Greyhound races continue after traps investigation
Premier Greyhound RacingGreyhound races at a city venue have continued after traps malfunctioned twice in five days.
Fixtures at Sunderland Greyhound Stadium were cancelled following the incidents towards the end of November.
It said investigations found sand contamination had caused an intermittent fault in the system via which the traps work.
A spokesperson for Arena Racing Company (ARC), which operates the venue, confirmed racing had resumed on Monday after new airlines, components and compressors were installed.
They added there had been no issues with the traps since fixtures restarted.
Racing had to be stopped on 25 November after the traps at the 450m start failed. It followed an issue with separate traps at the 261m race on 21 November.
The stadium said equipment had been fully tested before the events and no problems had been found.
Regional manager Joanne Wilson said the dogs were well.
"We would, of course, like to apologise to the connections of the greyhounds involved in both of these incidents," she added.
"Whilst the entire Sunderland team have been distraught at what happened, they have been working incredibly hard to get to the bottom of the matter."
'Checks expanded'
Ms Wilson said the trap manufacturer and a specialist track consultant attended the venue.
All underground parts of the airlines, which are part of the pneumatic system via which the traps operate, were reviewed.
"It was discovered that the underground airlines had been compromised, which had resulted in sand contamination in the system manifesting as an intermittent fault," she said.
Dave Baldwin, head of racing (greyhounds) at ARC, said the company would be expanding check protocols across all of its venues with "immediate effect".
"Greyhound welfare will always be the priority at all of our greyhound stadia and we do not underestimate the seriousness of these two incidents," he said.
Both incidents were reported to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB).
CEO Mark Bird said last week the operator had asked all GBGB-licensed racecourses to review and report back on their current trap operational policies and maintenance procedures.
According to the RSPCA, there are only nine countries in the world that still allow commercial greyhound racing, including all four UK nations. There are plans to ban the sport in Wales and Scotland.
