The Gardens Goes To Early Evenings Timeslot On Saturdays
This weekend, the National Coursing Association's (NCA) Newcastle greyhound track, The Gardens, will move to a permanent fixture on a Saturday in the early evening, with the first race around 5pm (AEST) each week, going through to around 8pm.
Since the inception of Sky Racing's extra channels and demand for content, The Gardens have held Saturday night fixtures, broadcasted on Sky Racing2, in addition to the complexes weekly Friday afternoon meetings and 26 Wednesday night meetings, which are covered by Sky Racing 1.
This has made The Gardens, New South Wales most utilised TAB racing venue of any code, conducting 127 race meetings a year, with plenty of prizemoney on offer for participants.
The Saturday meetings have been extremely successful with large crowds in attendance increasing revenue across the board.
NCA General Manager, Adam Dobbin, is still confident the new timeslot will play a strong part as an entertainment medium in the Hunter.
“We are looking forward at cultivating the Saturday early-evening timeslot as a prime source of entertainment in the Hunter region,” Dobbin explained.
“With the facilities on offer at The Gardens, we expect to grow our customer base with continued race-night functions and the Eden's Restaurant – it is really an exciting time for greyhound racing in the Hunter.
“As a bonus the board of the NCA are currently exploring opportunities to extend the length of the race night experience, so customers can maximise the return on their dollar.”
The first eight races at The Gardens of a Saturday will be seen on Sky Racing1, with the remaining two races run as non-tab events for on-course patrons only.
This Saturday's meeting will be the last before The Gardens closes for a week to upgrade the track, which will see the 413 metre boxes shifted to allow for a safer start on to the bend, as well as the catching pen re-located further around the track to allow greyhounds a longer run-in at the completion of races.
The NCA is having an open day on Friday, July 9 between 10am and 12 noon at The Gardens, for anyone interested in looking over the renovations and talk greyhound racing. A free sausage sizzle and refreshments will be provided for all attendees.
The best way to catch all the excitement Saturday night is by being at The Gardens.
Eden's Restaurant is open with great food at competitive prices, right on top of the action. Bookings can be made by phoning (02) 4951 5842.
You can bet live Saturday's bumper meeting at Sportsbet or Iasbet, with the first race of the program scheduled to kick off at 4.56pm AEST.