/ The Lord / 23 April 2011 / Leave a Comment 
It's another busy week in the game
"Express Shuttle's mix of brute speed and stamina which is likely to encourage his supporters, who can back the Monmore raider at [34.0] for the £75,000 prize at Plough Lane."
All the top stories from the sport rounded up by The Lord
Betfair Blue Riband champion Express Shuttle heads to Wimbledon on Wednesday for a trial as he continues his preparation for the Derby.
Chris Allsopp's dog, who will be bidding to be the first Blue Riband winner to win the Classic since Farloe Verdict in 2003, led early at the Birmingham track and never looked like being caught.
It is that mix of brute speed and stamina which is likely to encourage his supporters, who can back the Monmore raider at [34.0] for the £75,000 prize at Plough Lane.
Express Shuttle, who finished second to Droopys Greg in the Monmore Puppy Derby, ran a good second to Allisons Delight on Betfair Trainers' Championship night, which proved the dog could compete if failing to ever lead.
Wednesday's trial will reacquaint Express Shuttle with Wimbledon ahead of the Derby which begins next month.
The Peterborough Puppy Derby is the stage for the next live-on-Sky programme on Wednesday.
This year's event has been eventful with a re-run semi-final on Saturday ahead of the £5,000-to-the-winner final.
Good Friday attendance records were broken up and down the country as holidaying Britons enjoyed a day or night at the dogs.
All the tracks which raced, on a day horse racing took a break, reported bumper crowds.
Richest race of all was the Bookmakers Golden Sprint at Romford, in which the Elaine Parker-trained Step On Brett made all to claim the £8,000 prize.
Rumours that a sizeable chunk of the GRA's debt have been bought by an unnamed party have been quashed.
Greyhound circles have been rife with suggestions that the GRA's portfolio of tracks could be saved or sold off as going concerns, finally removing any threat of closure.
One insider said: "The GRA owe a huge amount of money, but do appear to be servicing the debt. Their businesses remain profitable, indeed they are flourishing just now, but I think greyhound racing would sit more comfortably knowing the owners had the sport's interests at heart. That is not a given just now."
Meanwhile, the Save Our Stow are currently battling on two specific fronts as it continues the battle for E17 some two-and-a-half years after the last greyhound race there.
Claims that Sport England supported a leisure development at the stadium have been denied, according to local newspaper reports. They quote MP Iain Duncan Smith accusing owners London & Quadrant of "misleading the public."
The SOS team have also been buoyed by renewed council support for Bob Morton's bid to buy the land, redevelop the site for housing but retain the greyhound track and other leisure interests.
Towcester could still be greyhound racing's newest track, if latest reports are to be believed.
In what could prove a revolutionary initiative in the UK, horse and greyhound racing could be sharing the same stage from May of next year.
"That's still the plan it seems," said one source. "The drive is there, as is the finance. It's just a case of the sport's authorities really embracing what is being attempted there. But it's all hugely exciting."
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