Victorian greyhounds to race for the kids this Good Friday
Charity support and regional community engagement are being acclaimed the the cornerstones for Greyhound Racing Victoria's (GRV) race day activations as the sport prepares to race on Good Friday for the first time in 2022.
GRV, greyhound clubs and the broader industry have a long history of fundraising for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal and is proud to have made a significant contribution to the vitally important, and iconic, Victorian event, for more than a decade.
Regional Victoria will play host to three race meetings on Good Friday (April 15) with Healesville starting the day of fundraising in the early afternoon, followed by a twilight meeting at Traralgon and concluding with Geelong in the evening.
GRV has already begun its fundraising effort by participating in 3AW's Neil's Cruise for the Kids on March 11 but is also excited to launch a virtual greyhound race across Victoria for the first time.
Donations from the racing community, and beyond, will ‘virtually' move the greyhound along the route, which is approximately 400km starting at Healesville onto Traralgon and then Traralgon to Geelong. The greyhound will ‘arrive' in Geelong just in time for the club's last few races and to announce GRV's final fundraising total for the 2022 campaign.
Each club has also begun their own fundraising support of the Appeal by donating $50 every time a greyhound, wearing the white No 3 jacket, wins a race at their meeting and this donation will be matched by GRV across nearly 40 races from the first to the last race on Good Friday.
GRV is delighted to welcome Kaylene Harley, 14-year-old daughter of experienced industry participant Troy Harley, as its Good Friday Appeal Ambassador. At a very young age, Kaylene was diagnosed with Noonan Syndrome and needed to regularly visit the Royal Children's Hospital.
GRV Chair, Peita Duncan acknowledged the importance of supporting the Appeal every year and the significance of the day.
“Having the ability to give back to the community, especially young people in need of vital, world-leading medical assistance, is a contribution everyone at Greyhound Racing Victoria is immensely proud of.
“We have been long-time supporters of the Good Friday Appeal and our sport feels a great sense of privilege to be able to conduct our sport on this significant day in the community.
“We know our participants understand the role our sport needs to play on such a day, which is why we know our racing community will rally to support the wider community for this most important cause.”