Thank you for your help since I approached you for guidance about submitting a complaint regarding the race on 19 April in which Omalleys Shez broke his leg. I was so angry that I could not focus on how to proceed. Explaining the events of the race to you so that you could understand, helped me provide a clear statement to the NGRC in advance of the hearing.

The NGRC stewards decided not to allow Tim to attend the hearing. Tim did however accompany me to the hearing as moral support. Noel Thompson explained what would happen in the meeting and made us feel very welcome. I was surprised to learn before the hearing that after all of the statements had been read out we could all ask questions.

My main concern about the race was that although an injured dog was on the track and still moving around, the race was not stopped. In the time before the hearing I learned more about the hare at Portsmouth myself. It was explained by the track representative that the inside hare at Portsmouth is carried on a metal arm which sticks out and holds the hare on the end. If the hare is stopped with the arm out, the dogs following the hare on the inside of the track will run into it. The track representative said that he had seen two dogs somersault over this type of hare when it was stopped in a trial a couple of years ago. He described the hare to the stewards as "agricultural".

The only way to stop the hare safely is to "trip it". There are two points at the track where a "trip" can be set on the rail, so that when the hare passes the arm goes up and the hare flies on to the track. The dogs are then not at risk of running into the arm. On the evening of the race in question there was someone at one of the trips, where the races end, and no one capable of setting the trip next to the other one.

Omalleys Shez broke his leg on the second bend, and the other dogs ran the 3rd, 4th and 5th bends before the call for trip the hare came. They claim they had incorrectly thought that the trained person was at the trip on the 6th bend. I said that I thought that the hare had passed the "trip" before the call was made, and it was therefore too late anyway. The statements taken from track personnel all emphasise how dangerous it is to stop the inside hare.

The track's statements said that there was someone on every bend during that race as usual. Initially no one made any attempt to catch the dog. A spectating trainer was the only person who could jump on to the track to try to catch him.. When asked if they had made any changes since the race they said that they now had someone covering every bend! They also said that someone also now covered the other trip (the last one before the line) all the time. As an afterthought they said that this was only in 610m races.

There were discussions about the age of the hare, and how it is the last one in the country. They said that it had some uses as it it a noisy hare with a hare shaped object on the end, and dogs who won't chase the modern quiet hares will chase this one.

I thought that the track's explanations were weak and inconsistent, however after their deliberations the stewards chose to "accept the tracks explanations."