GRV announces trial plans to cut one greyhound meeting per week
Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has introduced a trial program set to run from September 8, 2024, right through until January 30, 2025, that will see one weekly Victorian greyhound meeting cut from the schedule with one or two extra races added to selected greyhound meetings to compensate.
According to GRV, the main goal of the initiative is to improve greyhound betting outcomes, to lift turnover, and to make more effective use of the existing VIC greyhound racing pool.
As part of the pilot program, two additional races (13th and 14th races) will be included at select venues in exchange for reducing one race meeting per week.
The Sunday day greyhound racing meeting will be the weekly meeting to be cut from the current racing schedule.
The ten races from that day will be spread out across Monday to Thursday race meetings at venues equipped with enough kennel space to accommodate the extra races.
The trial aims to evaluate the advantages of running a number of races throughout the week despite having one less race meeting.
It also aims to better manage the existing racing schedule since only 11 tracks are currently carrying the burden of weekly racing, with Cranbourne and Traralgon currently closed.
The scheduled race meetings and expected number of races during the pilot phase are as follows:
New GRV Weekly Greyhound Racing Schedule
- Ballarat (Day) 14 races
- Shepparton (Twilight) 13 races
- Warrnambool (Twilight) 13 races
- Geelong (Twilight) 13 races
- Bendigo (Twilight) 13 races
- Ballarat (Night) 14 races
- Shepparton (Twilight) 13 races
- Warrnambool (Twilight) 13 races
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Monday:
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Tuesday:
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Wednesday:
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Thursday:
Sandown Park will continue its Monday night greyhound racing, having moved from Sunday racing earlier in the year.
GRV plans to observe the pilot program and then gather feedback from stakeholders before implementing a more permanent change.