are ‘retirement’ ‘illness’ (or something more terminal), ‘can’t make it pay’, ‘having to leave the kennels’ or, occasionally, at the insistence of the GBGB stewards – writes Floyd Amphlett.
I was expecting a 20 minute interview when I called Nottingham/Monmore trainer Paul White yesterday. Two hours later, we’d explored his issues and reasons. Most will be recognisable to a decent section of the people reading this article. The brutal honesty though was refreshing. Paul did not resort to playing the ‘blame game’. He made some simple observations about issues, decisions and consequences.
So when did you decide to quit?
“On Saturday morning.”
WTF!
The story goes that on Friday, Paul had asked headgirl Sarah Hodgson to enquire why one of his runners had been outgraded.
Paul said: “She was told by the racing manager that my percentages were too high and just to live with it. I was furious. It just felt that as hard as we were trying, my dogs were being deliberately outgraded. I thought about it overnight and decided to jack it in.”
Hardly, a stitch up. Surely, the graded winners have to be shared about?
Paul said: “I don’t deny that I want to win every time. I’m very competitive, that’s just me. But suddenly it just occurred to me, why bother busting a gut if you can’t win? Unfortunately, there is a situation in some racing offices where the trainers who moan the most or play the poverty card are looked after better. And I realised that I wasn’t prepared to do that anymore.”
However, Paul is keen to point out that the Friday decision was simply the first domino to topple.
It was a situation that had been coming to the boil over a long period of time and involved a whole series of factors. And that requires some background information . . .
Based in Stoke On Trent, Paul got into greyhounds more than 40 years ago when given a low grade dog that he managed to win with on the Chesterton independent track.
He gradually built up his runners, switched to NGRC racing, and had various spells at Hall Green, Nottingham and Monmore.
As a young man, he worked in the scrap business and around ten years ago, he made a snap decision to buy a scrap yard. By his own admission, he wasn’t sure what to do with it, but explored the possibility of setting up a yard selling domestic and business storage space in shipping containers.
He said: “We bought the first half dozen, and had them rented out before they had arrived. We got some more. Same thing. We couldn’t buy them quick enough. We soon had a yard, all fully fenced and secured with cameras and security equipment, with 100 containers. So we bought another yard for another 100 and filled that too and we have just bought a third yard.”
So, from being a struggling greyhound trainer barely able to make ends meet, Paul has built a very profitable business. He was able to buy the farm where he rented his kennels and review his greyhound commitment.
He said: “One of my sons is a very shrewd guy in business and he kept saying to me, ‘Dad, your greyhound business is rubbish, why do you bother?’. My accountant has said for years, ‘you aren’t making a penny’.”
Yet when it comes to blame, Paul knows where to point the finger.
He said: “That would be me. I was one of those trainers who did prize money deals with owners and it is just madness. Why did I do it? Because others were doing it too. I reckoned that unless I did deals (owners pay no kennel bills, trainers keep prize money) I wouldn’t get any dogs.
“I have some good owners who are friends, but others have taken advantage. I’ve looked after their lame dogs for nothing but at the first chance have sold dogs on and I have been left out of pocket.
“If I was starting again, I would be charging £7.50 per day and I wouldn’t be out of pocket.”
There are other downsides too about being ‘that type’ of trainer.
Once again, straight shooting from the man himself.
“You don’t get offered good dogs. People look at you and think ‘graded trainer’.”
“It is getting harder and harder for trainers and racing managers could do more. I had one owner whose dog had 13 races without a win. No wonder it is harder to attract new owners.
“The way things are going, we will end up in the situation like it used to be when racing started, with the tracks owning all the dogs. Then they will find out how tough it is.”
Which leads to the obvious question, if the container business hadn’t done so well, would you still be training?
Paul replies bluntly: “I might not have had any choice.”
Paul is now in an enviable position of being to burn his bridges at both tracks. But he bears no grudges.
He accepts that that moaning to racing managers about grading is almost unavoidable for most trainers and he will part on good terms with both racing offices.
Things haven’t always gone smoothly, as Paul, by self admission, can be a hothead himself on occasions. And this won’t be the first time he has left Nottingham!
Back in 2008 . . . he recalls: “I’d had had a fall out at Hall Green and came to Nottingham. I had only been there about a month and I had a couple of runners on the card. The little bitch had been A3 at Hall Green and the racing office had graded her way too leniently. The dog, Johnnybo, was fast but a dodge. If he didn’t lead, he didn’t want to know.
“Anyway, I fancied the bitch, big time. I told the owners to back her and she won. Johnnybo, was short priced but didn’t lead and didn’t pick his feet up. Suddenly, Terry Corden approached me and he was livid. He asked who the hell did I think I was pulling two strokes like that. I tried to tell him, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“So I phoned Stephen Rea at Hall Green and asked if I could go back. Thankfully, he said they hadn’t want me to go in the first place.
“I resented what Terry Corden had done because I didn’t deserve it. It was several years later, at an inter-track that he came up to me, held out his hand and said ‘I got you wrong didn’t I?’. It meant a lot to me to be honest.
“Rachel is like her dad. She has no problem telling you if you are in the wrong, but that is her job and I have never had a problem with her.”
The situation at Monmore has improved, though there was a particularly sticky period a couple of years ago.
Paul said: “I bought seven dogs from Nick Savva and within six weeks, five of the seven had broken hocks. I had a rant at Tony Williamson, though I never meant to blame him and we are okay. But there was *someone within Entain who I just couldn’t deal with. There was a lot of shouting down the phone.”
(*That person is no longer with the company).
Headgirl Sarah will leave the kennels to work in admin for ‘Go Big Storage’.
Paul said: “She would be a great asset to any kennel. She is dedicated and great with the dogs but I am delighted she will stay with us.
Paul is not sure when he will have his last runners. The majority of his 86 greyhounds are accounted for, most to remain at Nottingham.
He said: “I’m sure that I will be left with some. The re-homing scheme isn’t working, there aren’t enough places, and even when you re-home the dogs, and get them verified, it is almost impossible to get back your bond money.
Some of the older dogs may go to re-homing kennels, including some who are quite ‘anti’.
He said: “I deal with a few of the re-homing people and I get on okay with them despite their beliefs. They will say, ‘we’ll take your dogs because you are one of the good ones’. I always reply ‘99% of them are good ones.”
“It is the same thing with the forums. I haven’t been on them for years. But I can’t stand how people’s reputations are attacked by people who don’t know them and don’t know all the facts. They make out that we are all crooks.”
So is there any chance of a future return to the industry?
Paul said: “At the moment, no. I have a pup that is going over to Francis Murray to be reared and I have owners who have said, ‘give it a break and we’ll come in with you and buy a couple of nice dogs.’
“These dogs do get to you, I have loved them since I was a kid.
“But for now, I want to take advantage of the break. We have spent a fortune on the farm, which is on 25 acres and absolutely fabulous. One of my sons is a professional pool player and I want to go with him on some of his trips; he has one arranged in China. I have grandkids, who I can spend more time with.
“As for the future – we’ll see.”
SALLOWS FORD – was the pride of the kennel when finishing fourth, one place behind eventual winner Astute Missile in the 2017 English Derby semi finals. He has a young litter of pups graded at Nottingham. Photo: Steve Nash
