GWIC to provide vets at Sydney trials but who is GCNSW & who is representing us?
The Chief Commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) , Mr Alby Taylor, has announced that from May 1st 2023 a pilot scheme of having the Commission's On-Track Veterinarians attend club trials will commence at the Richmond and Wentworth Park greyhound tracks, and proudly pronounced that Greyhound Clubs NSW (GCNSW) is fully supportive.
“The pilot, which will run for twelve months, is the first of the many race injury reduction strategies agreed to at an industry Summit in February”, Mr Taylor said,
From May 1 2023, GWIC's veterinarians will attend all club trials conducted at both the Richmond and Wentworth Park tracks.
The veterinarians will be present to attend to greyhounds that may be injured in addition to providing health and welfare advice to trainers.
“The Commission's veterinarians will also be supported by one of our Stewards who will scan greyhounds for participants to meet our new eTracking requirements” Mr Taylor said.
In circumstances where a greyhound is injured at a trial the GWIC On-Track Veterinarians will work with trainers to ensure a greyhound receives appropriate treatment before they are cleared to race.
“The key objective of the pilot is to determine whether involvement of veterinarians at club trials can result in lower serious injury rates both at the trials and race meetings.
“If a trainer at a trial has a concern that their greyhound may be injured, our veterinarian will be there to carry out an examination.
“It is this interaction that we're hoping will prevent greyhounds from racing with an existing injury that has the potential for worse outcomes should they race”, Mr Taylor said.
If the pilot scheme is successful in lowering serious injury rates consideration will be given to rolling the scheme out across the State.
The commencement of the pilot scheme was welcomed by the Chief Executive Officer of Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW), Mr Rob Macaulay.
“It is great to get some of our race injury reduction strategies off the ground. Make no mistake, we are united in our commitment to seeing reductions in serious racing injuries in our sport” Mr Macaulay said.
“In the very near future GRNSW will be commencing pilots of the use of double arm lures and preferred box draws at some tracks” Mr Macaulay said.
Mr. Allan Hilzinger, Chief Executive Officer of New South Wales Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) who run racing at Wentworth Park, was pleased to see the first injury reduction pilot was about to commence.
“I am really pleased that possibilities we discussed in Bathurst back in February are now getting underway.
“I am confident that some of these initiatives will prove to be positive changes for greyhound racing in NSW”.
Even the President of Greyhound Clubs NSW (GCNSW), Mr Shayne Stiff, who has had his own issues with GWIC; also expressed his support.
“GCNSW is pleased to see further resources in place which ensure that in the event a greyhound sustains an injury there is immediate treatment available.
“Ensuring our canine athletes are well cared for, is constantly front of mind for all industry stakeholders” said Stiff.
GCNSW is a new representative body on the NSW greyhound racing scene that follows the transition of the Australian Greyhound Racing Association (AGRA) to Greyhound Clubs Australia (GCA) a few years ago.
Quite rightly the AGRA renamed themselves Greyhound Clubs Australia (GCA) as their entire membership was only greyhound racing clubs and the name Australian Greyhound Racing Association misrepresented their true agenda and membership.
The AGRA never represented all greyhound racing participants, but just the actual racing clubs themselves, or more often the state regulatory bodies that controlled those clubs.
Despite the fact GWIC have acknowledged GCNSW as a representative NSW greyhound racing body, no public information exists that would suggest they deserve that recognition.
GCNSW has no website, no social media, no published membership, nor any publicly available details of office holders or articles of association.
While it is clear that the NSW GBOTA themselves are a race club, and have failed many times to represent the best interests of NSW greyhound breeders, owners and trainers over their race club approvals; it is confusing how Greyhound Clubs NSW (GCNSW) have rapidly been afforded equal representation to GWIC and GRNSW.
How GWIC and GRNSW have come to so quickly recognise GCNSW as a representative group does require further enquiry.
If the NSW GBOTA is essentially a race club; and GCNSW is clearly a conglomeration of race clubs; then who is representing the ordinary people?
Who is representing the owner and trainer?
Who is representing the battler who doesn't have a Group 1 greyhound?
Who is representing the little owner with passion and a dream but who doesn't have $200,000 to buy a pup?
Greyhound racing in NSW is changing – after the NSW greyhound ban it had too.
But the fabric and culture of what greyhound racing is to every single one of us that rises at 5:30am every day and toils away “picking up shit” and looking after our dogs is at risk.
Who is representing the 98% of us that don't own, train or handle the top five percent of greyhounds?
Why are just Richmond and Wentworth Park greyhounds worthy of the extra care and attention?
It seems GWIC and GRNSW are happy enough to leave the rest of us behind.
1000% right . The trainers have NO say or representation with GWIC or GRNSW. It’s already proven that GWIC and GRNSW hand pick who they want to listen to when they had meetings at Orange with a selected handpick group of breeders, trainers! When are the majority of trainers going to be listened to?
We know that the GBOTA is supposed to represent greyhound breeders, owners and trainers. In 2018 and early 2019 the GBOTA separated into two divisions, Racing and Membership and Advocacy. Business names for the two divisions as well as each racetrack including Appin were legally registered. Apart from the separation into divisions the Board also approved the separate logos for each division and that letters relating to membership and advocacy were to be signed by the Membership and Advocacy Officer and/or Chairman. The membership is grouped in branches which generally meet monthly. In both the Metropolitan and Hunter areas there are district associations made… Read more »
I think its a step in the right direction i think there should be an insurance scheme for the racing dogs with vet fees through the roof
What a good idea gwic has come up with as I would expect that as they are so worried about greyhound welfare that the vets will check the greyhounds for the owners and trainers while they are at the tracks, as if no injuries occur, then they will be paid for doing nothing . Injury checks and vaccinations will not only be good for the owner and trainer but will have the vets paying there way.