Oxford fallout leaves Hutton making some tough calls

TRAINER Kevin Hutton has admitted the closure of Oxford this month has led him to some soul-searching decisions.

Racing has been suspended at the Cowley circuit following the decision by Sports Information Services (SIS) to drop the track, along with Suffolk Downs, from its schedule, leaving both venues closed.

Both tracks were operated by promoter Kevin Boothby, although the lease at Suffolk Downs had been secured by Arena Racing Company before the SIS announcement.

Derby-winning trainer Hutton has been a leading name on the open-race circuit for many years. He was a real marque signing at Oxford when the former GRA circuit reopened after a ten-year absence in 2022 under Boothby, but is now in the process of downscaling the successful Burford-based operation he has built up with partner Donna Witchells.

He said: “Since the news broke there has been no further official communication and you find yourself hanging on for hearsay and rumours.

“We were fortunate enough to have been offered some great positions at tracks such as Monmore and Dunstall Park, and if either were on your doorstep then you’d be happy to run your dogs there.

“But we’re not geared up for that sort of travelling. Neither of the two girls we had working in the kennels drive, and we’ve had to sit down and re-evaluate our whole operation.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to rejoin Towcester, and I’m very grateful to them for the chance to do so, but we’ve also decided to scale down considerably and I’ve been speaking to all our owners regarding the situation.

“It’s really tough, but we’ll only be keeping around 20 to 25 dogs. Somewhere in the region of 30 dogs will be leaving the kennels – some have already moved on – and it will be just myself and Donna now. 

“It was heartbreaking to have to make the girls redundant, but given the financial implications of what has happened we had no choice.

“The years we had at Towcester back in the Lord Hesketh days were some of the best I’ve had in the sport, including the Derby win with Dorotas Wildcat, and if it wasn’t for Mike Davis taking over there I probably would have been looking at potentially walking away altogether.

“I’ve been impressed with the work that has been done there and am looking forward to getting more involved again, albeit on a much reduced scale.

“Losing Oxford is a massive blow for all who were attached to the track, but you have to look to the future. While we may not be hitting that top six in the Trainers’ Championship for a while, we have some really lovely greyhounds and will still be active on the open-race circuit when we can.”

With regards to the closure of the two tracks, GBGB chief executive Mark Bird said: “It has not been a good few weeks for greyhound racing and we are closely monitoring the situation regarding those who were attached to both tracks and the welfare of the greyhounds, both racing and retired.

“Our stipendiary stewards for both Oxford and Suffolk Downs are speaking daily to those affected by the closures.

“We are aware that some trainers have started trialling their dogs in at other tracks while others are still considering their options and we are here to help where we can.”

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