The Young Greyhound Racing Club were given disappointing news on Tuesday night that their weekly race meets would be coming to a halt with the track deemed unfit for racing. Stewards declared the track would require millions of dollars to be brought up to a standard they deem fit, a commitment Racing NSW weren’t prepared to make.
Bizarrely despite this revelation, Racing NSW have said the track is allowed to host trials twice a week and regular gymkhana events as well as their annual Boxing Day races.
The country dogs that would’ve normally run at Young will now race in Temora, Wagga and Goulburn for more prize money, one of the positives from the ordeal.
Vice President of the Young Greyhound Racing Club Dale Ashton is disappointed with the decision but is optimistic for the future.
“One of the things they said was never say never, obviously in the short term it’s disappointing given that we were having weekly meetings and getting pretty good numbers on a 10 race card,” Dale said.
“I cant remember the last time there was an injury at the track. I’ve been to plenty of the country tracks and I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the safest tracks I’ve been to so I was definitely surprised.
“It’s not all negatives, it’s nearly double the amount of money for winning country races in Temora, Wagga and Gundagai, despite that though there’s obviously a certain pride of having races run in Young so to not be able to do that is unfortunate.”
The Club’s annual Boxing Day meeting is still set to take place, with Jack Russells’ and Sausage Dogs set to be hot on the lure with their greyhound compatriots in a day sure to be plenty of fun.
“We’re planning on having live music, a bar, and then the two smaller dog races along with the 10 races. We usually get a great crowd and to be able to continue that is massive for us,” Dale continued.
Tully Potts
