We are now into 2018 and it is a couple of months since I was appointed secretary of the British Greyhound Breeders Forum. I’m pleased with some of the work I’ve been able to do and the feedback has been very positive. The upgraded website has proved to be very popular amongst visitors. Feedback also suggests that appointing representatives at each of our tracks has been a good move and people seem pleased to know that if they need support on a British breeding perspective, then there’s always somebody at the end of a telephone line or via email. I’m also pleased to have brought Floyd Amphlett of the Greyhound Star back on board with the BGBF. The ‘Star’ has been a mainstay of British greyhound racing for many years and it’s of mutual benefit to the paper and to the BGBF to have regular updates on all things British breeding contained within it. I’m therefore pleased to report that both John Marriott and myself have been granted monthly blog spots in the star. The idea is for both John and myself to each release a blog on a monthly basis, two weeks apart , therefore meaning readers won’t have to wait any more than a fortnight before receiving their latest instalment of British bred news. This of course being in addition to the regular updates on our own website and of course here on the official GBGB website. In this day and age people don’t want to be sat around for days on end awaiting information, it’s a here and now world and it is of vital importance that we get information out there as soon as it comes through the door. Yesterday’s news is now old news.

This leads me onto some concerns I have had since my appointment. People will soon realise with me that I’m not one for painting pretty pictures where they don’t exist. At Salacres kennels Peter allows me to get on with my work without wanting too much input. He has a trust in me to more often than not get things right. He might not always agree with me but he has faith in my ability to get the job done. Faith and trust. In my view that’s the only way to succeed in business and in life. At the BGBF things appear to be a little different. Over the past couple of months I’ve tried to get people to work as a team a little more, working the way I’m used to working , it’s difficult to get people who are set in their ways to change though. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I feel this will hold the organisation back, but i’m not a quitter , I never have been , so I will work away to the best of my ability and do what I can, when I can.

Sponsorship of our events is going to be of vital importance this year. Our budget for 2018 is the same as was given for 2017, and as I’ve said previously, without the generous sponsorship of Matthews Plants and Servoca Nursing & Care, we’d not have been able to stage the Romford marathon competition or the British Bred Derby at Towcester. We therefore need to be working overtime to ensure that we have as many sponsors put in place for our events as possible. This isn’t a time for sitting on our hands and waiting for things to fall into our laps. I’ve held early talks with a couple of potential sponsors, however these early talks need to be turned into concrete agreements at the earliest opportunity. Hopefully the deal makers can provide us with some much needed good news before too long so that the British breeding community aren’t left in a state of limbo as the year progresses. If we work hard, despite no increase to the budget, I do believe we can still achieve our aim of maintaining our current British bred calendar. We must work hard, though, and we must work as a team. Looking beyond this year, I do believe that with a little bit more in the way of preparation into our budget submission, we can aim even higher, not just looking to maintain our calendar , but improving upon it year after year.

Last year saw the inaugural running of the British breeders league, generously sponsored by http://www.higssolutions.com/ The league was won in 2017 by Brendan Keogh, leading player in the KSS Syndicate and main man behind the hugely successful pairing of Liz and Rab McNair. The whole team deserve huge praise for the success they’re achieving with their operation and they go into the GBGB awards at the Park Plaza later this month with leading claims in a variety of awards , not least of course the British bred sector.

Thank you all for taking the time to read the latest blog offering from myself and if I can be of assistance to anybody this year, please just get in touch.