Vol 12 / No 7 3 July 2020 Fortnightly by Subscription calendar Greyhound Commitment Update Hot Weather Policy Re-released for 2020 TOWSTAR POPPY, trained by Anneliese Thompson and owned by The Towstars Photo: Anneliese Thompson/ Syndicate, enjoys a drink pictured at Haggswood Kennels, South Yorkshire. @AnnelieseThomp FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS - WWW.GBGB.ORG.UK Follow GBGB on Twitter @greyhoundboard @gbgbstaff and Instagram and Facebook CATEGORY ONE FINALS Date Distance Track Event Thu 30 Jul 480m Flat Newcastle RPGTV All England Cup Sat 01 Aug 515m Flat Brighton & Hove Coral Sussex Cup Sat 01 Aug 695m Flat Brighton & Hove Coral Regency Sun 02 Aug 480m Hurdle Central Park RPGTV Champion Hurdle Sat 29 Aug 480m Flat Monmore Green Ladbrokes Gold Cup Sat 29 Aug 630m Flat Monmore Green Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic Sun 06 Sep 480m Hurdle Central Park Grand National Thu 17 Sep 462m Flat Yarmouth RPGTV East Anglian Derby Fri 18 Sep 575m Flat Romford Coral Champion Stakes Fri 18 Sep 400m Puppies Romford Romford Puppy Cup Fri 25 Sep 400m Flat Romford Guys and Dolls Fri 25 Sep 925m Flat Romford Cesarewitch Tue 29 Sep 660m Flat Sheffield Gain Greyhound Nutrition 3 Steps to Victory* Sat 17 Oct 714m Flat Crayford Jay and Kay Coach Tours Kent St Leger Sat 17 Oct 540m Flat Crayford Ladbrokes Gold Collar Sat 31 Oct 500m Flat Nottingham Star Sports & ARC Greyhound Derby 2020 Thu 26 Nov 710m Flat Perry Barr RPGTV St Leger Fri 11 Dec 575m Flat Romford Coral Essex Vase Sat 19 Dec 945m Flat Brighton & Hove Coral TV Trophy Sat 19 Dec 500m Flat Brighton & Hove Coral Olympic *Subject to Stadium being open to public Further competitions to be confirmed. Above dates may be subject to change. ANNUAL VETERINARY KENNEL INSPECTIONS All Professional and Greyhound trainers are reminded that their renewal of licence for 2021 will not be processed without a Veterinary Kennel Inspection form for 2020. The Kennel Inspection form must be returned directly to the GBGB by the inspecting veterinary surgeon, to be received no later than Monday 7th September 2020. A copy of the form was included in the 13th March 2020 GBGB Calendar. A copy can also be obtained from any Racing Office, Area Stipendiary Steward or from the GBGB Head Office. GREYHOUND COMMITMENT UPDATE GBGB ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE CHALLENGING WELFARE TARGETS Figures released this week by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain show that the sport is on track to achieve the challenging welfare targets it set itself last year. The data, which has been independently verified by external auditors, accounts for every GBGB registered greyhound injured on the track or leaving the sport in 2019. Last year, GBGB set itself and the sport the challenging target to halve, within three years, the number of greyhounds being put to sleep on humane grounds at the track due to injuries. One year on, this number has fallen by 14% from 242 to 207. This is a fatality rate of 0.05%. GBGB also set itself the target to halve in the same period, the number of dogs being put to sleep on economic grounds or because no home was found. GBGB’s ultimate aim is to eliminate these deaths entirely. In 2018, 180 dogs were euthanised because of the high cost of medical treatment or because no home was found; in 2019 this figure fell by over 30% to 123 and no dogs were euthanised because no home could be found for them. The significant fall in cases of economic euthanasia is a result of successful new initiatives such as GBGB’s Injury Recovery Scheme which provides financial support to owners and trainers whose greyhound has sustained a career-ending orthopaedic injury at a GBGB licensed racecourse. The scheme helps cover the costs of veterinary treatment so that greyhounds can go on to enjoy long and happy retirements. To date, over £125,000 has been paid out through the scheme to treat over 400 greyhounds. The data also shows a significant reduction in those greyhounds put to sleep because they were designated ‘‘unsuitable for homing’. In 2018, 190 dogs were put to sleep for this reason whilst in 2019, the number is 56% lower at 83. This decrease is due in part to the intervention of GBGB’s Stipendiary Stewards who have been working closely with trainers to help them re-home their greyhounds on retirement. GBGB aims to decrease this number further by working alongside its welfare charity partners to establish an assessment protocol for these dogs and to explore ways of better preparing them for the transition to life as a pet. The 2019 data shows a 24% reduction in overall deaths across the licenced greyhound population from 932 in 2018 to 710 in 2019. It should be noted that not all greyhound deaths are related to racing; many racing greyhounds are put to sleep for reasons that equally affect working and non-working dogs of all breeds, including long-term health conditions and sudden death. Continued overleaf CALENDAR 1 Commenting on the data, Mark Bird, Managing Director of GBGB, said: “Across licensed greyhound racing, we continue to put our greyhounds at the heart of all we do and through our Greyhound Commitment we are relentless in our mission to uphold the very highest standards of welfare. “When we launched these targets last year, we were clear that they were ambitious and challenging but that we were determined to do whatever we can to achieve them. It is therefore very pleasing to see strong progress being made in reaching both targets. “As the sport’s regulator, we are clear with everyone in the sport that euthanasia on economic grounds is unacceptable and we will continue to work with trainers, owners, racecourses and our animal welfare partners to ensure that all avoidable deaths within our sport are eliminated.” Jeremy Cooper, GBGB Chairman, said: “It is encouraging to see these figures published today which demonstrate the significant progress that GBGB and the wider industry has made since the launch of the Greyhound Commitment two years ago. “Our aim is that every licenced racing greyhound enjoys a competitive career on the track followed by a long and happy retirement as a pet. The figures published today provide our sport with an accurate picture of where we are and, importantly, where we need to do more to achieve this goal. We are thankful for the support of the industry and our welfare charity partners as we continue to work towards our targets.” Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said: “I welcome the continued transparency shown by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain in publishing its annual data on greyhound injuries and retirements from the sport. “It is encouraging to see the progress that has been made; with the number of injuries on a downward trajectory and improved circumstances for retired greyhounds. We will continue to work with the sector to build on this progress in years to come.” The second annual update on the Greyhound Commitment, and 2019 injury and retirement statistics are available to view at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/ injury-and-retirement-data/. 2 VOL 12 NO 7 3 JULY 2020 HOT WEATHER POLICY RE – RELEASED FOR 2020 The Greyhound Board of Great Britain has published its updated Hot Weather Policy for 2020, setting out the guidelines its licensed trainers and racecourses must follow during periods of hot weather in order to protect the health, comfort and safety of greyhounds. GBGB’s evidence-based policies on racing in Hot and Cold weather extremes are a key component of its Greyhound Commitment and are under regular review to ensure that they are based on the latest veterinary and scientific research. The Policy aims to provide a structured approach to help mitigate the effects of hot weather on racing greyhounds. It is applicable to every situation where greyhounds are exposed to a risk of hot weather from residential kennels to the racecourse, including their transportation to and from the track. Commenting on its publication, Simon Gower, GBGB Veterinary Director, said: “This Policy provides a clear, evidence-based approach to dealing with hot weather to ensure that the right actions are taken for the benefit of all our greyhounds. In particular for racecourses, it offers important clarity regarding scheduled meetings and under what conditions they can and should go ahead where temperatures are much higher than normal. “With average summer temperatures steadily increasing, we have made a commitment to review and update our Hot Weather Policy in response to any changes made on ongoing research and scientific evidence. We are pleased to publish an updated version of the Policy today, which is the culmination of joint working between GBGB’s veterinary experts, our Welfare Committee and Track Sub-Committee, and collaboration with our animal welfare partners. “Earlier this year, we had a productive meeting with our welfare charity partners, where we discussed the RSPCA commissioned report into the thermoregulation in greyhounds, which was welcomed by GBGB and echoed our own commissioned study into the subject. The discussion and findings of these two studies have now resulted in some minor amendments to last year’s Policy. “We are very grateful for the ongoing engagement and support of tracks who have welcomed this structure and continue to be proactive and responsible in order to protect the welfare of greyhounds during these warmer months.” GBGB’s Hot Weather Policy is available online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/rules- regulation/policies-procedures/ (under ‘policies’) and copies have been sent to all racecourses. CALENDAR 3 IMPORTANT NOTICES Complaints The Greyhound Board of Great Britain will receive complaints in confidence from anyone concerned about a possible breach of the Rules of Racing.