Preferred Box Draw greyhound races begin August 1 in New South Wales
Greyhound racing tracks in New South Wales will witness the initiation of Preferred Box Draw (PBD) greyhound races from August 1 2023.
This move is a part of the joint endeavour by the New South Wales (NSW) Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) and Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) to ensure a safer racing environment for greyhounds.
Preferential Box Draw (PBD) greyhound races have been in operation since June 2023 in Queensland.
Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) was first to introduce the PBD system in this region in April 2022, but West Australia (WA) was first out of the boxes in Australia, running their first PBD races in early March 2023.
Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) abandoned its proposed PBD trial program which was to commence in April 2023, citing administrative issues.
The NSW venues chosen for the conduct of these events are Dapto for 5th Grade events, and Wentworth Park for 5th Grade 520m and Non-Graded 280m events.
When nominating a greyhound for a Preferred Box Draw event, trainers are required to declare the trait of their greyhound.
These traits are categorised into three different groups: Rail (R), Straight (S) and Wide (W).
The trainer must provide GWIC by way of email to [email protected] the trait of their greyhound(s).
A designated Steward will review the declared trait before the box draw commences to ensure it aligns with the greyhound's actual trait.
If it does not, the Steward will contact the trainer by telephone to discuss and determine an appropriate trait.
If a trait cannot be agreed upon, consideration may be given to permitting the withdrawal of the greyhound(s) from the event.
GRNSW will be responsible for conducting the box draws, overseen by a Steward who will attend the GRNSW Offices.
To ensure that the traits of greyhounds are being assessed accurately and consistently, the GWIC Stewards, when conducting a review of Preferred Box Draw events, will be assessing the greyhound's mannerisms in the early stages of the event and consideration will also be given to its racing trait thereafter.
The panel of Stewards officiating at the race meeting will be responsible for conducting a review of the Preferred Box Draw events.
If they are of the view that the greyhound's trait should be changed, a formal notification will be sent to the trainer.