Harry Williams will call time on his long association with the North East racecourses as a contract trainer when he has his final graded runners on Saturday’s Newcastle card.
The highly popular Bishop Auckland handler, who received the award for “Services to Greyhound Racing” award three years ago, has a long, long association with Newcastle and Sunderland, which he helped to build, but he told Ian Walton, Operations Manager at the Tyneside circuit that he wished to terminate his contract and they agreed that tomorrow should be his final meeting.
However, Williams will retain his trainer’s licence and will now be concentrating on looking after a few open racers for his friends and the retired greyhounds that enjoy the good life at his White Gate House kennels.
He recently underwent open heart surgery, but says that the recuperation has gone extremely well and his health has played no part whatsoever in the decision on his future. “My recovery has been very good and I am as fit as a fiddle, but this has been coming for some time,” he explains. “My wife Rita and I have been talking about it over a lengthy period and we feel that the time is right.
“I will now be concentrating on open racing and am looking forward to that. I have a couple of youngsters that I hope will progress and who know what will come along?”
But Williams will certainly not be a stranger at Newcastle for he hopes to be chasing their top prize as usual – “I have had a great association with the racecourse and I hope that I will be back there trialling my open dogs soon.”
