A VETERAN greyhound has finally decided to put his paws up and retire after breaking the record for appearances at Crayford on Saturday.

The average racing greyhound clocks up 100 races during their track career, a figure which takes between two and three years to achieve. However, Lagile Soviet, who is also known as Boris, ran his 233rd race at Crayford last weekend to become the stadium’s all time race record holder.

Assistant trainer Dave Stevens said: “When Boris arrived in our kennels from Ireland in June 2007 we had no idea he would go on to become such a special dog and achieve this outstanding level of performance.

“Boris is a real character who also loves his dinners.

“On his way home from racing he lets his trainer know meal time is due by barking when reaching the speed bumps on approach to his kennel.”

The track made a special presentation to Boris and his trainer in recognition of this new track record.

Crayford deputy general manager Diana Illingworth added: “Over his five year racing career Boris has notched up 44 wins from his 233 runs, so this is a record to be proud of.”

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