Premier Greyhound Racing (PGR) and Sports Information Services (SIS) have made revisions to the UK and Ireland greyhound racing schedule.
The duo undertook the changes in a bid to widen the audience of greyhound racing. The schedule will change from 20 May onwards, with morning fixtures starting later in the day.
The first race of each day will move from 10:47am to 11:01am and 10:54am to 11:09am, whilst the timing of evening fixtures aimed at retail audiences will also start later at 18.08am.
Paul Witten, Managing Director at SIS, said: “We are passionate about delivering a greyhound racing service that benefits all of the sport’s stakeholders. Together with Premier Greyhound Racing, we have introduced a revised racing schedule that benefits operators and their customers.
“Our approach to greyhound racing is grounded in sustainability and flexibility. This collaboration with fellow service providers allows everyone to enjoy all the high-quality action produced on a daily basis from tracks across the UK and Ireland.”
SIS is the primary distributor of UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing to UK retail betting. The Milton Keynes-headquartered company has partnerships with some of the UK’s biggest retail betting operators including bet365, William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred.
Meanwhile, PGR is an initiative of the Arena Racing Company (ARC) and is the media rights supplier of greyhound racing. The firm has been pursuing greater media and consumer engagement to boost the growth of greyhound racing.
Chasing this objective has seen the firm unveil a new media schedule in May last year. In December 2023 the firm closed the year by signing a major new media partnership with Sky Sports.
Terry Mahoney, Head of Business Development at ARC, concluded: “The new race times will help make it easier for customers to navigate busy racing schedules as well as improving operations trackside.
“We will continue to listen, monitor, and adapt schedules where and when needed as we move forward to deliver the best service possible for betting operators as well as punters.”
