It will be a special evening at the track on Friday when we welcome back many of our retired greyhounds for a veterans’ parade.

The event has been organised by the Friends of Crayford Retired Greyhounds section who do an outstanding job in homing ex-racers.

The dogs will be paraded individually and an accompanying commentary on their racing achievements will be given.

This should prove to be a nostalgic occasion and one not to be missed.

While on the subject of dogs who now enjoy the comfort of the settee, we have a few of our senior racing dogs here who may well be joining them soon. Having said that, they have recently been performing well against the younger generations.

Kauri Blue is fast approaching his 100th race at the track and although he will soon be five years old, he seems to have lost none of his enthusiasm for racing over hurdles. Trained by Julie Luckhurst, his record shows 23 wins and 24 second places which reflects just how competitive the dog is. Still competing at Open race level, he is always a decent bet when racing in graded events here.

Newlawn Sweep is probably the oldest dog in Patsy Cusack’s kennels but with a win and three runner-up slots in his last four races, this popular dog is giving no indication that he is ready to give up the racing game at the moment. He is fast heading for his 200th race here and to my knowledge he will be only the fourth dog to complete this incredible landmark. The track will undoubtedly make it a big night for this special dog when that occasion comes round but in the interim you simply can not discount him from your calculations.

Boundtobeicey won last Thursday, career win number 22, from 138 starts and although he races in bottom grades nowadays, he is still good enough to show his opponents a clean pair of pads when he gets his trapping right.

As an owner, they are the type of dogs that you hope for – genuine, brave and full of commitment. What more could anyone ask from a racing dog?