Well here we go my first piece for the Greyhound Racing Weekly!
I’m sure those that know me will already be aware of my massive encouragement for ‘getting the kids involved’. Having two daughters of my own ‘Ciara’ aged 12 & ‘Shauna’ aged 9, its important that they enjoy being apart of this sport as much as we do. Patrick and I are lucky to have two girls that share the passion and enthusiasm for greyhounds as much as we did at their age. If you follow our social media you will see how much they are involved with the day to day care of our greyhounds, from feeding, grooming and exercise the girls have also been there to help with the birth of pups.
Having been around a racing kennel from the day they were born its easy to see why they have the knowledge and competence to handle a fully grown greyhound with confidence. I’m sure this sounds familiar to some with a lot of individuals involved in the sport growing up in a similar environment , However how many ‘new’ youngsters are getting involved ? What is the sport doing to encourage new faces ? We as a sport are great at promoting to our own but we need to do better to promote to the wider audience and not just in a trainer/ kennel hand capacity but from an owners perspective also .
Some tracks are excellent at getting children involved , with races dedicated to children where they all receive a rosette etc and hosting fun days in the holidays , These are great incentives and should be welcomed and encourage but can we go further ?
While I am not naïve enough to know you cant have children running around racing paddocks , would it hurt to have an opportunity for youngsters to maybe join in on a parade ( not behind the traps) but with the handlers on the main parade line? I appreciate this would need advance planning to ensure the selected greyhounds were suitable in the presence of children but I’m sure could be archived in prime times like school holidays or a Saturday or Sunday. Maybe on a ‘book in advance’ type system with say no more than two children max to walk with a handler and greyhound. Imagine the delight of a child proudly walking beside a greyhound and then being able to watch the race and enjoy a moment with the greyhound after the race , and then receiving their rosette! I’m sure a real sense of involvement and lots of conversation could come from this and who knows maybe lead to more visits to the stadium, at the end of the day happy children equals happy parents , which in time could lead to more for example ownership or career involvement.
Going further again could an open day/tour be achievable , behind the scenes of tracks maybe a tour of the paddock area ( on a non race day or in the afternoon before weigh in is due ) to show where the greyhounds are housed while they wait for their races and what preparation is involved before hand , maybe a little presentation from a track vet , paddock staff member and a trainer or kennel hand to explain their roles. We all know the propaganda antis like to voice , could this help just a little to set the record straight so to speak.
I have to applaud Hove Stadium for their continued work on promotion to families, after speaking with Lena ( Hoves General manager) it was encouraging to hear that the number of children welcomed into the stadium had in fact increased in 2023 from previous years.
When they began the family ‘Meet and Greets’ I was lucky enough to be directly involved myself , Its a great success with plenty of families getting involved to have their moment with a greyhound . I remember a Thursday evening with one of our own greyhounds ‘Slippery Maia’ being the greyhound selected for the event , after her race we made our way to the podium only to see a que formed all the way down the brick wall ( that surrounds the trackside) it was amazing , Maia took it all in her stride and was patient while groups of children and families made their way to meet her , what’s great is its not just a photo , so many questions are asked about racing greyhounds from what do they eat, to how fast do they run and how can we adopt a retired racer !!! Its a great chance to show off racing greyhounds and get those all important points out there to the wider community.
With the Easter holiday just around the corner it was no surprise to see Hove advertise their family fun day. To be hosted on Sunday 31st March. Families can expect a great day out at the track with free entry , Meet and greets with racing greyhounds and all children that enter the stadium getting a free goody pack and a souvenir medal to take home. Retired racing greyhounds will be walking around the stadium, engaging with the public while fundraising for retired greyhound Charites. There will also be crafts available ( wooden Easter egg decoration) & little Easter treats for children booked in advance, I also hear that a sweetie cart is available !!!
I’m sure this will be just as much a success as previous fun days Hove have hosted and I’m looking forward to being involved where hopefully I will be able to report back with lots of photos and content from the day .
For now I wish you all a Happy Easter and welcome any ideas you have to encourage new faces into our sport .
Jade Browne
