Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) is planning the biggest round of industry investment made in decades, and as part of that has announced a full round of participant and stakeholder consultation regarding industry excellence.
The announcement was made following the GRNSW Board’s recent Strategy Day and following Board meeting.
The Chairman of GRNSW, Adam Casselden, has set out his vision for the organisation, saying: “It is my vision – and that of the GRNSW Board – that the NSW greyhound racing industry will be the world-leader in every aspect of our business. We must be the gold standard – the best in track safety, the best in animal welfare, the best in rehoming, the best for participants, the best for our fans, and the best product for our bookmaking partners.”
“It is clear that there has never before been so much cooperation amongst industry stakeholders towards a single goal of excellence. With this cooperation, we must act decisively and with unity of purpose.
“We can be, and I am determined that we will be, the best animal racing jurisdiction in the world. The advances over the last few years are materially important, but the acceleration of excellence in the past 12 months sets the scene for a great future,” said Mr Casselden.
GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Rob Macaulay said the organisation is looking at constant improvement: “We are embarking on a further wagering optimisation program right now to grow revenues and fund our pursuit of excellence. That will take in, grading, programming, and scheduling, track styles and location. Some important parts of that include increasing Average Field Sizes and Utilisation rates, and listening to participants about what we can do to improve in all of these things. This in turn will drive prizemoney increases in the future and expansion of our rehoming programs.”
GRNSW is in the process of producing an industry strategy discussion paper about all aspects of racing in NSW and will shortly announce a series of face-to-face town hall events across the state led by Mr Casselden and Mr Macaulay.
The consultation process started last week at an historic joint meeting of the Boards of GRNSW, the Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers Association (GBOTA), Greyhound Clubs NSW (GCNSW) and the Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (GWIC), at which Racing Minister David Harris attended, along with executives from NSW Liquor & Hospitality and the Office of Racing. The initiative has been greeted with enthusiasm from industry leaders. GCNSW President Shayne Stiff said: “GRNSW wanting to catch up and do town hall events and stakeholder engagement can only lead industry in the right direction.”
GBOTA President Geoff Rose is very positive about the initiative, saying: “As the leading industry association in Australia, GBOTA is very pleased to represent our members in consultation with GRNSW, to be at the table, and to be an integral part of the planning for the future of excellence in greyhound racing.”
Mr Casselden said: “We want this to be an industry-wide collaboration, with a view of building consensus with the industry as whole.”
Mr Macaulay added: “This is an exciting time for greyhound racing in NSW – we have more races than ever before, more prizemoney than ever, better rehoming than ever, lower track deaths than ever.
“The Double-Arm lures are now wanted by every track, and the Greyhound Care Scheme is going well. Now it’s time to work together to make other improvements across the board, and we’re looking forward to that. That’s what we’re about: constant improvement.
“We have had some enormous successes over the last few years, and we are all determined to grow this sport through excellence. Like every sport, we wish to encourage our wonderful young people, and to do that, we want the best possible racing opportunities, prizemoney returns, and facilities for participants and the public. We very much enjoy the ongoing collaboration with GCNSW and GBOTA, and participants more widely. Together, everything is possible.”
