Ms Brenda Powderly:

We did a survey a little while ago and the title we gave it was "Owning a Greyhound in 2015 is a Liability". As a result of the 20% cut to prize money, a greyhound must win, as Mr. Ryan said, 13 races a year. I will not go through all the examples. The first example we have here is of an A1- A2 greyhound, which is a decent greyhound, that wins €250 in prize money at Shelbourne Park. Of that money, 10%, or €25, goes to the trainer and 2%, or €5, goes to retired greyhounds. The trainer then charges the owner for transporting the dog to the track. There is also an entry fee. The owner must pay his own admission, even though he is coming in to see his dog run. There is also the average weekly training fee. When that is all put together, the trainer comes out with €163 and the owner comes out with €60. That is an A1- A2, which is a good dog.