Rookie's Fantasy

[scotty2hatty]

GL tonight Rookie and Rodney

[ChipRich]

norrrrrrrrrrrrrr, 2nd.

[Rookie (Rodney)]

Yup 2nd...

Main reason to be out for the last 2 weeks. He hit the first rails as he cut in and then bumped into the 4. He turned close enough though but going into the 3rd he was forced to check and seemed to go inside outside then inside again because he didnt get a gap! COming off the last he tried to go outside but couldn't pick up the 5. 5's first race at track, used to be A1 at Newcastle and doesn't stop tbh.

Happy with his performance, done better time than his previous race despite being out for 2 and a bit weeks. Hopefully he will run next week and be a good bet in the grade. He did his best sectional today, 3.82 which isn't bad for a dog that is as strong round the last two bends as he is!

[RoyCropper]

He showed his inexperience on friday night but I was very impressed with his gears and he is clearly crying out for further.
There are some weak as pisss maiden opens at hove at present and your trainer won one today with an a3 dog in a nice time 30.14 (-20)!
Give him a sprint trial and then go for a massive touch!! Dubai has an arrangement with one of the bookies there!

[Colchester Kev]

http://www.racingpost.com/news/greyhounds/

another track cutting back ... The sport is dying, such a shame.

[Rookie (Rodney)]

Rodney out Saturday night. 8.07, A2.

[TheChipPrince]

The sport is dying, such a shame.

Why do you think that is Kev?

[Colchester Kev]

The sport is dying, such a shame.

Why do you think that is Kev?

$64,000 question mate

There are many reasons why the sport is dying, fact is, its only the high street bookies that are keeping it alive.

Tracks are closing all over the country, attendances are poor.   Some "experts" claim that it is down to younger people not taking to the sport, saying that as the older generation leaves,  no one is taking their place and tracks are just bleeding too much money week in, week out.

Big TV meetings get attendances, and betting turnover is good .... but everyday meetings which the tracks need to hold are badly attended.

Bookies meetings "BAGS" are desperate, they have to have 3 oncourse bookies at the track and there are very rarely more than 10 or 20 spectators/punters at the track ... thats not a complete disaster as the high street bookies cover costs, but when the tracks have their own regular evening meetings the costs are huge, staff costs, and other expenses are far too high to maintain when crowds are so small.

Simple solution is footfall, without people coming through the gates the tracks cannot pay their bills, and more tracks close and sell out to super markets and housing developers.

Greyhound racing is a great spectacle, and tracks do everything they can to attract people in, entry to most tracks is around £4 or £5 and you get around 3 hours and 12 races for that price.  You can have a meal and a few beers in comfortable surroundings, and watch the action without having to stand outside, yet people just do not seem to want to try it.

I wish I knew what the solution was to attract people to get to a track and try it, I have started many threads on blonde to try and get a night out to the dogs sorted, yet it never gets off the ground, thats indicative of the problem the sport faces .... unless you can get people through the door, the sport dies ... at the moment it is in intensive care with its family around the bedside discussing whether to switch off the life support machine.

 

[AndrewT]

Just think of all the dog tracks there used to be in London.

Catford, Hackney, Harringey, Wembley, White City, West Ham, Clapton, Walthamstow.

All gone - there's just Wimbledon left.

[gatso]

Just think of all the dog tracks there used to be in London.

Catford, Hackney, Harringey, Wembley, White City, West Ham, Clapton, Walthamstow.

All gone - there's just Wimbledon left.

sigh, how many times. crayford is in london

[AndrewT]

Just think of all the dog tracks there used to be in London.

Catford, Hackney, Harringey, Wembley, White City, West Ham, Clapton, Walthamstow.

All gone - there's just Wimbledon left.

sigh, how many times. crayford is in london

Crayford = Dartford = Kent.

[gatso]

Just think of all the dog tracks there used to be in London.

Catford, Hackney, Harringey, Wembley, White City, West Ham, Clapton, Walthamstow.

All gone - there's just Wimbledon left.

sigh, how many times. crayford is in london

Crayford = Dartford = Kent.

lol, best argument ever

using the same logic wimbledon=cairo=egypt so no london tracks. that sucks

[Rookie (Rodney)]

New post on racing post website about possibility of Walthamstow returning to greyhound action.

[gatso]

New post on racing post website about possibility of Walthamstow returning to greyhound action.

what were the reasons for it closing? I assumed it had gone to developers

[Rookie (Rodney)]

It had. But no planning permission now or something like that means its sat doing nothing at the mo.