Greyhound racing is preparing for one of its biggest months of the year with the Ladbroke Greyhound Derby semi finals taking place at a likely to be packed Shelbourne Park Stadium on Saturday. 
This year’s contest is very open with first time owner Donal Ross in contention through his dog, Kilbarry Rover.  Ross is a champion in trotting races in West Cork but has enjoyed the switch of sports over recent weeks.
The Irish Greyhound Board maintains an active presence in social media and all the previous heats of what is one of the richest races in the world are available to view on facebook and you tube.  The weekend gets under way with the conclusion of  Bord na Mona sponsored series at Harolds Cross in Dublin on Friday, an event being billed as a Family Festival before the end of the summer holidays.
As that event ends an initiative undertaken with ISME for 9,000 small businesses to promote themselves to audiences at eight tracks around the country gets underway.
The three month long business showcase initiative will introduce ISME members to a wider audience through branding and sampling exercises at more than 250 race nights taking place between September and December.
“We are delighted to have ISME avail of our stadia and to be part of this new business showcase,” said Adrian Neilan, CEO of the irish Greyhound Board.  “It enables us to play a part in  supporting local businesses that have driven the economic activity in all our venues over the past 85 years.”
“Traditionally in a downturn we see stronger and more innovative promotional partnerships being established and we believe that this synergy will result in a greater return for all involved.”
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