“Business as Usual” for Abrey and Hove After Busiest Night of Greyhound Racing in 2025

“Business as Usual” for Abrey and Hove on Back of Blockbuster Night

Hove Racing Manager Rob Abrey reflects on a night of top-quality racing at Hove on Saturday night, as rumours continue to circulate about the future of the Sussex track.

“It’s just business as usual down here,” said Abrey. 

“Greyhound racing is approaching its 100-year anniversary shortly—and why not keep going for another 100 years? 

How can anyone say anything when you’re putting on a great product like you did on Saturday? We like to think we put on a good show down here, and it was like an old-school night of greyhound racing.”

Biggest Crowd of the Year at Hove

“We had a really good crowd—probably the biggest one we’ve had this year. The sun was shining and everyone came out to play, so to speak. 

We had the top dogs on the track doing the talking, and I had to do a lot of talking off-course with the Gone To The Dogs show, but the talking on the course would’ve been better received than mine!”

Category One Stars Shine: Mongys Wild, Proper Heiress, Droopys Plunge

“We had some fantastic dogs who ran some great races. Mongys Wild was a lucky winner—he only just got up! He really showed what he can do. People want to come down and see the top dogs and he didn’t disappoint. Proper Heiress ran incredibly well.

I mean Droopys Plunge won the Derby, but will one of those three go on to win the Greyhound of the Year award? 

It was a really good run from Proper Heiress—his fourth Category One title this year, and his second at Hove after winning the Olympic last year.

After the first round, I thought Mongys Wild could’ve got beaten—but I was made to eat my words. He’s running so well right now, it’s hard to see how he gets beaten.”

Chelms Bear, Gold Collar & Olympic Hopes

“Chelms Bear looked like an unlucky loser in the Coral Sussex Cup Final—got into a bit of trouble at the third bend. I’m not saying he would’ve won, but it would’ve been closer—maybe a photo finish. He was eyecatching in defeat.

It was great to see two Greyhound of the Year contenders on the same card doing what they do best. We could have a fantastic Gold Collar or Olympic later this year with Droopys Plunge up against Proper Heiress. 

The Gold Collar runs in the last week of October and first few days of November over 500m. Then a month later we have the Olympic over 515m.”

Local Heroes, Sprint Stars & A Real Team Effort

“It was a great night’s racing. The sprint final was a brilliant line-up for a Category Two competition. Shadow Storm, the local lad, won—and I put him up the other day!

The marathon winner looked good on the eye. A couple of them dropped out a bit, but the winner looks decent. As Peter Harden said, they’ll struggle to find races for him.”

“We had five different distances, a great mix of categories, and a few shocks. A lot of fancied runners won too. On-course, we had a shock in Race 8—the trio paid £947!

Hopefully, viewers of Gone To The Dogs Live! enjoyed the show. With camera angles and proper coverage, it felt like an old Sky night. It’s great to showcase what the sport can do.”

Parade of Legends: Churchfield Syd and Droopys Clue

“It was also great to see two of our former stars on parade—Churchfield Syd and Droopys Clue. Droopys Clue was bouncing, but looked a bit confused when he reached the podium—you could tell he was thinking: ‘What am I doing here? I haven’t done any work!’

It was a real team effort here at the track—and it just showed what we’re capable of.”