This article originally appeared in the 30 November 2020 edition of the Racing Post. 

“When I joined GBGB as Commercial Director in August, I was keen to spend time speaking to and getting to know the various stakeholders within the sport. I wanted to hear from people at the very heart of greyhound racing, specifically around the commercial opportunities they thought we should be exploring and how they believed we could best promote the sport in order to reach new audiences.

Whilst the restrictions around Covid presented a challenge, I am pleased to have visited each of the GBGB tracks bar Shawfield which I look forward to getting to when it reopens. I have had many productive and lively discussions with trainers, owners, breeders, promoters, stadium management and track staff. I am grateful for the time given generously by everyone I met.

What is clear from these conversations is not just the love of their greyhounds, but the sheer enthusiasm for driving the sport forward. Being involved in greyhound racing is far more than just an occupation, and everyone I spoke to is steadfast in their determination to raise the popularity of the sport. The question is, how.

We must be better at getting our message across and accentuating the many positives that our sport has to offer. Our welfare and integrity standards are world-leading. The progress that has been made in recent years to raise welfare standards is hugely impressive and spectators can be in no doubt how much care and attention our canine athletes receive both at home and at the track.

Our product is fast, exciting, colourful and should be ideal to market to a new, younger crowd as well as retaining our core audience. We have tracks from Glasgow to Brighton, and live coverage seven nights a week on free-to-air TV. This is a sport that presents the opportunity, in more normal times, for a great night out, which we need to market to appeal to both men and women across a number of different demographics.

I have spoken to many people who can recall fond memories of a great night at the dogs, but who have not been back for several years. We need to translate this experience into people coming back again and again. This means engaging with those first-timers and getting greyhound racing into more people’s consciousness so, at the very least, we are in their decision-making process when they plan their next evening out.

Without question, this is a difficult time to be looking for additional revenue. Indeed many UK sports are facing similar challenges as shown by the scale of the emergency sports funding announced by the government last week. I do believe, however, that with industry collaboration we can secure commercial deals which will have a significant impact on the sport. With a live audience of 2 million spectators each year and with many more watching greyhound racing in betting shops, on television and online across the world, we have a very attractive offer for potential sponsors. We are, therefore, looking at all the possible routes to market that we can offer, whether this is through the traditional routes of race sponsorship and on track branding, or new initiatives and partnership opportunities.

One of these is working on the possibility of installing LED displays at tracks which do not currently have them. These would function as clocks, which many stakeholders in the sport have long called for, and would provide a new revenue stream for the tracks through advertising. We have a financial model that is viable and I am speaking to a number of possible suppliers.

I came to this role knowing that it would be tough but that there was huge potential. In order to capitalise on this, we must develop a more focused commercial direction to broker long-term and sustainable corporate partnerships. We have already seen three more bookmakers coming on board and we’re developing ever-closer partnerships with those already in place. Strengthening these existing partnerships has been key and I am pleased this is opening new doors and leading to an increase in revenue. Added to this, we have brought in external partners who have never previously engaged with our sport and have had encouraging discussions with many others who offer us potential opportunities.

And so, as we move closer to our second century, we need to be more ambitious, more enterprising and more adaptive than ever. We have a fantastic product, a passionate industry and incredible stars of the show that have given us some outstanding races this year. 2020 has been difficult for everyone; it is a year that will leave a lasting legacy across all aspects of life, but with the collective desire to see our sport grow, we can strive and hope for a brighter 2021.”