Capital grants hit as GBGB faces up to drop in income.Byline: Jim Cremin A SAVAGE cut to the budget for track capital grants - down from pounds 2m to pounds 486,000 - has enabled the Greyhound greyhound, breed of tall, swift, sight hound developed nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. It stands about 26 in. (66 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Board of Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. to address a significant drop in Fund income and yesterday agree a new pounds 9.7m budget for this year. This is down from an pounds 11.5m budget last year, although actual 2008 spending proved to be pounds 12.7m, and there is optimism that a recovery in betting may yet allow additional spending later in the year, or next. Ian Taylor Ian Taylor may refer to;
aspirations npl (= hopes, ambition) → aspirations fpl for change, to immediately have to deal with a significant fall in income, and the emotion that surrounds any possible cuts. "In that context, I'm delighted that we have been able to protect prize-money and retired greyhound spending, and effectively they have risen as a percentage of total income." He cited welfare spend as now being 37 per cent of income this year, compared to a 29 per cent of actual spend last year. Taylor stated the Board had been aided in their deliberations by a welcome realism from stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. , but also the recession had made tracks less likely anyway to seek significant funding. However, the message to them is that if they were considering a big project, postpone it to 2010. Small-scale plans, however, supported by 50 per cent contributions from tracks, will be backed if possible. The 2009 budget had been delayed six months to allow the incoming Board to settle in, with previous spending rolled over although capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. was suspended. Taylor added: "There are all sorts of radical ideas either emerging or being put to us. Some might be unlikely, but we have been unable to even consider them. Now the budget is in place, we can review whether, for instance, the Board should be in the business of owning tracks, encouraging greyhound syndication or more radical training schemes." He said there was a commitment to microchipping of all greyhounds, and drug testing would be more intelligence-led, but ideally with faster results. He indicated a paper was going before the Board that could lead to jackpot and placepot betting on Bags racing later this year: "There is a lot of enthusiasm for this." In several complex budget readjustments, a pounds 1m reserve will be maintained (from pounds 300,000), but the arguing about the 2010 budget effectively starts now. Charles Lenox-Conyngham, the Fund's chairman, said of yesterday's Fund board meeting: "I was pleased with the consensus and bookmakers were encouraged to see the welfare commitment maintained. "My reading of the situation is that betting will recover, and perhaps the Board can be more hopeful that income will improve."Marketing 1.5m 1.6m Capital Grants 0.49m 1.6m Prize-money 2.5m 2.8m Sampling 0.9m 1m Racecourse integrity 0.5m 0.5m Vets 1m 1m Retired Greyhounds 1.8m 1.75m Other welfare (trainers' assistance etc) 0.2m 0.2m Track safety etc 0.4m 0.25m plus various other elements including IT, training, etc Full details at bgrf.org.uk 2009 2008 Budget Spend Headline figures CAPTION(S): Ian Taylor: 'Significant fall in income' |
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