CHAMPION trainer Mark Wallis has spoken for the first time about the threat to his career and the livelihoods of his family and staff following the curtailment of racing at Towcester Racecourse – after the track, the newest GBGB licenced venue which opened in December 2014 – fell into administration last week.

Wallis, speaking after two of his runners reached the Coral Champion Stakes final at Romford – a ray of light in an otherwise dark few days for the Imperial Kennels boss – said he was “devastated, shocked and felt let down” by those connected to the Northamptonshire venue.

“The buck has to stop somewhere and the Towcester directors, which presumably Lord Hesketh (Towcester chairman) and Kevin Ackerman (managing director) reported to, never gave any of us – and clearly neither staff at the track – a chance. We had no warning – it was a bolt from the blue.

“Maybe it was for them too, but you sensed something wasn’t right for a while,” he added. “They had set such high standards since opening, that once the edges started to fray you wondered if anything was wrong. But we were never called in, never really alerted, but no-one was making decisions it seemed.”

Wallis said he first heard of a possible issue when his kennelhand Kiera Cairns phoned late on Wednesday night to say trials the following morning had been cancelled. “I had a text from Keira at 11.23pm – I suppose it was fortunate I read it that late. We were due to load the dogs for Towcester trials at 6.30am the next morning.”

Wallis said after the initial shock and fallout from the decision to take Towcester into administration, his feeling was one of disappointment, given he had been involved in the venture at an early stage – and had been consulted on a number of issues, including the decision to tender for the Greyhound Derby.

“I’m not alone in that all the owners and trainers feel let down,” he added. “We are collectively owed a small fortune, but I especially feel for the racing office and paddock staff who worked so hard to make it the best track in the country. Towcester revolutionised the game in so many ways.”

The Lakenheath-based handler admitted to being owed in the region of £25,000 made up principally of owners’ prize-money and trainer payments, a situation which puts pressure on the business financially but has also left him deflated given the wholehearted support he gave to the Towcester project.

“I was singing their praises for so long,” he added. “They had such loyal staff and trainers like myself, Kevin Hutton, Heather Dimmock, Richard Yeates, Berni Warren, Hazel Kemp, and Wendy and Emma Richards, who all stuck by them through thick and thin from the very start – if only they had listened to the right people.

“They missed the simple things – like even charge a £5 or £6 entrance fee for Saturday nights, perhaps. Every person on a night out expects to pay something like that. Of course, that alone is not enough, but ultimately the free-entry policy was a complete disaster in my opinion. The betting there was a mess, too, queues regularly building up.

“But did they not see this coming? Should they have brought everyone in for an emergency meeting to see if we could save what was clearly a sinking ship? When Walthamstow closed we received a fax from the racing office – the Chandlers didn’t have the ‘balls’ to look you in the eye – and it’s almost as if history has repeated itself here.

“I don’t do regrets and will move on, and I’m sure others will too, but I really feel the sport is in a very sticky place at the moment. However, I’d like to thank Kevin Boothby (Henlow promoter) for accommodating us and so many other Towcester trainers – we’d really be struggling to take our team elsewhere.

Wallis praised the support of his owners. “I could’ve easily called it a day, but I looked my staff in the eye and thought they’d be gutted and out of work if I had gone down that route. Myself, my wife Sarah and our family – including my mother-in-law Linda (Jones), of course – are greyhound people through and through, and none of us can afford to pack in yet.

“Therefore, we’ll put 100 per cent into making things work,” he vowed, although he was critical of those who he describes as having “revelled” in Towcester’s situation. “There are some very spiteful people out there, many of whom have never lifted a finger up to help the sport, but now have the licence to criticise and say; ‘I told you so’.”

“That’s sad, but we’ll bounce back – both here at Imperial Kennels and as a sport. In fact, I’d love to see Towcester come back as a venue – if only to be used as a track to stage big nights and big events, with opens and competitions – perhaps to benefit the sport as a whole with profits going to every stakeholder.

“I’m still proud to be the current champion trainer and I really hope Mark Bird (GBGB managing director) can turn this sport round – he’s the best person we’ve had in charge, certainly since I’ve been a trainer, but what a job he faces! Thankfully he’s shown himself to be resilient already with those keen to do the GBGB down

“I think Towcester has also shown up the funding issues – and those bookmakers who still refuse to support greyhound racing real should hang their heads in shame for the lack of funding to help the sport progress. They still continue to make fortunes from greyhound racing – let’s hope we only get good news from now as I’m not sure I can stand anymore negativity.