Greyhound Racing UK finds itself at a crossroads

The future of greyhound racing itself could be at stake

More than 14 months since Mike Davis bought the Greyhound Star and almost six since the launch of Greyhound Racing UK, the company has found itself at a crossroads.

The business has proven that it is capable of marketing greyhound racing, run a Derby campaign, produce daily editorial content on tipping, news, views and politics as well as help to give a boost to the rehoming of the great athletes that this sport.

A recent push back against those that are anti the sport has been the first real test that companies like Animal Aid and the Blue Cross has faced when it comes to greyhound racing. Until now, they have been able to spread their misinformation unchecked, but Greyhound Racing UK has put themselves front and centre to try to get the man on the street to understand what really happens with the stars of our sport.

All of this has been put together by Davis’s team using his own money. Davis pledged three million across up to three years when the plans were announced in the summer of 2024, putting together a team with collective skills that has not been seen within the sport before.

Greyhound Racing UK was set up as a not-for-profit organisation with the intention of all money above operating costs being invested back into the sport. This was evident even before the company was soft launched with the sponsorship of a number of competitions, including the Category One Blue Riband at Towcester in January.

The Greyhound Derby had everything thrown at it, with every race shown live on Gone To The Dogs. Final night saw more than 10,000 concurrent viewers at the peak of the broadcast with more than 170,000 views across the competition as a whole.

Another huge success for Greyhound Racing UK has come via the Barking Mad Betting brand. The YouTube channel has produced more than a million views in only four months, bringing new viewers into the sport with Ryan Conneely reporting at Nottingham on Monday that he met visitors who were making their first visit to a greyhound meeting because of the channel.

The feedback since the start of the organisation has been excellent but there is no way to continue down the current path that Greyhound Racing UK are forging without outside investment. As such, Davis sent a presentation and an email out to the stakeholders in the sport on Thursday to ask how they view the future.

In the email Davis says “All stakeholders in the industry can now see the work that has been completed and the results. The dilemma is now upon us about whether we want to continue as a sport with all of the activity, parts of the activity or none of the activity.

“Having funded everything to get us to this point, I cannot justify further funding into the project given the demonstration of the initial objectives where we have tested different engagement approaches, provided critical assessment and gathered significant engagement.

“I am asking for all of you to consider whether you would like our promotional work for greyhound racing and homing to continue and, if so, in what format? What elements should be focussed on and should this be in a separate organisation or be integrated into an existing organisation?

“A funding model is also required to support the work and I would welcome views on how this could be achieved. I am happy for the brand assets and systems that have been created to be transferred to another organisation, if being carried forward.

“If commitment to continue the work and associated funding is not indicated in the next week, I intend to close down Greyhound Racing UK and mothball the brands on 30th September.”

We await the stakeholders to see what the next steps are.