€300,000 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby 2019 Launch

The 2019 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby was launched at Ireland’s premiere greyhound stadium, Shelbourne Park on Monday 24th June, joined by 2018 Derby winning owner Eamon Cleary and Leon Blanche of BoyleSports.

The Irish Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race in the Irish Greyhound Calendar and boasts an increased prize-fund of €300,000.

Last year’s event was won by Ballyanne Sim, for Kildare trainer Mark Robinson and popular owner Eamon Cleary, who took home the €140,000 winning prize in a time of 29.28 seconds, the fastest Derby victory ever. Sim was subsequently named ‘Supreme Greyhound’ at the 2018 National Greyhound Awards.

The early market with BoyleSports has Clonbrien Prince and Magical Bale as the 14/1 joint favourites, who are both contesting the English Greyhound Derby final this Saturday along with Skywalker Logan (16/1) and Ballymac Tas (33/1). Last year’s winner Ballyanne Sim is 40/1 and last year’s finalist Slippy Cian is 16/1.

Leon Blanche of BoyleSports commented: “This is our sixth year sponsoring the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby and we’re delighted to be involved again in such an iconic race. Ballyanne Sim was a superb winner last year and was a shock winner for us as he was backed from 20/1 into 10/1 on the day of the big final.

He Added: “The standard of top-class greyhounds is phenomenal this year with the track record in Shelbourne Park almost broken this month by the fantastic Ballymac Arminta. We are looking forward to all the entries and we hope to see some visitors from across the pond. As a company we pride ourselves on our continued commitment to Irish sport and we’re looking forward to what is certain to be another very competitive renewal.”

Eamon Cleary, owner of 2018 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby winner, Ballyanne Sim, said: “Winning the Irish Derby has been fantastic and the memories from last year’s final will stay with me for a long time. It’s the pinnacle of greyhound racing and to be the winning owner last year was a proud achievement. I really enjoyed the whole thing, big time. It was a good result and the more I look back on it, it was a good result for greyhound racing.”

CEO of the Irish Greyhound Board, Gerard Dollard, commented: “We have seen some of the world’s best greyhound racing at Shelbourne Park for over 90 years. The BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby is viewed by a global audience annually and I want to thank BoyleSports for their continued support. The large amount of prize money on offer will result in a distribution across the racing community. We’re looking forward to a thrilling six weeks of racing in what is the highlight of the Irish greyhound racing calendar.”

Payments will be staggered for heat winners with larger rewards for greyhounds winning later rounds, particularly quarter and semi-finals, following on from last year’s increase in this area.

The 2019 Derby will begin on Friday, 16th August and run for six weekends, with the final being held on Saturday, September 21st.

Additional information:
Both the Semi-Final and Final will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2 and online to a worldwide audience on RTÉ website and RTÉ Player. For information on the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby visit www.gogreyhoundracing.ie.

This is the sixth year of BoyleSports sponsorship of the classic event, which has been running since 1928, receiving classic status in 1932. The competition, which is run over a distance of 550yds, takes place in Shelbourne Park, Dublin, Ireland’s premier greyhound track.

Key event dates:
First Round – Friday, August 16th & Saturday, August 17th
Second Round – Friday, August 23rd & Saturday, August 24th
Third Round – Saturday, August 31st
Quarter Finals – Saturday, September 7th
Semi Finals – Saturday, September 14th
Final – Saturday, September 21st

Incentives:
€3,000 to last bitch standing. This is confined to bitches competing in the event regardless of where they have travelled from. Placings will decide winner (4th/5th/6th) times will not be taken into account. If two bitches are eliminated at the same stage and have same placing the pot will be halved.

€2,000 to last owner trained greyhound standing. This is confined to greyhounds that are owner trained only. Any greyhound who is with an agent or private/public trainer do not qualify for this incentive. Placings will decide winner (4th/5th/6th) times will not be taken into account. If two greyhounds that meet the criteria are eliminated at the same stage and have same placing the pot will be halved.

€2,000 to last syndicate owned greyhound standing. This is confined to syndicate owned greyhounds regardless of their training status. Placings will decide winner (4th/5th/6th) times will not be taken into account. If two greyhounds that meet the criteria are eliminated at the same stage and have same placing the pot will be halved.

€2,000 to last Trial Stake greyhound standing. This is confined to greyhounds that have entered the Irish Greyhound Derby via qualification through the BoyleSports Derby Trial Stakes. Placings will decide winner (4th/5th/6th) times will not be taken into account. If two greyhounds that meet the criteria are eliminated at the same stage and have same placing the pot will be halved.