Greyhound Racing 2018: A Year In Review

As 2018 draws to a close we thought we’d take some time out at myracing.com to review what has been an up an down year for greyhound racing in the UK.

myracing.com Syndicate

Our owners in the myracing.com syndicate had plenty to shout about with a combine total of thirty victories this term. The current crop of dogs include Meenagh Mourinho, Jacobs Fire, Droopys Hyde and Droopys Nuka. We’re extremely proud of what they have achieved this year and with the help of Jim Daly’s Kelva Kennel we hope to be spending more time on the podium next year.

The death of Towcester

The biggest news of 2018 without question was the demise of Towcester, home of the Greyhound Derby. How could the sport’s flagship venue go into administration after what was the most successful Derby in living memory. As news filtered out and the story started to unravel it became apparent that Towcester had run into financial difficulties and shareholders had decided not to fund the track any further. We’re hoping that 2019 will bring about the resurgence of greyhound racing at Towcester but until then the sport will look continue to look at alternative arrangements for some of the big competitions previously held there.

Nottingham lands the Derby

With the closure of Towcester up stepped Nottingham as a worthy candidate for the 2019 English Derby. The greyhound community breathed a sigh of relief when the announcement was made in early December. The reason for this is that some competitions have had issues recently. Funding was slashed for the St Leger, and the Oaks nearly fell by the wayside so it was comforting for most when the announcement came. The one huge positive we take into the new year is that great supporters of the sport like Ben Keith and John Turner are still willing to put their hands in their pockets and sponsor our top competitions.

Superstar performances

We have seen many great spectacles this year with Dorotas Wildcat winning the Derby to King Turbo landing a record-breaking four category one competitions. After our latest article – the battle for greyhound of the year supremacy – the debate on who will walk away with the top prize at the GBGB awards has intensified with connections from both camps responding. There were other superstar performances to write home about over varying distances this year. Roxholme Hat smashed the Kinsley sprint track record twice in seven days. Brinkleys Poet did the clock at Crayford in a mouthwatering 22.85 and Roxholme Poppy ran riot in the Yorkshire St Leger for the Keightley team.

It really has been a year of highs and lows but the quality of greyhound racing still remains.

We landed a 25/1 acca on our greyhound tips last night. The first tip for Monday runs in the 4.07pm at Sheffield.