by EdBoyle » Wed Dec 02, 2015 4:35 pm
Lived in Halfway at that time. Aged 15 (1960). Got the bus to the West End bar and walked down the road to the kennels to train the dogs. Each person was allocated about 10 dogs to look after. They were all company dogs from Ireland. Monday and Friday night down to Shawfield. Main job there was wearing white coats parading the dogs around the inside of the track and placing them in traps, then catching them after the race and back to their holding kennels in the stadium. My normal position was the blue no 2. The dogs were starved on race days before the race,
As we knew the dogs well and how they performed training, we 'plebs' soon became aware of the potential winners. However, a number of factors stopped me getting rich. It was forbidden to gamble, we never knew the line-up before the race, I had no money, and I was naive! Some of the lads used to signal their pals in the crowd with the appropriate number of fingers up to their nose as if scratching. After races finished, it was back up to the kennels I the big green truck with the dogs. Feed and bed them for the night. I never directly say any dodgy stuff from the management, though one of them used to visit the dogs immediately before the race to ‘check. Each dog was checked by a vet as they were put into the trap, and the vet was a ‘company’ man.
I did not stay long with them. Got fed up picking up dog shit, and the pay was an abysmal at £2 4 shillings a week, plus a free fish and chip meal in the Shawfield restuarant before the races started. I see the kennel area and large building has become a housing estate.