SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Arena Racing Company (ARC) has confirmed that greyhound racing at Belle Vue greyhound stadium has been temporarily suspended.
The racing group revealed that the lack of crowds has meant that fixtures have become ‘uneconomical’ to operate during the pandemic. As a result, Belle Vue’s existing BAGS fixtures will be moved to sister tracks within the ARC group.
Rachel Corden, Greyhound Operations Director, stated: “The suspension of greyhound racing throughout the national period of lockdown has had a significant impact on many businesses involved in greyhound racing, as it has across all sports.
“Whilst we are pleased to be back racing behind closed doors, having reassessed the short-term financial requirements, it is simply uneconomical to operate fixtures at Belle Vue at this time.
She continued: “We know how much local and national support there is for racing to continue at Belle Vue but, as a large site that relies heavily on the leisure crowd and without footfall it is just not viable to operate at this time.
“This decision will be reassessed at the end of August, and we would like to thank all of the staff and trainers for their ongoing support. We will be continuing to support those greyhounds, trainers and owners attached to Belle Vue with a similar support package that we have operated during the last ten weeks until we reassess the situation.
Yesterday, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) confirmed that tracks that have successfully completed Phase Two will be able to fast-track to Phase Four from 15 June, giving tracks the green light to run unlimited races with gaps of 20 minutes.
