Last week’s Track Preparation and Maintenance seminar at Nottingham Stadium has been hailed a success by Welfare Committee chairman John Haynes:“This was the fourth year we have run the event and my thanks to Nottingham for hosting it this time. I was very pleased with the turnout; we had over 40 staff representing most of the tracks.“Track safety is a fundamental part of our welfare strategy and ensuring those working on the tracks receive regular training and information is very important. These seminars provide a great opportunity for track staff to come together to share experiences and best practice, ask questions and find out about the latest equipment and research.”Speakers at the event included consultant minerals engineer and greyhound enthusiast Dr Terry Veasey who reported on his work developing a database of sands used at every track. In recent years Terry has helped several stadia improve their running surfaces by blending sands or identifying local alternatives to the traditionally used sands.Bill Glass, Operations Director of Gaming International spoke on the influence of track design and the ongoing work in this area whilst John Haynes reviewed the regular maintenance required to keep a track in tip-top order, particularly with winter approaching. He also discussed the range of plant and equipment now available and a demonstration of the Nottingham track equipment was provided.Meanwhile, the BGRB continues to fund track safety improvement projects at stadia across the country. Haynes added:“So far this year almost twenty projects have been completed, and there are another dozen in progress. The projects have included improvements to drainage, alterations to cambers, drilling bore holes, installation of new running rails and safety curtains plus the supply of new track maintenance equipment such as SISIS quadraplays. I know that trainers and owners are noticing the improvements.” More information:Peter Laurie, BGRB Spokesman 0207 808 7722