The Swindon Special

Post Date: 2nd January 2012

For this month’s Swindon Special, I wanted to talk to the owners, to see exactly what it was like owning a greyhound at Swindon Greyhounds. For this, I spoke to Jeff De La Cruz, the Chairman of the House of Razor syndicate, who have greyhounds with Kevin Hutton.

So, Jeff, how did you get into greyhound racing?

I got into greyhound racing via my dad who used to walk out flapping dogs for a Cardiff trainer and told me many a funny story about flapping in South Wales at places like Tredomen, Skewen, Hawthorns etc. I then started going down Cardiff Arms Park on Tuesday and Saturday nights until it's sad closure in 1977. I have been a fan of greyhound racing ever since.

How did you then get into owning a greyhound?

 I got into owning a racing dog after re-homing a lass from the now closed Fforestfach flapping track in Swansea. I totally fell in love with the breed all over again and had other retired greyhounds at home also. The one thing I regetted about these lovely dogs was that I never saw them race and decided I wanted to own a racer so I could relive the memories after they came home on retirement.

How did the idea of a ‘Racing Club’ come about?

 I came up with the idea of a Racing Club in my local pub, The Black Griffin in Cardiff on a March evening in 2009. I had taken the two girls I had homed up the pub and my mates always made a fuss. I suggested why not get a racer and was pleasantly surprised at the positive response. 10 of us formed a syndicate put a £100 each in to pay for a dog and £40 per month subscriptions. A committee was formed, of which I am the proud Chairman, and I was tasked to investigate which track and which trainer we would have a dog with. 
Being in Cardiff geographical considerations would be the main factor and also a BAGS track was paramount so we could watch the dog run in the betting shops. Monmore was considered but after I visited Swindon a couple of times it was an easy choice to make. Good safe galloping track and plenty of BAGS coverage and obviously the closest track to Cardiff.

And how does a Racing Club work?

The Racing Club works quite simply really. We are not a syndicate; we are a Greyhound Racing Club and operate as would a private golf club. Initially members would pay a joining fee (though that has since been waived) and a monthly subscription of £40. We are non-profit making and all subs are ploughed back into the Club after paying training bills and hopefully not many vet bills and any re-homing costs etc. The surplus is then held in our bank account, which as it builds up is used to buy new greyhounds. So the more members the more the racers we can fund. 
All members enjoy equal ownership of the dogs in the Club, again much like a Golf Club, where new members enjoy all the facilities of the Club regardless of the length of membership. So from the day a new member joins he has the same rights as a member of long standing. We have now got 10 members, 8 of which of long standing and 2 recent additions. These are all based in South Wales but there would be nothing I would like more than to have members from the Swindon area and next year we shall try to recruit members from the local Wiltshire area.

How did you come about choosing Kevin as your trainer?

Our trainer is Kevin Hutton and I am so glad I chose this man to be the Club trainer. 

When I was tasked to choose a trainer I went up to Swindon quite a few times and heard nothing but praise for Kevin (among others, I must add). I liked the fact he was young, willing to travel and above all successful. He also had a blog on the internet which I could access and read about his dogs. That was very important and why all trainers do not do this is beyond me. Trust me prospective owners find it very tough to gain info about trainers including such basics as telephone numbers, addresses etc. The amount of business lost due to this cannot be under estimated.

6 of us went to visit Kevin Easter Sunday at his kennel in Burford and loved what we saw. One of the member's wives was a stable lass in a horse racing stable and was full of praise for the way the dogs looked and the condition of Kev's kennels, and she should know!  So decision made there and then and we travelled back after purchasing our first dog Hell Razor. Razor went on to win 25 races for us and you could not have asked for a better dog with which to start the Club. 

What are the perks of owning a greyhound?

The perks of owning a dog is a difficult question. 

I think there is certain kudos of being able to say you own racing greyhounds. There is also the fact that you also empathise with all the other owners and dogs at Kev's kennels. You can enjoy the camaraderie of other owners at Swindon, regardless who their trainer is. 

However the main aspect for me is there is nothing like the anticipation of one your dog’s running and then sees seeing it win, what a buzz that is! There is nothing like it. Even when they get beat, it isn’t that bad, safe and sound is ALL that matters really.

Oh and the final perk is that you get the odd tip!

Do you have any issues with racing?

Any issues I have are minor really. 

Yes the prize money could be better, but it seems that is starting to be addressed.
I think the owners and trainers bar at Swindon should be just that. It does annoy me at times that I cannot get a seat for guests because someone has grabbed a table early and holds it for his mates and they are not connected with any dogs running that night. I would also argue that owners should not have to queue outside to get in and maybe a flash of the owner’s card should be enough. Maybe a small discount off drinks for owners could also be looked at? Remember we don't get 6 pack offers do we? 
A dedicated notice board for trainer and syndicate info would be a great idea too. Also a syndicate page in the race card is interesting too. Remember promoters, the more owners the more through the doors!

How do you find Swindon as a track?

I am so glad we chose Swindon as our base even though we recently had Darth Razor running down at Hove with Claude Gardiner training him.

Swindon, though a bit tired looking ( will the new stadium happen?) has a lovely friendly atmosphere From the very first time I went to Swindon I was made welcome, the locals are very friendly and I have met so many new friends and I mean friends.  The staff are brilliant from the door, to the bar, to the snack bar, other trainers and even the bookies are a pleasure to meet!

This was the thing I noted at Hove. Though the facilities are fabulous, it hasn’t got that Social Club feel about it. Swindon has and long may it remain.

The track itself at Swindon is also now so good for the main concerns, the dogs themselves. Well done Derren Sealey and all the track staff, you are doing a great job guys. 

How would you improve greyhound racing?

I would like to improve the game by major promotion of the sport itself and now the new initiatives that have just started to take place must be amplified.

For instance RPTV is a major opportunity to launch a charity type greyhound bet ( by all means keep some profits for the promoter ) by offering a decent amount of money to predict say 10 winners or 6 forecasts etc. something along those lines. People will start to tune in to watch, give out a few small prizes to keep interest up. The more that watch the more will come to the tracks.

Inter track must continue, but not so rushed next time ay? It was great to have a day out at a different track supporting Swindon. 
Owners bonus is a brilliant idea and so important for the owners like us, the bread and butter boys and girls. Nothing like winning a trophy, believe me. Trophies are tangible and memory giving, so some more of these please.

What is your highlight moment in greyhound racing?

My highlight? I have two big ones really. Darth Razor winning the club's first trophy down at Hove winning an Open 5 days after we bought him from Kevin. Made the 12 hour round trip from Cardiff on the train on a Sunday well worthwhile. He loved Hove so much we eventually moved him down there.
Hell Razor winning the Greyhound Scene Dog of the Year Comp  accumulating  I believe the 2nd highest amount of points in doing so, what a dog over 70% of his races he was in the 1st three.. Always had to put Razy into trio combo!

What would you like to see improved going forward?

Syndication or the way we run our Club to me is definitely the way forward. It is an affordable and easy way to enjoy this wonderful sport. It is so tough at this present economic time to commit to owning your own dogs. The more the merrier is the way forward, and do you know, it does not matter how many of you share the dog it still seems you own it really, trust me.

If I was in the GBGB I would be pushing leasing of dogs also, especially to Companies, let them have their company name as the dog name or something like that. The more you give the sport profile the better it will become. Tracks could do the same. i.e. Hire the Paddock Bar or book 6 seats in the Restaurant and have a trainer owned dog as yours for the night etc.  Promote, promote, promote.

Do you have any new dogs in the pipeline, or any others we should keep our eye on?

Since the retirement of Darth and Razor recently, the club has only Mutter to Razor and Der Lone Razor running. However we will be off to Ireland in the spring to see what we can buy at the sales.

Der Lone Razor we are quite excited about. Only a Jun’10 pup he has already won 3 for us and has all the makings of a decent little stayer, though we won't be pushing him down that route until he grows up. He's had a rest and hopefully will soon be shifting up the grades.

I have a share in Flag Officer who is a flier out of the traps and has some serious early.  Kevin is very hopeful that this lad will soon be hitting the Open scene. I also have a share in a new intake to Kevin's kennel. He's called Sligo Mick and is a lovely looking dog with fantastic conformation and again hopefully the Open route beckons with him.

Crinkill Jewel is one of Kev's that looks to have a very bright future in stayer’s races around the country. She's gorgeous looking too!