Last week, veterinary surgeons working at racecourses across the country gathered at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium to discuss the latest research and best practice in greyhound health and care.

GBGB’s annual veterinary training day once again provided a forum for over 20 of the sport’s veterinary professionals to exchange ideas and hear presentations from specialists to support their day-to-day work with greyhounds.

Featuring a selection of guest speakers, this year’s talks spanned a broad range of topics – from updates within the wider veterinary sector to specific sessions on greyhound nutrition and disease prevention. There were also some hands-on demonstrations with new techniques and tools such as thermal imaging and how these can benefit injury prevention and treatment.

During the day, GBGB’s Barry Sangster, part of the new and growing group of Regional Regulatory Veterinary Surgeons (RRVs), gave an insight into his experience with a particular focus on the feeding of meat to greyhounds and how to ensure quality meat suppliers. He was later followed by Sarah Cochrane – who will be taking up a role as track vet at the newly licensed Valley Greyhound Stadium in Wales – to talk about a recent example of cross-sector collaboration for enhancing veterinary care.

Dr Richard Payne also returned for this year’s event to present on the latest research being delivered in partnership with GBGB and the University of Nottingham. With the support of the new RRVs, Richard has been able to expand his research into disease monitoring in the greyhound population to inform his research and improve their care.

The day came to a close with an update from Professor Madeleine Campbell, Board director and author of GBGB’s long-term welfare strategy, ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’. With implementation of the strategy now firmly underway, this was an opportunity to discuss how new initiatives were making an impact and what will continue to be put in place from 2024.

Tiffany Blackett, Executive Veterinarian at GBGB, said:

“It was fantastic to see so many vets from around the country attend the annual conference and to be able to take the opportunity to share, learn and plan for the coming months and years.

“As members of the veterinary community, we all recognise the importance of staying at the cutting edge and sharing best practice, so we are grateful to our excellent selection of speakers for facilitating such productive discussions.

“From looking at how the new research findings can continue to enhance our understanding of greyhound health, to furthering our knowledge based on the broad veterinary experience that our RRVs bring to the team, I hope everyone will agree it was a valuable day.

“Thank you to everyone who attended and of course to Nottingham Greyhound Stadium for their wonderful hospitality once again.”