Trainer of the Year standings

Trainer of the Year standings 

The latest standings for the trainer of the year have been published on the GBGB website with Mark Wallis and Patrick Janssens at the top of the list. 

First, let’s look at wins. Mark Wallis is out in front with 106 wins from 305 runners. Kevin Hutton is next in with 103 wins out of 344. Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby-winning trainer Patrick Janssens is in third with 92 winners from 248 runners, followed by Romford trainer Maxine Locke with 88 from 408 runners. Nathan Hunt (68 from 257) and Paul Young (60 from 388) are fifth and sixth. 

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain points system's current standings:

Mark Wallis 954

Patrick Janssens 667

Maxine Locke 475

Kevin Hutton 317

Nathan Hunt 277

The total prize money won column sees Patrick Janssens leading the way with £242,920 thanks to Droopys Plunge landing the £175,000 English Greyhound Derby at Towcester. Mark Wallis is next in with £168,690 and Maxine Locke third with £101,980.

The top performers for prize money from the Mark Wallis kennel in 2025 are Proper Heiress and New Destiny. Proper Heiress landed the £10,000 Ladbrokes Winter Derby at Monmore in February, beating Gary The Arb who finished second. In March, Proper Heiress was aimed at the Arena Racing Company Kent Plate with £12,500 on offer. The September 22 son of Droopys Sydney won his first-round heat by two lengths in 28.54. The semi-final was an emphatic victory by over five lengths in 28.47, and then it was all eyes on the final. Starting as the 5/4 joint-favourite along with March On Freddie, Proper Heiress put the race to bed at lid-rise as he produced a flying 2.99 sectional and went onto win by over five lengths in 28.17 (-30). Wow, what a run!

Next up for Proper Heiress was the Time Greyhound Nutrition Juvenile Championship at Towcester on 20th April with a huge £10,000 on offer for this one-off event. This promised to be a cracker.

Boylesports Blue in T1, Wicky Ned in T2, Droopys Plunge in T3, Proper Heiress in T4, March on Freddie in T5 and 2024 Irish Greyhound Derby winner Bockos Diamond in T6. What a race. The Graham Holland-trained Irish raider Bockos Diamond was sent off the 8/13 favourite, but Proper Heiress soon stamped his claim on the race with a 4.05 sectional that saw him lead round with Bockos on his outside. At the third bend, Proper Heiress kicked for home and took the race in 28.62. Droopys Plunge caught the eye staying on well for second and we all know what that superstar has gone on to achieve. 

The other big performer from the Wallis kennel is New Destiny, who won the ARC Grand Prix at Sunderland and took home the £12,500 pot for the MWD Partnership. New Destiny is the current ante-post favourite for the 2025 Coronation Cup at Romford, with the semi-finals taking place on Friday.  

Headford Dane from the Maxine Locke kennel won the 2025 Ladbrokes Puppy Derby final at Monmore, taking home the £10,000 prize money. This Category One success, where Headford Dane won all three of his races and finished in 28.09 seconds, stands out as a significant achievement for the Romford-based kennel.

Let’s look at win percentages for those with over 90 runners this calendar year:

Patrick Janssens 37.1%

Mark Wallis 34.8%

Liz McNair 34.3%

Kevin Hutton 29.9%

Nathan Hunt 26.5%

Seamus Cahill 23.6%

Dave Lee 23.3%

Maxine Locke 21.6%

Richard Rees 21.1 %

Belinda Green 19.4%

An interesting stat released on the GBGB Trainer of the Year standings list is the profit and loss column to a £1 level stake. In the top 20, only Newcastle trainer Jimmy Fenwick is showing a profit and that stands at £26.83. The north east-based trainer is currently 19th in the standings with 106 points, 17 wins from 77 runners and a percentage strike-rate of 22.1, with total prize money earned at £31,180. Of those currently showing a negative towards the top of the standings, Kevin Hutton is -£65.75, Maxine Locke is -£105.14 and Paul Young -£170.84.

There is plenty of top-class racing over the next couple of weeks, so these standings will of course change. 

On Friday, the Arena Racing Company Puppy Trophy final at Sunderland takes place with £7500 up for grabs, plus supporting opens.

The Coral Coronation Cup takes centre stage at Romford this Friday with three semi-finals and the £10,000 final a week later. Over at Sheffield, the Time Greyhound Nutrition 3 Steps To Victory semi-finals take place on Sunday and the £10,000 final on Sunday 6th July.

Next month, the JR Racing Juvenile Classic takes place at Towcester with a first prize of £10,000. While over at Newcastle, the Time Greyhound Nutrition Northern Flat final will take place on Thursday 24th July for£12,500 and is supported by the Category Two Arena Racing Company Angel of The North with £7,500 up for grabs.

Later in July, we have the £10,000 Pall Mall at Oxford over the four-bend 450-metre trip. The Category One final was won by Aero Sacundai in 2024 with the Richie Taberner-trained railer making all in 26.52.

August promises to be a cracker with the £10,000 Coral Sussex Cup taking place at Hove along with the £20,000 Premier Greyhound Racing Regency. Supporting on the night will be the Coral Sussex Cup Sprint Trophy with £3000 on offer and the Coral 500 Standard with £750 going to the winner.

Over at Monmore on Saturday 23rd August, all eyes will be on the Ladbrokes Gold Cup final with £10,000 in prize money on offer to the winner and £15,000 in total as the Category One event takes place over the standard four-bend 480-metre trip at the Midlands venue.

Churchfield Syd from the Richard Rees-Hove-based kennel won the 2024 Gold Cup, making all in a flying 28.00 seconds. Syd went through the competition unbeaten, winning by over four lengths in the heats and two lengths in the semi-final.

The Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic will also take place on Saturday 23rd August with £10,000 going to the winner. The Category One event over the six-bend 630 metres will attract the best stayers in the country in a bid to land the prize. Droopys Clue took the 2024 final, leading late on to pick up Queen Georgia, who attempted to make all. The Seamus Cahill-trained flying machine is due to trial at Hove this week. Keep an eye on him over the coming weeks. If he’s back to his best, Droopys Clue will surely go close in the 2025 Summer Stayers at Monmore in August.