LES FOWLER

This is my old friend Les Fowler proudly wearing his medals on Remembrance Day annually in Luton.  Les often paraded a greyhound for me at Bedford, Cambridge, Luton, Milton Keynes, Bury St Edmunds, Northampton, Earls Barton or Huntingdon.  These were independent tracks which the NGRC did not approve of.  They were in fact owned by decent law abiding people who loved the sport and the greyhounds.  No owner or trainer was forced to run their hound if the surface of the track was unsafe.  We could not race our dogs in their registered names.  Consequently these tracks did not attract large attendances and they gradually were closed.  There used to be over 120 of them.  Sadly there are now only six or seven in operation.  Of course over 100 of the official tracks have also been closed. 

There used to be 14 in the great city of London; now there is only Wimbledon.  Scandals such as wrong decisions and false race times have destroyed confidence in the sport.  The White City used to attract 30,000 spectators to the Derby.  Now 2,000 is regarded as a big crowd.