Caption: Travis Elson with his family after an emotional win by Hello Mike in the Group 1 Gold Bullion (520m) at Albion Park early this year. (Photo: Box 1 Photography)

IT’S been 22 years since my dad Billy, mum Cynthia, my wife Hope and I got back into greyhounds and it’s been a 22-year learning curve for all of us.

Yes, we’ve had some success but I can honestly say we are still learning.

In fact, I admit it has been 15 years of learning before I can say I know how to get city class dogs and keep them at that level.

This is the first thing I would tell anyone approaching me and my family about getting into greyhound racing.

If you want to earn a quick quid then greyhound racing is not the industry for you.

Don’t expect to go out and buy a dog one day and the next be winning at Albion Park. It just doesn’t happen that easily.

When my family and I decided to get back into greyhounds more than two decades ago, we drove up to Tony Apap’s property near Gatton to buy some well-bred pups. That is the first bit of advice I have for anyone wanting to do the same.

Buy a pup or two, wait 12 months or maybe a bit more, and then you will be ready to start racing.

Buy from a reputable breeder that always sells good pups and it is the chance you have of getting a city class dog.

No one will sell you a city class racing dog. And, if you are coming into the industry, you cannot expect to spend upwards of $50,000 to buy a ready-made dog.

Nice pups can be bought for $5000 to $10,000, but the key is to buy pups from proven damlines and lines that are winning over 500 metres in the city.

That is one of the things I believe people do wrong, even those who have been in the industry for many years. They hold on to bloodlines that are not producing them the dogs they need to compete at 500 metres on city tracks.

You have got to change your thinking about things like that … even people who have been in the industry for many, many years.

When this industry had all those problems back in 2015, it certainly brought the racing community together. I’ve seen it as an obvious result of those dramas. People in the industry are getting on much better now. We are united.

And by being like this we are happy to help each other out. This results in people advising newcomers etc about litters that are available … and those newcomers can benefit from this.

The first step for anyone new is to turn up at the track and approach trainers like Mick or Tony Zammit, Sandra Hunt or ourselves. We will all try to steer you into the right way to start.

Potential trainers always start off with one or two dogs in their backyard. It should be looked upon as an apprenticeship and like all apprentices you need to learn over a few years to perfect your trade. As I wrote earlier, it took me personally 15 years to be happy with my own results.

But greyhound training is not the life for everyone. It is not a get-rich quick scheme and you need to have a genuine love of greyhounds.

Success in the industry starts with the right rearing for those pup purchases. Our pups are fed the same food as our race dogs but more of it. They are never fitter than the day they come out of the rearing yards and into the race kennels.

Our pups are reared in 120m by 40m yards but have access to a galloping paddock that runs beside our 400m straight track.

But, having written just that, there are plenty of places I have been to over the past 22 years where I have seen pups reared in tiny yards and given no chance of success whatsoever. And many of these are really well-bred pups.

My belief is that newcomers never have enough patience.

I see a lot of young greyhounds start their race careers when they have not been fully prepared to do so. They can’t wait to get them to the races. I think most people take their dogs to the races three months too early.

We have seen so many times in the past our dogs have improved out of sight the more trialling they do … over many months. It teaches them to race and they become professional. By the time they do go to the track, they are ready.

Bloodlines are a fantastic means of finding the right pups for newcomers.

Some of our best broodbitches have not necessarily been our best race bitches. I can’t tell you why, but if someone had the answer they would be a genius and have all the best dogs.

Take for instance Hope’s Magic. Yes, she won 22 races and almost $100,000.

Compare her to the champ Cyndie’s Magic who won 45 races and $425,000.

But at stud there has been little between them as producers.

Check out Regal Silver where our line started. She was far from the best of her own litter. But her progeny have won 567 races and $1.97 million.