The first-ever National Greyhound Week drew to a close at the weekend with thrilling races at tracks including Romford, Hove and Pelaw Grange.

Over the course of the week which began on Bank Holiday Monday, all licensed tracks held a special National Greyhound Week – Owners Bonus Series (NGW-OBS) race.  They also offered promotions and ran marketing campaigns aimed at bringing both existing and new spectators to watch the racing. This led to many tracks seeing higher than usual attendance.  Owlerton Stadium welcomed nearly 800 spectators to its NGW-OBS night on Tuesday 29thAugust and Harlow enjoyed its busiest August in five years.

NGW attracted attention on social media with GBGB and tracks recognising and celebrating individuals who have made a significant contribution to the sport.  At the tracks themselves, the opportunity was taken to showcase various aspects of the sport.  Some tracks – including Crayford and Monmore Green Stadia – promoted the benefits of owning a racing greyhound whilst others, such as Sunderland Stadium, welcomed retired racers.

At Hove Stadium there was a specific focus on attracting families with a special Family Fun Day which gave children the opportunity to meet some retired racers.  A similar event was held at Romford Stadium which was attended by over 500 people.  Trainer Kevin Hutton also held an Open Day at his kennels to demonstrate how well greyhounds are cared for.

NGW also attracted local media attention with positive coverage by BBC Oxford and ITV Border News visited trainer Joe Edgar’s Jubilee Kennels in Workington.

Talking about the week, Mark Moisley, Commercial Director at GBGB, said:

“When we first started talking about National Greyhound Week, we wanted to do something which would promote greyhound racing as an exciting spectator sport, attract new audiences and bring our fantastic racing community together.  Whilst the NGW-OBS races themselves were superb, there has been a real sense of community across the sport.  We saw large crowds at places like Oxford, Romford, Sheffield, Hove and Yarmouth and it has been great to see people talking about ownership, syndicates and homing our ex-racers.

“Along with other GBGB representatives, I was delighted to attend a number of meetings and it was great to talk to people – both current and new spectators – about our sport.  Thank you to all the tracks, trainers, owners and Greyhound Ambassadors who supported the week and made it such a success.  We look forward to building on this in the years to come.”