BGRF - British Greyhound Racing Fund 2007

Towards the end of last year the Donoughue Review was published. This was an independent review into the governance of greyhound racing in Great Britain conducted by Lord Donoughue and set up to ensure that greyhound racing has in place the structures and procedures it needs to take the sport forward in the years to come. At the time of writing a transitional committee has been set up to consider how to implement the recommendations, so it is too early to say how this will impact upon the BGRF but the Review has been welcomed by my board. In recognition of the importance of this exercise to the future of greyhound racing and in response to representation by the BGRB the BGRF has awarded £0.5m towards the costs of transition which is expected to complete by the autumn of 2008.

Income

Our income in 2007 from bookmakers’ contributions was £11.24m, just a fraction down on the record £11.5m collected in 2006.

We receive audit certificates from major contributing bookmakers (shown here). We continue to encourage voluntary audit certificates from the medium sized companies as well, not least so that we can demonstrate to Government that the voluntary arrangements continue to be a success. The rate of voluntary contribution remains at 0.6% of all greyhound betting turnover and audited contributors must show that they contribute at this level. In 2008 there will be a major drive to encourage non-contributing bookmakers to join the growing list of those making the prescribed level of contribution. We are particularly keen to encourage more sole traders and small to medium sized concerns to support the Fund, at whatever level of greyhound betting turnover applies. There really is no excuse for bookmakers taking bets on greyhound racing not to contribute at what is a reasonable rate agreed with the ABB.

Welfare

Greyhound welfare continues to be the Fund’s priority. See here for the historic spend on welfare initiatives.

Under the Chairmanship of John Haynes, the BGRB Welfare Standing Committee has overseen a programme of investment unprecedented in the history of the sport. During 2007 £3.8m was spent on a wide range of welfare improvement initiatives (out of a total of £12.1m, or 31%). Within that spend, £0.5m was allocated to track safety improvements with the aim of reducing injuries and extending racing careers. Almost every NGRC track has benefited and feedback from trainers, greyhound owners and racing managers has been positive.

A programme of welfare research, including work at the University of Liverpool and an examination of potential new track surface materials, is helping to ensure more decisions are taken on the back of scientific evidence and not anecdotal opinion. The Training and Education scheme has included seminars for trainers and track ground staff, as well as the increasingly popular NVQ course for kennel hands. The Trainers’ Assistance Fund has helped over 200 trainers improve their facilities for the benefit of greyhounds in their care. This fund also provides emergency financial assistance in times of crisis, for example, during the floods of 2007. Record BGRF support for the Retired Greyhound Trust has been matched by record levels of re-homing — around 4,500 dogs in 2007, more than twice the number homed in 2002. This continues to be a national effort involving countless unpaid volunteers alongside an increasing number of full-time, dedicated workers.

Many of Lord Donoughue’s Review findings relate to welfare provision and the sport will be looking over the months to come to find where improvements in procedure can be made.

Integrity

A total of £1.7m was spent on the support of racing integrity in 2007. The BGRF continues to support the NGRC drug testing programme in full and to pay for drug research. The level of support for these programmes remained similar to 2006, at £1m. Grants were made directly to racecourses to support paddock security measures and to stadia needing to upgrade their security measures for example by ensuring CCTV coverage in the paddock. The BGRF continued to fund the earmarking of greyhounds.

Racecourses

A total of £2.1m was provided in grants towards a variety of projects during 2007 (see here for complete list). The Fund’s system of match funding, where many projects are supported by a grant of up to 50% of net expenditure encourages investment into the industry at a time when the evening leisure market is highly competitive. The sport relies on profitable and successful businesses to stage greyhound racing to the highest standards.

Prize money

Prize money support remains the second largest area of expenditure for the Fund at £2.2m (18% of budget) and we work closely with greyhound owners and racecourse operators to ensure that prize money support reaches across graded racing at all racecourses .

Marketing & IT

Marketing support in 2007 rose to a total of £1.5m (£0.8m in 2006) in response to difficult trading conditions and increasing competition. This included support for initiatives continuing from the previous autumn of the national television advertising campaign, when commercials promoting "A Night at the Dogs" were aired on ITV1, 2 and 4. We also supported the launch of the Greyhound Sporting Leagues, an initiative designed to encourage amateur sports players and their supporters to visit a local track, raising funds for their clubs and introducing new customers to greyhound racing. The first twelve months of this scheme are yet to be completed, but has already bought an estimated 20,000 first–time visitors to racecourses.

Two significant IT projects were funded in 2007. The Reflexview project is a major step towards being able to replace the traditional greyhound identity books with a secure, electronic alternative. This provides for every greyhound’s individual markings and other identification details to be recorded digitally and made available to each track via a remote server. The project has been completed and is currently being trialled at two NGRC stadia with a view to a wider roll-out in 2008.

The Fund is also supporting the two-year long upgrade of the sport’s British Greyhound Racing Database, where every greyhound’s racing form is stored among details of every race and trial staged on NGRC-licensed tracks. The upgraded database will provide enhanced security and will greatly improve the ease of access to the statistical data it contains for those who work in the sport.

People

The cost of the Fund’s administration at £174,000 was slightly less than the previous year. We spent around 1.5% of our total income on administration, so 98.5% of all we receive goes straight to the greyhound industry, enviable statistics for any organisation and a credit to the directors and Fund Secretary Margaret Woodruff.

Last year saw the departure of Billy King after serving on the Fund board (for full list click here) since its inception in 1993 and we thank him for his fourteen years of service. We welcomed his replacement John Curran from the BGRB. Directors serving on the board committee presently are (in alphabetical order) John Curran, Clive Feltham, Tom Kelly, David Lipsey, Alan Ross and Joe Scanlon with myself as chairman. The audit & finance committee comprises Clarke Osborne and Ian Spearing. I thank all of my colleagues on the board for their work, which is undertaken on a voluntary basis, and I much look forward to the coming year and the many positive changes it will undoubtedly bring.

Charles Lenox-Conyngham
Chairman,
British Greyhound Racing Fund

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