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Swindon Robins 2020


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2 hours ago, JessicaJones said:

It was never my intention to “make up numbers” and I was typing on the go-actually while I was at Wimbledon. And sometimes there are typos and errors when you are typing on the go.

Oxford may have brought back speedway and that’s good news. The campaign to end the greyhound racing there (though the racing has not have started yet) will continue. Many of the local councillors are against it and LACS will ensure that the campaign is ongoing. So the future is not secured still if reliant on that. I believe that Oxford has other facilities too which should hopefully help to support  the speedway.

As we all know though, Oxford is a different situation to Swindon, which is owned by GI Ltd. I have delved into their accounts and into their associated companies going back many years and it’s been pretty obvious what their game plan has been. And greyhound racing at Swindon is not profitable for the company. The only way to ensure that the speedway team is able to continue is for the stadium to diversify. We pushed for the council to work with GI on this at least three years ago. We worked on developing good relationships with the councillors, council officers, residents and the local press. Hence I say that we could have had a good campaign if the two groups has worked together. 
 

 

 

How long you been in Wimbledon for ? who been making up figures since you been on this forum .. amazing your typos etc always make it look worst for greyhound racing .

Not sure when going to sink it but to two can never work together .. Get Greyhounds banned at Swindon and Oxford will not help speedway in any way .. 

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2 minutes ago, JessicaJones said:


 

I keep saying I and my “mob” are behind the speedway team. Have made numerous offers to help and support your campaign. We have contacts and could have worked together. Not one person has said “great, thank you-let’s do that”. 
 

Maybe you should ask yourself why .. We have all try to tell you but it just won't sink it 

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I heard on Radio Oxford either earlier this week or the tail end of last week that representatives of PETA were invited To the stadium to see the facilities for the Greyhounds and talk to those involved in running the Greyhounds, they declined

I'm rapidly approaching my 60th birthday in an an ever changing World, where what was common usage of language in my youth is now frowned upon.

I'd say in my life i've been pretty open and not given a toss about Race, Religion, Sexuality etc but to come across people who only believe what they want to hear/see and never listen to the otherside of the argument, you're all just narrowminded IMO.

Edited by Triple.H.
Typing too fast for my brain to keep up
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1 hour ago, Triple.H. said:

I heard on Radio Oxford either earlier this week or the tail end of last week that representatives of PETA were invited To the stadium to see the facilities for the Greyhounds and talk to those involved in running the Greyhounds, they declined

I'm rapidly approaching my 60th birthday in an an ever changing World, where what was common usage of language in my youth is now frowned upon.

I'd say in my life i've been pretty open and not given a toss about Race, Religion, Sexuality etc but to come across people who only believe what they want to hear/see and never listen to the otherside of the argument, you're all just narrowminded IMO.

Hi @Triple.H.
I understand why PETA declining to see the stadium might sound narrow minded. But it's not just about the facilities at the track - that's a very small part of it.  Greyhounds are put at risk every time they are raced.  The kennels at the track themselves could be luxurious but as soon as the greyhound is on the track, there is a risk it could break a hock, break its back or collide with other dogs.  That's why every track has to have a freezer to store the bodies of dead dogs - the tracks expect that dogs will die racing.

Also, the track itself might have luxurious facilities but greyhounds are only kept there on the day and then are transported back to their owner’s kennels, which could be of an appalling standard.  I noted above about the trainer from Swindon who is keeping 50 dogs in an old grain store and another Swindon trainer was jailed in 2020 for neglecting the dogs in his care. The story was widely reported in the local paper at the time. You might have heard of the case. 

I have been invited to look at kennels but have declined as it's pointless.  They could be the best in the world but it doesn't change the risk that the dogs are put under every time they race and there are no guarantees as to what happens to the dogs at the end of their racing lives. I have seen too many awful stories for one nice set of track kennels to make me think that greyhound racing is ok. 

I hope that helps you to see the other side - that it's just not being narrow minded and that there's a lot more to it than just seeing the facilities at the track.

Best wishes

JJ

Edited by JessicaJones
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On 6/30/2022 at 9:37 AM, Trees said:

The SKY millions really wasn't that much was it though?

For a sport of the size of speedway the millions that did come in via Sky was massive however the money & the opportunity was completely wasted. 

When sky came onboard in 99 is was because they saw speedway as the next big thing.

Don't also forget that at that time the polish broadcasters were onboard to show live UK speedway in Poland. That was one of the main reasons Gollob was riding in the league.

It should all have been enough to restart the sport and put it in a far better position than we see it today.

It's a case of what could have been!

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On 7/3/2022 at 10:34 PM, Hackett said:

Imagine that the Abbey Stadium situation will follow a similar path as Brandon and Milton Keynes which I saw somebody highlight on twitter I believe.

Plans to rebuild Milton Keynes Stadium at the Elfield Park site near the Milton Keynes Bowl were unveiled in 1998 and early 2005. The plans failed to materialise and the Greyhound Stadium closed down on Boxing Day 2005, it became derelict and then suffered major fire which resulted in the demolition of the site before a housing estate replaced it in 2014. 

As for Poole - yes speedway is the town's premium sport but will that matter when the Council see the colour of money for property development .. I doubt it. 

 

I really want to see Poole continue well in to the future unlike some I have a soft spot for the pirates.

I also really want to see speedways survival & for it to grow. 

I fear the issue for Poole is while it's the town's premium sport & has the support of the council, the council might decide to take the money from a developer rather than take a risk that speedway will still be around in 5 to 10 years.

That as I see it is the major issue the rate of decline in attendance figures coupled with the amount of track closures doesn't make speedway seem like a good medium term risk.

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Speedway & Greyhound racing have always worked well together. The race circuits are the same shape & with the speedway on the inside the greyhound track offers a safety zone to protect the public from low flying motorcycles. the safety zone is required in the speedway rules (2M minimum). In current times it is difficult to finance any arena to host a single sport more so when the sport is seasonal. Greyhound racing can opperate all year & several times a week & even practice or trial in the daytime with little or no noise.

Maybe we loose a massive amount of dogs after their racing careers are over & that is a sad situation & in a pet friendly country it should never be that bad, I know there are organisations that rehome retired greyhounds.

I think racing dogs are some of the best looked after before & after they race they undergo a medical examination by a vet, All the dogs must be registered, I know in the 80's this was a number tatoo in the ear but I imagine now it would be a chip.

After racing is the issue. But what if there were no racing.... What would happen to all the dogs already in training?... What would happen to this breed? No racing would equal no need for the breed... Would the greyhound fall so far out of favour that the whole breed would dissapear or become so small in numbers that the breed would become a single mutation carrying any abnormalities through its gene pool.

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1 hour ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

I really want to see Poole continue well in to the future unlike some I have a soft spot for the pirates.

I also really want to see speedways survival & for it to grow. 

I fear the issue for Poole is while it's the town's premium sport & has the support of the council, the council might decide to take the money from a developer rather than take a risk that speedway will still be around in 5 to 10 years.

That as I see it is the major issue the rate of decline in attendance figures coupled with the amount of track closures doesn't make speedway seem like a good medium term risk.

And to be fair to even the most compliant and supportive of councils.. 

Seeing clubs close each season due to a lack of support for the sport can not fail to start to seep into their judgement making (maybe even getting mentioned by developers as persuasive leverage)...

And a chance to get £60k a month tax, ad Infinitum, from 300 houses, not to mention several million pounds up front, most be extremely tempting..

Even more so when a recession bites and cuts to services are an inevitable consequence..

An elected representative has a choice to provide services to over several hundred thousand people, or keep providing an evening out for much less than just a couple of thousand of them..

If I was putting myself up for a public vote at election time, I know what I would do...

Edited by mikebv
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Hi @Technik

I think I’ve answered most of your questions about greyhound racing in previous posts. On the question of whether greyhounds would be bred if not raced, greyhounds as a breed have been around for 1,000s of years. They have only been raced in this country for less than a hundred so the chances that they would die out as a breed are slim. I also had this discussion with Baiden on a previous few posts about the number of greyhounds that are bred for the industry and then discarded as wastage, either before, during or after their racing lives. Whilst they are used as commodities, they will always - sadly - be abused. Abuse in the industry is rife but of course that’s not the picture that the tracks want people to see when they visit. 

These questions are all addressed on our website-Stop Swindon Greyhound Racing-under FAQs if you wanted to have a look.

I accept the point about the two tracks working well together but the fact is that the economic case for greyhound racing is waning. For Gaming International, it is not a profitable business and my argument has always been that to rely on greyhound racing would be to hasten the end of the speedway in Swindon, not keep it going. Spectator numbers at tracks are now very low as the public doesn’t support it in large numbers anymore and the BAGS racing money doesn’t seem to cover the running costs. Far better for GI to diversify in order to support the speedway. Suspect it is too late now though.

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Hi @mikebv

You’re probably right but I have sat through some long council planning meetings at which the stadium development has been discussed and all the councillors seemed to be very passionate about wanting to keep the speedway going. (The local MP has said the same but I don’t think he cares about very much other than his own career.) The councillors have all argued that speedway is very important to Swindon. 
 

You have a good point though about the dwindling spectator numbers potentially being used as an excuse not to progress with the stadium build. But I doubt many councillors would come out and say publicly that they would prioritise the house building over the speedway track. 

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8 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

I really want to see Poole continue well in to the future unlike some I have a soft spot for the pirates.

I also really want to see speedways survival & for it to grow. 

I fear the issue for Poole is while it's the town's premium sport & has the support of the council, the council might decide to take the money from a developer rather than take a risk that speedway will still be around in 5 to 10 years.

That as I see it is the major issue the rate of decline in attendance figures coupled with the amount of track closures doesn't make speedway seem like a good medium term risk.

You make some very good points there! I guess all you can so is put pressure on the council that it is wanted to stay in the town and hope that they agree! I don't think The Ford's will let it go without a fight though. So if they can't save it, I don't think anyone else can imo. 

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20 hours ago, JessicaJones said:

Hi @Technik

I think I’ve answered most of your questions about greyhound racing in previous posts. On the question of whether greyhounds would be bred if not raced, greyhounds as a breed have been around for 1,000s of years. They have only been raced in this country for less than a hundred so the chances that they would die out as a breed are slim. I also had this discussion with Baiden on a previous few posts about the number of greyhounds that are bred for the industry and then discarded as wastage, either before, during or after their racing lives. Whilst they are used as commodities, they will always - sadly - be abused. Abuse in the industry is rife but of course that’s not the picture that the tracks want people to see when they visit. 

These questions are all addressed on our website-Stop Swindon Greyhound Racing-under FAQs if you wanted to have a look.

I accept the point about the two tracks working well together but the fact is that the economic case for greyhound racing is waning. For Gaming International, it is not a profitable business and my argument has always been that to rely on greyhound racing would be to hasten the end of the speedway in Swindon, not keep it going. Spectator numbers at tracks are now very low as the public doesn’t support it in large numbers anymore and the BAGS racing money doesn’t seem to cover the running costs. Far better for GI to diversify in order to support the speedway. Suspect it is too late now though.

A number of people have told you already but you are still banging the anti-greyhound agenda on a speedway forum.  While you may be passionate about that subject, it is hardly a topic for this forum.  We want Swindon Speedway back and that means having the dogs too - as it has been for most of the last 50 years!  If you want to talk about speedway then please do but keep your anti-greyhound agenda to yourself please as you have already had more pages on the subject than I care to read!

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Hi @Steve0

Thanks for your message. Have you read any of my posts? My point has been that relying on the greyhound racing will mean the end of the speedway as greyhound racing is not profitable for Gaming International. I have made that point several times and that was the basis of our group reaching out to work with the speedway fans. 
Have a look at what happened to Wallyford Stadium. A half built stadium for years - started as a condition for further development of the site - until the company claimed that greyhound racing was no longer viable (as it is not for GI Ltd too). 
All the best

JJ 

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Hi @ruckerroo
Have a look at the Gaming International accounts to see what the company’s profits/losses are. They are all available on the Companies House website. Whether you agree that greyhound racing is cruel or not, you will see that the company is not making a profit from the racing. They are only making a profit from selling off land on the site.

The company has also bought up four previous greyhound/speedway sites and closed four tracks. 

I am not sure what you consider to be a conspiracy. 

Best wishes

JJ

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On 7/9/2022 at 3:22 PM, JessicaJones said:

Hi @Technik

I think I’ve answered most of your questions about greyhound racing in previous posts. On the question of whether greyhounds would be bred if not raced, greyhounds as a breed have been around for 1,000s of years. They have only been raced in this country for less than a hundred so the chances that they would die out as a breed are slim. I also had this discussion with Baiden on a previous few posts about the number of greyhounds that are bred for the industry and then discarded as wastage, either before, during or after their racing lives. Whilst they are used as commodities, they will always - sadly - be abused. Abuse in the industry is rife but of course that’s not the picture that the tracks want people to see when they visit. 

These questions are all addressed on our website-Stop Swindon Greyhound Racing-under FAQs if you wanted to have a look.

I accept the point about the two tracks working well together but the fact is that the economic case for greyhound racing is waning. For Gaming International, it is not a profitable business and my argument has always been that to rely on greyhound racing would be to hasten the end of the speedway in Swindon, not keep it going. Spectator numbers at tracks are now very low as the public doesn’t support it in large numbers anymore and the BAGS racing money doesn’t seem to cover the running costs. Far better for GI to diversify in order to support the speedway. Suspect it is too late now though.

Who would Breed Greyhounds for Pets etc.?  the answer is no one... I hate it  when people use example of bad practice and put everyone in the same basket ..The majority of Greyhounds are well look after.. You then go about supporters not following the sport and not making money but you then support speedway that has the same problem . All your points never make any sense. All your looking to do is to get support from speedway  fans for your group  as  you can't get enough yourself .. 

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10 hours ago, JessicaJones said:

Hi @ruckerroo
Have a look at the Gaming International accounts to see what the company’s profits/losses are. They are all available on the Companies House website. Whether you agree that greyhound racing is cruel or not, you will see that the company is not making a profit from the racing. They are only making a profit from selling off land on the site.

The company has also bought up four previous greyhound/speedway sites and closed four tracks. 

I am not sure what you consider to be a conspiracy. 

Best wishes

JJ

If they are selling off the land  what would it matter if Greyhound Racing was banned or not.. Still not sure how this would  help  speedway . If really cared about Greyhounds you would want  the houses to be built on site .  

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29 minutes ago, JessicaJones said:

Hi Orion

I can see that you’ve posted messages in response but I have muted you so no idea what you’ve said. Life is better that way!

Have a good day! 

It's quite clear  you not done that at all. That is the problem with people like you who have to lie all the time..Not sure why you go on a forum if can't take an opinion that is not the same as yours or be challenged  on the garbage and lies  that  you speak.. 

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