I believe that this was a sensible path for the Fund Board to follow; one which protected it and greyhound racing fromthe problems encountered by the Horserace Levy Board in the past when it committed to expenditure that, as it turned out, it could not afford.
PrizeMoney
The Fund’s contribution to prizemoney rose by £360,000 to £2.4m. The Fund is acutely aware of the importance of prizemoney and we were delighted to underwrite the Owners’ Bonus Series and to welcome its success as it continues in 2012. Other initiatives in this area outside the Fund’s remit have also led to increased prizemoney becoming available and this, in turn, appears to have stimulated interest in betting on greyhound racing, which is good news for the Fund provided other,more negative economic factors do not come into play.
Integrity
Integrity is of the highest importance to greyhound racing, for even a vague perception that the sport is not reliable and well regulated would greatly damage its standing both as a spectacle and as a secure betting product. Accordingly, during the year, the Fundmade increases to its contribution to drug testing, racecourse integrity grants and earmarking, total expenditure in this area rising from £1.2million to £1.33million.
Among other things, the integrity grantmade to all tracks rose from£105 to £115 permeeting, there was an increase of £40,000 towards earmarking and identification and a £30,000 rise in the Fund’s contribution to drug testing. These are relatively small increases, but they aremoves in the right direction, particularly given the general austerity that surrounds us.
Welfare
In tandemwith welfare and prizemoney, the third area ofmajor importance to the Fund is welfare, on which expenditure increased by some £155,000 to £2.98million, easily our largest expenditure head. Given the range of activities covered by the ‘welfare umbrella’, the increase is not huge, but in these hard times, it is at least going in the right direction. The largest recipient of welfare grants is, of course, the Retired Greyhound Trust, which received just under £1.4million compared to £1.5million in the previous year. The Fund’s contribution has slightly decreased in this important area, reflecting efforts by the RGT to seek new fund raising opportunities and to reduce the costs incurred in rehoming dogs. However, we remain strong and committed supporters of the excellent work done by the RGT.
Turning to welfare in general,much of the aforementioned increase of £155,000 was absorbed by the Track Safety Scheme, up from £222,000 to £351,000. There was also a rise in our contribution to stadia veterinary attendance.
Racecourse Improvements
At the start of the recession, one of the austerity measures adopted by the Fund Board was to eliminate improvement grants, which had been running at between £1.5mand £2ma year. However, there was amodest restoration during the last couple of years to around £0.4m- £0.5m as funds became available. Last year, we were able to invest £873,000 in improvements (with further funds remaining in the pot for allocation) on amatched-funding basis. The largest grant was one of £239,000, to Sheffield, half of the cost of an ambitious (particularly considering the times we live in) refurbishment scheme.
Annual Report 2011-2012 3
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