Kibble and Biscuits Mick's Happy with Townsville ... - Greyhound-Data

Bundy boys bid toBundaberg bookieGary Hunt.bring back puntersFOR the past 20 years Gary Hunt hasbeen swinging a bookies bag inBundaberg.For 18 of those, he’s been a regularat greyhound race meetings. In fact, he’snever missed a meeting in the SugarCity.So when Hunt, 51, and newly electedcommittee member David Jonesapproached the local club with a fewideas to attract punters, the committeewas happy to take notice.“David is a car salesman, but isassociated with cricket and footy clubsin town,” said Hunt. “Between us weknow plenty of people around Bundy.”And therein lies a couple of ideas inwhich Jones and Hunt hope will get moreand more people going greyhoundracing.The idea is to hand out free admissiontickets to Saturday greyhound meetingsat Bundaberg. The tickets will alsoinclude a $10 free bet with Hunt at thatday’s race meeting, andmaybe even a free beer ontrack.“We will hand these out topeople we know on the hopeit will attract them to agreyhound race meeting inthe not too distant future,”said Hunt.“But the punters will haveto fill in their name andcontact details on the back ofthe tickets and we willeventually put these details into adatabase.”Every two to three months, anyone whohas previously used one of the free entry/free bet tickets in the past, will be postedyet another such ticket.“We know it is something small, but weare confident we will get some puntersback to the track,” said Hunt. “We willmonitor just how it is going for 12 monthsand see what happens after that.“We are also looking at every twomonths inviting all these people back for adraw for a $100 free bet. Obviously theywill have to be at the track to win.”Hunt believes punters need a bigwindfall to tempt them on track.“I’m thinking of approaching someonelike Ford or Toyota, and David being a carsalesman might be able to help, to providea car to be won in a tipping contest atBundy dogs,” said Hunt.“The punters would get an entryform into the tipping competition whenthey buy their entry into the racetrackeach Saturday.“They would have to select a horsein one of five races around Australia thatday. We’d keep a running tally of whereeveryone was coming in the competition,and after say six months, the leadingtipster would get the new car.“Punters would be able to buy moreentries into the competition.“The one thing I have against mostof these type of competitions, generallyit is almost impossible to win the majorprize.“But with this tipping competition,the car would go off. I would put inmoney towards the competition eachweek, and with a multitude of entries, itcould pay off the car.”Hunt wants to get punters out ofpubs and clubs and back to theracetracks.“Racing everywhere is strugglingthat’s why we believe we have to trysomething,” he said. “The club is happyto go ahead with the free entry/free betidea and we will look at the tippingcompetition in the short term.”The cost of breeding, raising, training andracing greyhounds has never been higher. Costshave gone through the roof and owners, trainersand breeders at the wrong end of the buyingchain are aware of the difficulty of making endsmeet and surviving in an industry where itseems impossible to contain costs.With prizemoney not keeping pace withinflation and expenses, the explosion in theprice of petrol, veterinary fees, the unbelievableincrease in everything needed for their dogs,plus GST on almost everything, no wondertrainers are at their wits end.The revenue crisis facing the industry andconcerns for its future also troubles thegreyhound fraternity. Despite increases intechnology, grass roots greyhound people areconcerned when they see increased staff levelsand expanding administration expenditurewhen in tough times, rightly or wrongly,they expect that belt tightening should startat the top. Simply, everyone should feelthe pain - everyone should hurt.Just the same, after that introduction, Iam pleased to say there are ways fortrainers to save some money and I willoutline some of these in this article.Some Ideas for Saving MoneyHere are some ideas and somecomments about each category later on.There are more, but the following is a start.Don’t duplicate or double dose.Look for discounts and special buys.Select appropriate pack sizes.Stay with basic product range.Don’t buy products on spec.Caveat empter - Buyer beware.Extra uses for old favouritesDon’t duplicate or double doseSome years ago I wrote about this topic,mainly because many trainers were not awarethey had been double dosing with supplements.This can be a problem as duplication isunnecessary, wasteful, expensive and at worst,harmful. I am not advocating trainers makewholesale changes to feeding programmes andsupplementation, only shedding light on theexpensive exercise of duplication.A good example is trainers using a multivitamin/mineral tablet, even though they useFeramo-Greyhound. No need for the tablet.Take it yourself and same some money, but ingeneral terms, you are wasting money givingboth to the dog.Simply, Feramo-Greyhound was formulatedby Vetsearch as the foundation supplement tocorrect minor imbalances and inadequate feedlevels in all racing, breeding and growinggreyhounds. It is manufactured to NRC nutrientstandards and has been updated over the years tomatch new research findings. Dr John Kohnke, arespected veterinarian, especially in the mattersof nutrition, developed Feramo-Greyhound forgeneral health and vitality for all stages of agreyhound’s life. Containing vitamins, mineralsand iron, Feramo puts back what the diet leavesout. All other Vetsearch products can be added toFeramo at varying dose rates. There may beoccasions where other vitamin/mineral extras areneeded, but your vet can advise you when this isthe case.MONEY SAVING IDEAS FORGREYHOUND OWNERSPart 1Please note: Although Feramo-Greyhound isused daily as a foundation supplement, stress, hardwork, regular racing and travelling can increasethe requirement for B complex vitamins andvitamin C. When this is the case supplementationof these nutrients helps to ensure vitality, maintainappetite and aid recovery after exercise. In thiscase Rebound tablets is the product of choice.Look for discounts and Special BuysDistributors and resellers of Vetsearch productsfrom time to time have discounts or special pricesfor greyhound products. Most people keep theireye open for such opportunities and buyaccordingly. Nevertheless, it is up to the reseller,but it never hurts to ask.Shop aroundThis goes hand in hand with the above categoryand astute trainers know where to go for the bestdeals.Select appropriate pack sizesSelecting appropriate packs as the best valuefor money is an old trick that most housewivescan identify with - especially as the larger packusually works out at a much cheaper price per dose.Depending on the number of dogs in work, trainersADVERTISEMENTcan calculate what size is best for them and howmuch money is available for them to spend. Forexample, with one or two dogs, you may considera 125 tablet pack of Beta-K and a 1kg Beta-Celwill do, but with more dogs in training a 500 tabletpack of Beta-K and a 2kg tub of Beta-Cel is moreappropriate - especially if they are on special ordiscounted.Stay with basic product rangeStay with a basic product range made forgreyhounds. Resist horse products and otherinappropriate preparations. Don’t chop andchange, it can be a disappointing experience. WhenDr Kohnke developed the Vetsearch productsabout 30 years ago, he designed a group ofproducts especially for greyhounds that would becomplementary to each other. These were productsof original research and not copy cat products.They were scientifically based and manufacturedto the highest standards. Vetsearch is a leader inthe world of research and development ofpharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements forgreyhounds.Don’t buy on specThis goes hand in hand with Caveat emptor.These products are often costly and have notechnical support behind them. Do they work? Dothey contravene the rules of racing? These are thefirst two questions I would ask. I would also askto see some trial work and scientific data relatingto them. If this data is not available - steer clear. Agood example of buying on spec is when trainersbuy potassium chloride in bulk as a powder. Thisis folly because when added to a greyhound’s dietit is quickly taken into the bloodstream and thenrapidly excreted before it has time to exert itsbeneficial effect. How different to Beta-K, thetablet with the same ingredient, but designed tobe utilised effectively as it disintegrates over aperiod of time within the short gut of thegreyhound. How do we know this? We knowbecause of tests conducted in the Vetsearch QA laboratory using standard tablet dissolutiontests show this to be so.Caveat emptor - Buyer bewareMy articles about Caveat emptor, in toughfinancial times, are more relevant than ever. Theold Castrol slogan oils ain’t oil is the bestexample of things that seem to be the same maynot be the same. This applies particularly inour industry where look alikes and copy catproducts surface from time to time, almostalways at a lower price, and then disappear. Inmany cases quality and manufacturing needscrutiny, especially in checking if formulationsare true to label. I have given examplespreviously of suspect products but privateanalysis of a recently introduced product to thegreyhound market showed it failed to meetspecifications with each of the constituentsin the formulation. Buyer beware, moneydown the drain in this case.Extra uses for old favouritesThis category, plus double dosing andspecial buys has the potential to save thetrainer most money. Years ago as a youngman, an astute veterinarian in a verysuccessful practice described to me themore uses you have for a product, the morevaluable it is to the practice and the client.Simple stuff, but when you think of it, animportant aspect of product selection. If youhave three or four used for one product the morevaluable it is to you, the trainer.In part two of this article I will include someextra uses and useful hints for Feramo,Recharge, Beta-Cel, Beta-K, Calci-D,Ironcyclen, White E, Neutradex and Reboundadvocated by Dr Kohnke and veterinarycolleagues at Vetsearch.The (September, 2005) Journal Page 6