Racing Queensland adopt a third ‘middle’ preference for box draws
Following a three-month pilot of the Preferential Box Draw (PBD) system at the Capalaba Greyhound Racing Club, Racing Queensland (RQ) has advised of the addition of a ‘Middle' (M) racing trait.
Queensland grainers will now have three options when nominating for PBD races – Rail (R), Middle (M), and Wide (W).
When nominating for PBD races, trainers should have regard for the greyhounds' racing traits in the initial stages of the race.
Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) was the 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.
The WA PBD strategy is identical to the Victorian PBD pilot, where trainers nominate their preference for starting position, but the WA model has an additional option.
The WA pilot is currently limited to maiden and novice grade greyhounds, but Racing and Wagering West Australia (RWWA) has just announced plans to extend the study to include country class 5th/6th mixed grade races.
Greyhounds in WA are considered ‘railers', ‘straight' or ‘wide' runners yet within the grading process there remains a randomness to the outcome of the box draw.
The RWWA PBD study is ongoing and no definitive outcomes have yet been determined.
Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) is “still in discussion” about launching a practical PBD test study in the the state.
Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV), originally announced plans for PBD races back in June 2023, but it wasn't until earlier this month that GRV amended the necessary local rules to begin their PBD trial at Traralgon greyhound track.
The Queensland greyhound race meeting which will include all three race traits (R, M and W), will be at Capalaba on Sunday 29 October 2023.
The programmed race will be the 1-3 Wins Heats over 366m.