Seeding Off Scratch

[Smiffy@VeronnaV]

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I hate to think of you all coming home from work, logging on and nothing new, so here's another for you all!

Why don't we seed when racing 'off scratch' in peddie racing? Why do we say it's not possible to do when others in the racing dog scene can manage it quite easily? Why do we ACCEPT that it can't be done? I have a disabled brother and we never, never let him say 'can't', because if we did, he would have done nothing! So why, in whippet racing, do we blithly accept 'can't'? Its potential for injury is very real and thus downright dangerous to the other dogs unfortunate enough to have drawn the box on the wrong side of the seed right or left. As it is the dog at risk and not us, why don't we do something about it?

I think we should. This is a safety issue, and one which with some thought we could alter to make a positive difference in terms of safe racing. What I can't fathom as yet, is why it was never an issue when the 'founding fathers and mothers' began the WCRA. Were righers or lefters not an issue because they didn't have it then?

Over to you!! :luck:

 

[Vicky]

One thing i would say is if it did come about in the ped world, it would be a good idea to have the dogs "seed" set at the beginning of the year & it keeps that seed all year unless it runs opposite on say 2 occasions. One thing in the non peds is that people take advantage & seed their dog not because it's a left/right hand runner but because they don't want a dog on either side of them. I have seen on numerous occasions dogs being seeded & running totally opposite what they're supposed to, hence spoiling the race for the others.

 

[Smiffy@VeronnaV]

Actually Vikki I was thinking along the lines of having seeding put on a more formal footing by using the WCRA passport which every ped whippet needs to have in order to race at opens and champs. It wouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility to have the owners' club secretary enter onto the passport the fact that a particular dogs seeds either right or left. This could be then sent to the WCRA registrar for validation - thus it's logged. If the dog then changes it's MO then the process is reversed. This information could then be included on the entry form and also the race card, and the passport checked at weigh-in to ensure that owners don't say it just to get the trap their dog favours. There is a world of difference between favouring a box and having a dog charge across the track to the side it 'needs to be in its head'. Some dogs just don't run straight, and at present, we have no procedures in place to ensure the integrity of the races in which these dogs run. But I doubt very much if anything will happen. Someone said to me recently if I didn't like it, I could leave it! Clearly that person considers me to be the proverbial pain the the backside. Yet seeding off scratch is something which would make a huge difference to the dogs unfortunate enough to draw the seeder, so what I can't yet comprehend is the reasoning behind the reluctance.luck:

 

[Strike Whippets]

Great idea Carmel .......I like you think that seeding racers at the champs off scratch (at least) would save alot of dogs getting hit about, lent on and impeded race after race :thumbsup: ......My one dog never reached his potential because he was hit so badly in his second ever open race that he actually had his 7th rib broken, his right shoulder and hip seriously "put out" and has had lower back problems ever since (just because the dog he was racing with wanted to run up the left hand side ) plus a suspected impacted fracture on his right wrist ........just in the name of fun for a bit of plastic .......dosn't seem worth it does it :blink:

 

[Vicky]

so what I can't yet comprehend is the reasoning behind the reluctance

I suspect people think it sounds a lot of agro, maybe the people holding opens will change their mind once their dog get knocked about by a dog wanted it side.

 

[June Jonigk]

I don't see how it could work - wouldn't everyone want to have the left trap on a bend? What happens when you try to do a fair random draw, and every dog you pull out for that race likes the same side of the track? In the small groups you'd probably end up running with the same dogs at every open, and avoid running with some dogs - I think it would cause no end of headache, to try and fix something that isn't broken. I also think it would cause no end of arguements - you'd never be able to please everyone. I don't think we have any more injuries than the non peds do???

It isn't good to run with dogs that you know are going to cross, but then it's all part of racing isn't it?

Interested to know what others think.