'They will come for you, whether you like it or not' - greyhound chief's warning over threat to Welsh jump racing

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Horseracing must be on its guard against a ban in Wales following first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth's refusal to engage with a question about the future of jump racing, a leading figure in greyhound racing has warned.

Mark Bird, chief executive of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, believes "jump racing will be next" after the Welsh Senedd passed a ban on greyhound racing in March, and events in Cardiff this week did little to dissuade him from that view.

During First Minister's Questions on Tuesday, Ap Iorwerth was asked by Reform MS Cai Parry-Jones to confirm that the newly elected Plaid Cymru leadership will not be moving to ban jump racing in Wales. Ap Iorwerth did not directly reply, other than saying the vote on greyhound racing "was a free vote, and I believe it was for most parties in the last Senedd".

Bird said: "The first minister completely fluffed it. All he needed to say was 'No' but he didn't, and that's got to be a really salutary lesson for horseracing that they will come for you, whether you like it or not.

"We had a really good evidence base for the sport to continue, in terms of injury and fatality rates, and horseracing, which has deeper pockets than us, has a very good evidence base to say the welfare and care of horses is good. But that might not mean anything when it comes to politics. 

"We've been saying that if it's greyhound racing now, it will be jump racing next."

There is a general feeling in the greyhound industry that they did not get support from racing to help lobby against the legislation to ban the sport at the country's sole track, Valley.

"It would have been nice for us to have stood shoulder to shoulder and if this starts to accelerate, we would sit down with horseracing, be it the BHA or anybody else, and go through our experience in any attempt to assist," said Bird.

Mark Bird: "If it's greyhound racing now, it will be jump racing next"Credit: Steve Nash

Wales has three racecourses – Chepstow, Ffos Las and Bangor – with jump racing taking place at all of them and the BHA on Wednesday said it would "continue to engage with the new administration to make it aware of the vital significance of Welsh horseracing".

Dai Walters, founder of Ffos Las and a leading jumps owner based in Cardiff, warned of the devastating impact should a potential ban on jump racing gain traction in the Senedd.

"I don't know what to say about the Welsh assembly, I think they want Wales as a country park," he said. "If we can't jump our horses in the country, we're not going to keep them here and transport them to England and Scotland. We'd buy a place in England and employ the staff there instead. There are so many people employed in jump racing in Wales, and it would kill the industry." 

In response to the first minister's lack of comment on jump racing in Wales, Chepstow's executive director Luke Admans said: "Racing, and jump racing in particular, is flourishing in Wales with a raft of successful trainers, jockeys and owners at the top end of the sport across Britain. 

"We look forward to celebrating 100 years of racing at Chepstow later this year, while Ffos Las is also expecting one of its biggest attendances for many years in late August for ladies' day.

"We are actively supporting industry efforts to engage with both parliamentarians in the Senedd and the new Plaid administration to promote the economic and cultural value of the sport."

Read these next:

BHA confident that greyhound racing bans in Wales and Scotland have 'no connection to the future of horseracing' 

'Those opposed never put their balaclavas away' - Sir Mark Prescott warns horseracing may be next after Welsh greyhound ban 

Mark Johnston: ban facing greyhound racing in Wales makes no sense - and it should be a huge wake-up call for horseracing 

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