Malcolm Tams has dedicated 49 years of his life to greyhound racing.
The 67-year-old from Blackwood was introduced to the sport by at the age of 18 when his uncle, who always kept racing dogs when Malcolm was growing up. From that moment, Malcolm was hooked and his love for the animals compelled him to make a career in the racing industry.
His wish came true when he decided to take over Valleys Greyhounds in 2008, and since then, renovations have been made to the stadium including fully licenced bar, a lounge, TV race-replay monitors, and panoramic viewing. And Malcolm has now been passing down his knowledge of the sport to his sons who are all grown up now.
Read more: Concerns about what will happen to existing track dogs as greyhound racing ban looms
Valleys Greyhounds, in Hengoed, is the last greyhound racing track in Wales and Malcolm is at the forefront of an effort to keep the sport going despite vocal opposition from animal rescue charities.
Discussions have been carried out in the Senedd about whether greyhound racing should be outlawed altogether due to welfare concerns. This comes after the petition started by Hope Rescue to ban the sport in Wales entirely, after they claimed to have rescued around 200 dogs from the track since April 2018. The petition gathered over 35,000 signatures, and it was decided by the Senedd on Wednesday, March 8 that an in-depth consultation needs to be carried out.
Malcolm believes his track offers people a unique place to not only enjoy the sport and place bets on the dogs, but also a place to come together and socialise that is both family friendly and a buzzing atmosphere. Malcolm said: "When people come here, there's women, children, men and people from all backgrounds.
"We have signs up which clearly say, no foul language. We are all about family entertainment and we've got CCTV right around the track. But the greyhounds love it too because when they race, they're doing what they were born to do.
"We have signs up which clearly say, no foul language. We are all about family entertainment and we've got CCTV right around the track. But the greyhounds love it too because when they race, they're doing what they were born to do."
Malcolm's next big move is to make sure Valleys Greyhounds can become regulated under the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), and under GBGB’s over 200 Rules of Racing, all greyhounds would be carefully monitored and supported across their lifetime.
There have been a few key moments that have stuck out to the staff and audiences there over the years, according to Malcolm, including when the first greyhound won at the facility back in 1976. The dog, who was known as "Boss", completed the 310-yard course in 19.20 seconds on July 20, 1976.
But things have not always been smooth sailing for this business. They have had to close before due to floods in 2020 after the Rhymney River overflowed its banks but people were determined not to let this have a detrimental impact, with the owners and supporters of the greyhounds giving their time and money to help restore the track and repaint the stadium.
And while Malcolm has big plans for the site, there is a huge question mark over whether there is a future in greyhound racing in Wales right now, with such vocal opposition gaining some political momentum. But despite everything, in Malcolm's eyes, there is no way greyhound racing could be banned at the minute.
"It's not just that greyhound racing is an important part of Welsh history, it's a big part of all history," he noted, considering what role the track played in the community.
Malcolm has now put forward a Senedd petition in support of greyhound racing in Wales which hit the 10,000 signature target on Easter Monday after being launched on February 22, 2023. With months still to go until the petition closes in August, it has been rapidly gaining support since its launch and reached its target in a little over six weeks.
Now Malcolm has achieved the 10,000 signature threshold, his own petition will now also be considered for a full debate in the Senedd. Malcolm is not backing down any time soon, and also believes that the sport is giving people in the area an invaluable experience.
As part of the new development, there will also be a new vets room, and a new room for the judges panel. The changes that they have made so far have taken around a year to put in place.
Malcolm said: "The kennels will be fully air-conditioned and will fit 120 greyhounds in. It will all be monitored by cameras and they'll all get bedding put down for the dogs to lie on before their race and after for them to cool down.
"The most important thing in terms of monitoring welfare before and after a race is making sure a vet can easily inspect them."
At the minute, the greyhounds are taken away straight after races by their carers. The new facilities will give them somewhere to be based afterwards rather than leaving immediately.
And as it stands, about 150 people can go and watch the races at the track. But once they have finished the work, there is set to be capacity to hold 400-500 people at the site according to Malcolm.
But while the new improvements sounded promising, I was also thinking about what expansion would really mean for the dogs while walking around. As the original petition started by Hope Rescue outlined, it could mean dogs will be raced there up to four times a week, which could put them at more risk of injuries.
Considering the issues which animal welfare activists have with the sport, Malcolm said: “The dogs only run if they want to. If a greyhound doesn’t race, then nothing is going to make them.
“They enjoy it.”
When we walked out onto the tracks that campaigners have flagged as being particularly dangerous, Malcolm explained that he felt he has done all he can to make it safe. He said: “People have said that the bend is the most dangerous, but there are far more dangerous spots on tracks around the UK.”
“Have you ever witnessed a dog die on the tracks?” I asked him. “Yes,” he replied.
“It’s not nice if anything gets hurt. I witnessed a dog die here about 20 years ago after I brought a very good greyhound down from London, he went around this bend, he was five lengths in front and he broke his back and dropped dead.
“Have you ever been running or exercising? It’s the same thing for a greyhound.
“You always get injuries sometimes, but it doesn’t stop people from going out and taking a risk. They can get cramp, they can get everything but they haven’t got jockeys on their back or anything like that.
“I love a dog, I always have. I’ve been in greyhounds for 50 years. We love the greyhounds.
“My favourite thing about doing this is see a dog go round the track and breaking a track record but the most important thing is when they come off safe and they go in their kennels and wag their tails- they love people.”
Walking around, it was clear that the track offers a unique space for people to come together and socialise. The bar and social clubhouse stretched down one side of the track, with plenty of spaces for visitors to sit together while having a clear viewpoint out onto where the dogs race.
But it was hard to forget how some people feel about the welfare issues that come with racing dogs, or any animal for that matter. Considering if he could see why campaigners want the sport banned, Malcolm said: “If they ban greyhound racing, they’ll have to ban horse racing as well. It won’t happen.
“We’ve been told that people want this, they want the expansion to happen in plans that have been outlined for the local area."
A spokesperson for Caerphilly council said: "Three planning applications- two resubmissions for kennels and extensions to clubhouse and one new application for the conversion of a building on site to kennels- are currently at an early stage in the determination process and these will be determined in due course following the usual planning process."
What about the rest of the world?
The sport is only legal in nine other countries in the world, but even in these countries, people have been standing up to the issue. On August 3, 2021, SAFE and the Greyhound Protection League of New Zealand handed in the 37,700 signature petition, calling for a ban on greyhound racing in Aotearoa.
South Africa has also enacted legislation to prohibit Greyhound racing in all its provinces, and greyhound racing is also already banned in 41 US states, with only 19 greyhound tracks remaining in the whole of the US, in six states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa & West Virginia.
Read next:
20 dogs looking for their forever home after a lonely winter in kennels
Couple left homeless after fire 'caused by toaster' rips through house and kills dog
People are calling for two things to happen after little boy's puppy slaughtered by bulldog
Life at the centre of Britain’s ‘terrifying’ battle with illegal breeders and killer dogs
