NSW tracks dilemma: greyhound racing… without the racing
NEW South Wales greyhound trainers were left furious after the Gosford meeting was cancelled on Thursday night due to track surface issues.
A Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) press release issued on Friday morning advised ‘stewards and veterinarians found the racing surface to be too hard and held concerns that it would jeopardise the welfare of greyhounds if racing took place. After consultation with the curator at the Gosford track, this left GRNSW no choice but to abandon the meeting'.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for many trainers who had been affected by the abandonment of the Maitland meeting the week prior.
Both tracks are operated by the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA).
GBOTA CEO Brenton Scott said his organisation was disappointed to have lost the meetings and concedes communication in regards to track standards and preparation must be assessed moving forward.
“It is obviously disappointing to lose any meetings but the meetings have been cancelled on the basis of safety,” Scott said.
“The GBOTA is supportive of a centralised system that strives to present consistent and safe tracks. We advocated for the appointment by GRNSW of a central track maintenance manager and we support the objectives of a central system having oversight across all NSW tracks.
“We regret the cancellations and the inconvenience caused to participants and we are addressing all issues there connected.
“There is a balance in place [in regards to direction from GRNSW] that is well meaning but I think we can improve. If everybody agrees to the end objective, being as precise as possible with the processes that are to apply should work to the benefit of all.
“I will say that I am confident in the quality of our relationship with GRNSW and the capacity of our management and staff to get it right, going forward.”
In addition to Maitland and Gosford, part of Richmond's Wednesday meeting was also canned due to extreme weather, whilst Dubbo lost the last three races on its Thursday card due to power outages.
Whilst agreeing welfare must come first, many trainers who spoke to Australian Racing Greyhound, including Terry Priest, could not fathom why issues with the tracks are arising so frequently in recent weeks.
“I don't understand why we are having these problems when there are procedures set in place in order to have the tracks prepared to meet certain standards – obviously there is an issue with communication between the stewards and the curators who are preparing the tracks,” Priest said.
“To throw the blame is very hard, I don't think you can just blame one party, but this is a big problem because it is happening on a regular occurrence.”
Prominent Londonderry trainer Alan Proctor, who brought eight greyhounds to Gosford on Thursday night, said he believes the problems are stemming from a new track surface which has been introduced across the state in order to reduce injury rates.
“It's not the curators – they are getting blamed for it – but it's what they working with,” Proctor said.
“The problem is with the actual surfaces they are using – but GRNSW won't take it on board because they don't think there is an issue.
“I have been in the game for 47 years. I try and [promote] the sport – when the ban was announced I had TV cameras out here, The Telegraph and the local paper – just to help the sport.
“Not only is it me as a trainer, but I have owners who rely on their prize money.
“The costs are so dear that you have got to have prize money coming in – I got $100 unplaced yesterday but that wouldn't even cover the trip up when you consider the petrol and cost of the generator to air-condition the trailer.
“This is killing us – the owners and trainers – we can't even trial our dogs, let alone race them.”
Priest worries that the authority body and clubs are not being held accountable when meetings are being abandoned, which is having a negative impact on trainers.
“We have got no voice as trainers with the way the industry is being run,” he said.
“It is one-way governance at the moment… they are not allowing for any input from the trainer and there is no leeway.
“We have been inundated with changes and there is no communication or accountability from the [GRNSW] side of the fence – whereas we are held accountable for every single thing we do.
“It is taking the sport away from the participants.”
With GRNSW currently operating without a CEO at the helm since the retirement of Paul Newson, Priest says he fears for the future direction of the sport.
“There are big problems as a result of not having a CEO – we are rudderless. We have got no one who has been in the industry for a long time up there representing us – all the knowledge and experience is just being washed away.
“You have track maintenance managers who have been doing this for years and are very intelligent – who have been preparing safe tracks for years – and now they are being asked to reinvent the wheel.
“It is getting to the point where the administration of the sport is making it impossible to train.
“In business you don't have to work harder to make things better, you just have to work smarter. The smarter you work, the better things will be, but at the moment everyone is just trying to work too hard and nothing is getting done.
“We haven't got anyone in there making the crucial decisions – it is a very strange situation that the game is in – we are self destructing.”
Clarence Town trainer Natasha Benhard, who took two dogs to Gosford on Thursday in separate cars to ensure they were kept cool in the air-conditioning, said the current climate of greyhound racing could force hobby trainers out of the industry.
“A lot of people are now asking if the [regulators] are there to help us or are they undermining us all the time and trying to force people to the brink and to the point where they say ‘to hell with this' and get out of the industry?” Benhard said.
Benhard also quizzed why the decision to abandon the meeting was not made sooner in order to save participants making the long trek to the track.
“I don't know why the decision wasn't made more promptly to save people having to travel.
“People were hot under the collar [on Thursday] – but they had reason – you have to come up with a better excuse than ‘we've called it off' after they have already arrived at the track.”
All three trainers questioned how the track could have deteriorated so rapidly, given a successful meeting was held on Tuesday night, followed by trials on Wednesday evening.
“How can the track go from being great on Tuesday to good on Wednesday for the trials and then to [bad] on the Thursday without someone being able to notice it?” Benhard said.
“I am not going to say what they should be doing because I really don't know, but if there is someone that's telling them how to prepare the tracks then the requirements should be made public to participants too.”
Scott said there was no difference in how the track was prepared ahead of Thursday's meeting in comparison to Tuesday's.
“The track was prepared to the same standard as the race meeting two nights prior,” Scott said.
“Our staff was confident in the preparation of the track, but the stewards' inspection and subsequent consultation with the on-course veterinary deemed the track a racing risk.
“Track staff were consulted at that point and supported the decision. I think there is an argument to suggest that the track would have been raced on in previous times.
“I am also confident that with minor tinkering of lead up procedures, the circumstances can and will be avoided in the future. We will also work with GRNSW to ensure that a system is in place that avoids, where at all possible, cancellations at such a late stage.”
Scott did admit issues with the track surface are the responsibility of the clubs themselves, in this instance the GBOTA, and says further training for staff will be implemented where required.
“Track preparation is a club responsibility with GRNSW applying independent oversight,” he said.
“We need to accept that the end aim here is about safe racing and eradication of as many injuries as possible. Setting high expectations is part of the process but training is central to success.
“For my part, I intend working with GRNSW to improve training and support wherever possible. I believe in the end game but the training and support is super critical.
“The greyhound industry faces a future where-by safe racing is a fundamental pillar of our operating model. So I'm not sure that we should be too concerned at the height of the performance bar.
“I do think, however, we need to make sure that all industry stakeholders have ‘buy in' to where we are heading and why.
“The safe racing objective needs to be defined, the targets fully understood by all stakeholders and best practice standards need to be applied and modified as constructive feedback demands.”
GRNSW = DICTATORSHIP
1.
a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.
2.
absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.
3.
the office or position held by a dictator.
After reading the excuses for failure in this area of track preparation at these GBOTA Trackshas become a joke. Blaming GRNSW is a easy way out ! Sorry,but the Buck stops with the Club. GRNSW has put a policy and certain standards for Track preparation on race days that is required and its obvious this race club has failed the industry in this area .Now if i present a Greyhound for racing at a Track and this Greyhound is over or under weight from its last start I will incur a Fine, and there are many other area’s in Racing… Read more »
Bluestone Definition of Dictator, is a so called man who gets around with a spud on the end of his d**k and a certain club has a couple of them! LOL
BobWhitelaw morning BOB,and a happy new year when it comes…..get that in first. been reading a fair bit about the controversies of tracks not coming up to standard in NSW,and I have to agree with your comments. for whatever reasons,they are not safe,and GRNSW stewards cannot,and should not,be made accountable for the closures….yes I did say there maybe a chance of hijinx…I retract that statement). there is always two sides to a hullabaloo,and its dependant on who gets in the first critique that others,like me,follow. HIJINX is a good word to use,and that was my first reaction,but upon reading others… Read more »
It seems to be a concerted effort to antagonise participants these people running the game could not be that incompetent if they tried, Brenton Scott it’s time to go with haste.
spyman BobWhitelaw Morning Gale, and to you I wish all the Best for the coming New Year. The near demise of our industry has been the poor performance of our racing clubs here in NSW. The lack of proper governance is why we still have problems today ,the demise of the NCA was a blessing for the Industry they had cost the industry Millions and a lot like myself think that the GBOTA are no different and now with their CEO on this Governments Panel God knows what the end result will be.Both these City Clubs have shown over many years… Read more »
GRNSW = Dictatorship
1.
a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.
2.
absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.
3.
the office or position held by a dictator
Todman Its time for him to move on, as a former GBOTA director said under his leadership (Scott) its a train wreck waiting to happen ! the Alliance is a distraction hoping for them to take the heat out of their failures. look at the composition of the Alliance some are more concerned with their own importance ,then righting the wrongs. Yes Todman we don’t need the same old same old ,we need a fresh start with fresh new faces willing to do the right thing by all concern .
Scott said…..”I am also confident that with minor tinkering of lead up procedures, the circumstances can and will be avoided in the future.” Is he for real, if he thinks minor tinkering will prevent a greyhound from breaking a hock he should be sacked immediately. They keep on playing around with the sandy surface which is not the problem, sure they can slow it down or speed it up but dogs are still going to be under enormous stress while they maintain the totally inadequate 7 degree banking on these 50 mtr radius bend tracks. Any more than 7 degrees… Read more »
We seem to have a policy for everything involving trainers, yet I can’t seem to find GRNSW track preparation policy. On a very hot day why was the track inspected so close to kenneling time,everyone knows hot weather drys sand quicker than normal. The man with the final say,the GRNSW steward, should have been on site hours earlier.
spyman BobWhitelaw A race meeting was abandoned at Goulburn recently due to track issues. Anecdotal evidence is that the GRNSW steward made the call without conducting a track inspection. Actions like this on face value do smell of hijinx.
Trevor H Yes your right, the man with the Final say is the GRNSW steward and when he could not find the CURATOR who had gone home earlier he called it off, because it was to dry and i’ll say it again the Buck stops with the GBOTA it is their job to prepare the track ,not the steward !
Trevor H spyman BobWhitelaw Don’t forget Maitland GBOTA Track, the Curator ripped up the Bitum under the Loam what does that tell you about the people who should know how to prepare a track for racing, its becoming very Hideous to say the least.
BobWhitelaw Trevor H Agreed. Now that the regulatory side of the industry has set the bar ever so higher maybe they should allocate more resources so the desired outcomes can be achieved. That means resources to all sectors of the industry. Teamwork is required here,not the building of fences.
BobWhitelaw Trevor H spyman Yet again, more resources will provide a better product. The government is demanding best practice but this can’t happen on a piggy bank budget with part timers and volunteers.
Trevor H BobWhitelaw Or Clubs Building Empires for a selected FEW !
Trevor H BobWhitelaw spyman Agree
John Tracy whats your spill on whats gone down here?
Todman What i find strange is a lot people want shift the blame to GRNSW and many are blaming the new Track Maintenance Manager Bill Wilson for these track debacles. As a lot of you know i for one have been very critical of the former GRNSW administration and history will prove how right i’am.Just before Christmas i received a show cause from GRNSW’s John Gibbons re the state of my straight track after an inspection by Bill Wilson, this was a first time in living memory where the surface had been look at by the Governing body, Wilson explained… Read more »
BobWhitelaw Todman
Bob, ask your new friend to give us some input on these pages. Heaven knows we need some direction at times. For example…..are we (or I) wasting our time pushing for track improvements (animal welfare) of the type that i have been doing?
I can assure him (and everyone) my suggestions come from a lifetime of experience.
Playing around with the sand doesn’t cut it for me.
I have never spoke to Mr. Wilson so he is excluded from my comment but GRNSW don’t give input. That’s not their mantra. They DICTATE.
How many of the new rules and regulations introducd since 4Corners have been the result of CONSULTATION with the INDUSTRY?
CHANGE is a two way street and they would get much better buy in from STAKEHOLDERS if they treated us as part of the solutions and not children whom they need to discipline.
lone widow BobWhitelaw Todman Don’t get a head of yourself re the friendship,its about working together for the betterment of all concern. As you stated are we all wasting our time pushing for track improvements ? No i don’t think we are wasting our time, this fellow i believe is a listener in the short time i spent with with at my track and we both through around different idea’s but one thing we did agree on was our infrastructure is way out of date ,as he said you can not just rip up grass tracks throw down loam it just won’t… Read more »
BobWhitelaw lone widow
I am sure Bill Wilson is as good as you say Bob, could be another ally on the inside.
We can only ask Bob. Maybe we will finally make some progress on the main issues around ‘true welfare’ for our dogs.
lone widow BobWhitelaw I’am hoping to get a meeting Gibbons in attempt to move forward in this area ,But what has worried me is the fact that when Gibbons was appointed by Baird to close down the industry by the 1st July 2017 who replaced Newson who had appointed Wayne Billet as the Manager of Industry Reform which i thought was a positive move in rebuilding our out of date infrastructure has been moved sideways to a regulatory role, which in my opinion this has a halted the industry reform at all levels ,which as you know now has exposed the massive… Read more »
BobWhitelaw Good to see that people are getting their Mojo back and looking at practical issues. One of the country trial tracks used gypsum to hold the sand together and then flooded his track with water prior to trialling. He had to do this as the Gypsum (I think that this is what it was) made the track too hard (like concrete) if it was not made wet. Gr Gillette did a lot of experiments with track safety , cambers and the strain on greyhounds negotiating turns. I think what Lone Widow is saying about cambers has a familiar ring… Read more »
BobWhitelaw Trevor H The problem is that the buck stops before it gets to the participants. The winners are the control board’s budget, back self interest it is always trying LOL.
John Tracey BobWhitelaw simple solution to all this….u will love this lonewidow…straight track racing.
solves all welfare issues.maintenance is a human issue.lack of knowledge of track conditions is a human issue.go slack,we suffer.
yep,straight track running will solve 99% of issue…and no worries about cambers and widths of tracks.humans again are to balme as circle racing was invented to bring racing right under humans noses,whilst they eat and drank.
end of story.
spyman John Tracey BobWhitelaw
A simple solution, yes Gale. A better solution is already out there though! The oldest track in the country, built in 1927 by the real track engineers of our time is Cessnock with a beautiful 80 mtr radius bend. No stresses here John.
Some brilliant pen pushing freak decided to take away the Cessnock TAB licence.
Whoever he was is no friend of the greyhounds.
spyman John Tracey BobWhitelaw Try this on for size, if you failed year 10 at school don’t bother ‘lol’. ‘Shakey Jakey’ the fastest dog ever at Wentworth Park. We would have to assume that Shakey Jakey was capable of equalling the Capalabar track record for 300 mtrs. The 300mtrs was run at a rate of 19 mtrs per second. The 520 mtr distance at WP has approximately 250 mtrs of straight running and 270 mtrs of circle. If the 250 mtrs of straight was run at 19 mtrs per second that means he would have had to slow down to 16.70 mtrs… Read more »
lone widow spyman John Tracey BobWhitelaw lol……………well,there is always one that defies logic.
like drag racing. a straight line allows every dog a chance,without interference,to reach its top speed,hold that momentum for as long as possible,and have bragging rights.explains why many circle dogs cant beat straight dogs and reverse.as I said,always one that defies logic.
lone widow spyman John Tracey BobWhitelaw Science backs up what you are saying and Cessnock measured as the safest track in NSW when statistics were produced by the 1990 Government report. The thoroughbreds in the UK did a ten year study on the subject and came up with a similar result to the following prompt. The science has advanced in the horses and the greyhounds have obtained the scientist (human engineer) who’a group did the great work on the harness horses. The Gallops are different in gait and closer to the greyhounds (both galloping). In the future measures will be able to be… Read more »
John Tracey BobWhitelaw John good to see your back on deck , i was worried you may have over indulged around Christmas dinner as you were slow to reply .As usual your observation and knowledge is second to none and nine times out of ten, your right !
i will converse with you shortly as i have a few issues at the moment which i must focus on .Hoping its a productive year for us all .
John Tracey lone widow spyman BobWhitelaw John..it would be exiting to see the work of ‘Gillette & Zebas 1991’ revisited in NSW. Perhaps one or two of the tracks set down for closure could be assigned for that purpose. The bigger tracks like Cessnock and Devonport are already there so that part (the bigger radius bend) is covered. To retain the two turn tracks i would like to see more work done on synthetic surfaces with steeper banking, around 12 to 15 degrees. Any increase in the banking would be better than none, however the shallower the banking on synthetics the more likely… Read more »
BobWhitelaw John Tracey …. go the jugular BOB?
why was CESSNOCK closed down guys?
spyman BobWhitelaw John Tracey Many reasons, and they weren’t for the best interests of Participants and I’ll explain when i have a little more time later.Maybe John could pass on his views too,looking back i have no doubt it has led to where we are today, in a mess!
BobWhitelaw John Tracey Hi Bob, I was leaving the subject alone and did not see your question to me until recently. The non tab tracks did not have the same problem as the Tab tracks had with these type of problems as they could become inventive and fix the problems by delaying the start if meetings and then compressing the racing program racing say every 10 minutes and finishing at the same time. With the TAB broadcasts things have to fit into a program. I noticed when I was doing the project on volunteer and unpaid work and its value to… Read more »
lone widow John Tracey spyman BobWhitelaw as a passing comment,u have me on banking angles etc;but would that not favour say the outside boxes get a whip-off affect?
I recall the old warragul track being an 8 box dream.hence why they restructured the design,and now is a more balance track.one would need to understand the ‘whip-off’ affect and how much it MAY affect box ratings!
don’t have that worry in straight racing.sorry,had to say that for my own pleasure.
back to sound reasoning………….
BobWhitelaw spyman John Tracey actually BOB,this type of histrionics needs to be listened to,and a sanctioned ‘sit-down’ and discuss with all phases of the industry,like a lets see where we stand discussion,is needed today.with so much welfare queries being raised,if the NSW government are serious about allowing the industry to continue,and to prosper,it and the industry need to re-value every aspect of the sport.and out of that honest(?) discussion,frank decisions can be acted upon.if tracks need reshaping,or some even closing,then as long as gains for the industry are perpetrated,and for the betterment,we can do what we do best,and under government legislation,everyone should… Read more »
BobWhitelaw John Tracey and that is a small attack on todays situations of NO racing due to track problems. how much longer can that exist before we fall? or is that what theywish? I doubt that,but it cannot exist the way it stands today. no more fluffy back punching….lets attack these issues today and take a few knock-outs along the way.all for the betterment of an industry that deserves to prove it can reform.
spyman lone widow John Tracey BobWhitelaw
Gale, i’m only guessing but the ‘whip off effect’ would be more of a problem on bend starts. My concern right now is that we’re all guessing, that’s why we need a lot more research in that area.
Agree totally on straight tracks. I only ever had one true speed dog that could win up the straight. I do miss him.
spyman John Tracey There Many reasons why Cessnock lost its race dates and they were all of no Fault of the club itself .Initially it was the choice of GRA at the time to be the Premier Track concept in the Hunter. At the same time a breakaway group of trainers were pushing for a new track at Stanford Merthyr ,Then all of a sudden these trainers had joined the Cessnock club to block the concept. Now when the proposed Premier Track concept was put the members to vote on, this group made sure they had the numbers to vote the… Read more »
lone widow John Tracey spyman BobWhitelaw Just on the prompt I put up, you would conclude that tracks that had complete circles would be the safest for dogs as the dog could never reach top speed on turns. The statistics on greyhound on straight tracks previously could be misleading as a lot of greyhounds that carried injuries raced up the straight and these were more prone to injury anyway. Gillette regarded Appin as the safest track he knew of because it had the right uphill grade for greyhounds driving from behind and the right weight on their front end. The research that interested… Read more »
BobWhitelaw spyman John Tracey what a headache NSW has created for itself.such a history of wrong-calls,it seems. uuhhhmmm, interesting how hijinx always seems to be in the background.go back to what I suggested in another post. start again,from the bottom,and no one has that power to determine until everything is thrashed out.now that can be a long chat,but the way it has formed over the years up till now,u stay on that path,and bye bye doggies. and reputations need to be pushed aside,regardless of staus and history.u guys are in this position because of……..let u all guess what the missing word may… Read more »
BobWhitelaw spyman John Tracey Fair assessment but your dynamics on the boards position is not as stated. If the country member had have voted for Cessnock closing the vote would have been 4-2 and not needed the chairman’s casting vote. It was out of my board time but I understood the numbers. The situation in the upper Hunter became critical when Harold Park closed to greyhound racing as the area had mostly one turn tracks all run outside interests and one tab track two turns owned by the Newcastle Jockey Club at Beaumont Park. Because Beaumont Park (Newcastle) was owned by horse… Read more »
BobWhitelaw spyman John Tracey Fair assessment but your dynamics on the boards position is not as stated. If the country member had have voted for Cessnock closing the vote would have been 4-2 and not needed the chairman’s casting vote. It was out of my board time but I understood the numbers. The situation in the upper Hunter became critical when Harold Park closed to greyhound racing as the area had mostly one turn tracks all run outside interests and one tab track two turns owned by the Newcastle Jockey Club at Beaumont Park. Because Beaumont Park (Newcastle) was owned by horse… Read more »
John Tracey BobWhitelaw spyman John as i stated these renegade trainers ( Standford Merthyr Group) that scuttled any chance of the Premier Track concept in the Hunter with their pursuit of the own track and not what was the best for the industry at the time. Political interference at a local level also killed off any support towards the Cessnock concept .Labor had control of the seat at a state level and also control of council in which one member of the Group (Stanford Merthyr )was married to a council member and for their reasons they scuttled any chance of the premier… Read more »
lone widow BobWhitelaw Spent two hours with Bill Wilson yesterday at my centre, and i must say this man is a breath of fresh air re track safety and his knowledge in relation preparation of loam and grass tracks i believe his knowledge is second to none. We must remember that until Wilson arrived there was no one person from GRNSW to my knowledge ever worked in this area. The problems that has confronted him ,was that the old school who would not except change that are needed to have a safe working environment for all concern. Its his belief that… Read more »
lone widow spyman John Tracey BobWhitelaw maybe you should raise this with ALLIANCE/GBOTA and whoever else runs the sport up there. and there lyes another issue.BOB,u come in on this. a forum member raised a question of how come issues raised with GBOTA only go as far as them,and no further,say to the likes of GRNSW! A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN SAY CLUBS by members who join each club and pose questions,like yours LONEWIDOW,and GO DIRECT to GRNSW,get a chance to voice opinions without GBOTA influence. a great insight,as due to GBOTA nearly a closed shop and a past history of stuffing things up,this… Read more »
BobWhitelaw lone widow Bob, most tracks in NSW have the same configuration, ie, two turn like Nowra, The Gardens, Dapto, Gosford, Lithgow, Bathurst, Dubbo, even WP itself i could go on. What can the clubs do to further reduce the injury rates other than to play around with the surface (again)? If not where will the expertise come from to standardize any improvements like perhaps; returning to turf, or increasing banking angles or here’s a good one REMOVE BEND STARTS. If the clubs are expected to go it alone they will fall on their swords because it will all be guesswork.… Read more »
lone widow BobWhitelaw Bend starts should be outlawed and two sets of boxes for all distances with a MOBILE Finish line and throw in a return to Wyong and a 300m straight up the Harness Track at Cessnock leave the the big one turner grass and two turner Loam on the inside ,the one turner has a 80 degree radius .The bad news is some of these tracks that you have mention have no room for expansion !