JAYNE CLARKE

Weblog: A Bettor view of the world

A year of change, and more to come in 2012

When change is in the air it frequently brings feelings of apprehension as well as excitement. Well I have to say I’ve certainly had my fair share of both emotions in the past couple of years.

Firstly, as most will be aware, my initial encounter with greyhound racing came last February (2010) in Shawfield, near Glasgow. I was thrown in right at the deep end and had to absorb as much knowledge of the sport as I could whilst scrambling around organising and running our Scottish Derby.

It was a shock to say the least, especially as the previous ten years of my career had been primarily focused on commercial, retail and industrial property PR! Furthermore I was raised in Hong Kong – where horseracing is the only sport on which you are legally able to bet. Greyhounds had never crossed my path, but as soon as I witnessed Martin White’s Nambisco fly across the finish line at the 2010 Scottish Derby, I instantly fell in love with the sport. It was exciting and fast paced with plenty of betting opportunities. I wanted more, and it soon came my way.

During the summer of 2010 we discovered Drumbo Park on the outskirts of Belfast, Northern Ireland. What a modern stadium.  As soon as we saw it we realised why it had taken the region by storm, so how could we resist the opportunity to add it to our portfolio? We couldn’t. But before we made it public we had a website and shop to launch.

Ronnie O'Sullivan: a rocket fuelled by my sandwiches!

  PICTURE: Getty

Bettor.com was launched almost one year ago, late November in fact, and at the launch I had the greatest pleasure of meeting THE Rocket (Ronnie O’Sullivan) . . .  oh and buy him sandwiches, which he was quite picky about! He was fantastic though and so pleased to be able to play snooker with his fans in our shop. I actually think he’d love a day at the greyhound races; I’ve yet to invite him along but perhaps next year. He also genuinely liked our approach to betting and our aim to give sports fans what they want. He didn’t realise what a betting exchange was but I soon got him up to speed and then he was very much in favour of our 1.5% commission, of course!

So with the launch of Bettor.com, our Holborn shop and the new Northern Irish Derby, it’s been an action packed year. I’ve met some fantastic people and have loved every minute of it, but I am thrilled to be able to confirm that there is much more ahead. There's more features being added to our website and there are already plans in place for punters and trainers alike at our 2012 Derbys. I'm looking forward to next year already!

But talking of action packed, I’ve written this when on vacation with Sky Sports’ Julie Collier, however this time we were not at a greyhound racing track; we experienced a whole new world of sport on a trip that not only included the usual sun baking and sunset cruises but fishing competitions and pig racing! 

Oh, is it cocktail time?

If you haven’t experienced a betting exchange or want a change, take a look at Bettor.com. And if you sign up please let me know what you think. I'm grateful for all feedback. Just email me on jayne@bettor.com or you can follow me on Twitter @Bettor_Jayne.  I'll do my best to respond even though my trip introduced me to the delight of sipping a pina colada . . .

See you at Shawfield and Drumbo Park next year, if not before.

Jayne