The row over the future of Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium deepened after a second race meeting at Shelbourne Park has been cancelled due to a planned picket of the event by dog owners and breeders.
A planned protest by the Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association against the sale of Harold’s Cross Stadium saw the Irish Greyhound Board cancel last Saturday's meeting at Shelbourne Park.
The DGOBA and IGB held talks last night with an eye to resolving the issue, however DGOBA were not swayed in their decision to picket Shelbourne this coming Saturday and as a result, the IGB have cancelled the meeting.
The protests stems from the implementation of the Indecon Report, which was commissioned by the Government and published in 2014.
The report recommended the sale of Harold’s Cross in order to help tackle the IGB's debt, which now stands at €21.6m.
The DGOBA remain firmly opposed to the sale of Harold's Cross.
A statement from the IGB confirmed the decision to cancel this week's meeting and read: "The Irish Greyhound Board has deferred the Annual Irish Greyhound Awards which were scheduled to be held at Shelbourne Park Stadium on Saturday night (February 11th) and has cancelled the racing programme at the Stadium on the same night.
"The decision was taken in the wake of a decision by Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association (DGOBA) to picket the stadium. Despite representations by IGB last night, Wednesday, February 8th, advising of the serious implications of the decision, DGOBA declined to change its decision to picket.
"It is extremely disappointing that one of the flagship events of the year to acknowledge excellence within the industry has had to be deferred and racing cancelled again because of DGOBA pickets. IGB is not going to allow our owners, trainers, staff and the general public to be used in this way by a small section within the industry.
"IGB reiterates that its Business Plan is focused on addressing the organisation’s unsustainable debt of €21.6 million. There is an absolute requirement for everybody to recognise the commercial realities and the time is well gone when special interests can hold the industry to ransom."
