WA greyhound racing gets new $500,000 slot race The Sandgroper
West Australian greyhound racing participants will be celebrating this morning with news they will have the opportunity to race for $500,000 in prizemoney with a new slot based race to be called The Sandgroper.
The $500,000 prize purse is the largest in WA greyhound racing history and will be run at Cannington.
The Sandgroper is named after the colloquial term for residents of WA. West Aussies have long been called Sandgropers by the rest of Australia, a name that echoes the beach lifestyle.
The Sandgroper will be one of three races launched across the three codes all to be raced on the same weekend and to be collectively known as the Western Trilogy.
The Western Trilogy, will cary a total of $5,500,000 prizemoney across the three racing codes.
The other two races are the $4,000,000 The Quokka for thoroughbred racing at Ascot, and the $1,000,000 The Nullarbor for harness racing to be run at Gloucester Park.
‘We're excited to announce Australia's first tri-code slot racing event,' Chief Executive Officer Ian Edwards said.
‘Western Australia is new territory for slot races and we are ideally placed to bring the trinity of thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing together for the first time in one sensational weekend program.
‘These three races will be among the richest in the state for each racing code.
‘Each race has taken a name with a strongly West Australian flavour: The Quokka, The Nullarbor and The Sandgroper.'
The Sandgroper will be run for the first time on Friday April 14 2023 over a distance of 520m under the lights at Cannington.
The Nullarbor will be run at Gloucester Park the same night, and The Quokka will be run the following day Saturday April 15 2023 at Ascot.
All three races are slot based races with potential slot holders invited to apply to Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA)
Applications for the Sandgroper are open to all businesses, individuals or entities that satisfy all terms and conditions and will cost $44,000 plus GST. Only the successful slot holders will be required to pay the fee, so it will not be required to be lodged to make an application for a slot.
The prizemoney payout for The Sandgroper will be:
- 1st – $300,000
- 2nd – $75,000
- 3rd – $50,000
- 4th to 8th -A$15,000.
Slots will be allocated by means of an application and assessment process managed by The Sandgroper Race Committee. The Sandgroper Race Committee will be established by RWWA to oversee the administration, monitoring and implementation of the Race.
Applications for The Sandgroper slots close at 10am on Wednesday October 26 2022.
Successful slot holders will be announced on Monday November 7 2022.
Each successful slot holder will be required to provide RWWA with the name of the nominated greyhound, and full details of the terms of any private arrangement between the slot holder and relevant owner and/or trainer.