Good tracks (though haven't seen all)
Growing - only state with increase in tracks
Happy and friendly attitude of participants (even to Victorians)
Good rapport between participants and GRSA

Perhaps I am only seeing the superficial, but it does seem that SA is getting a lot right.

Will be interesting to see how Murray Bridge goes.

From what I have seen on the GRSA newsletters it looks like its going to be a terrific set up with the horseshoe track and the 400m straight track parallel to the home straight

Hopefully, it will eliminate all those 400m bend starts you guys have at your tracks

If Matt Corby can't get it right, no one can. A CEO with a huge background in greyhound racing, had been the CEO of Sandown for many years. The smaller scale would make it easier but you still have to have the knowledge to begin with and IMO a rapport with the participants to eliminate the us and them which has been around for years and years, for good reason especially here in Victoria.

GRSA staff, from the CEO to the catching pen attendant, have always been approachable and responsive, even if you are having a whinge.

I think they need a prizemoney boost on Thursdays to attract more interstate owners who are on 50/50 deals.
Example, Monday & Tuesday prizemoney is approx 75% of Vic provincial but Thursday is only 50% of Vic metro.
But building a new track in this climate shows courage and confidence in a future.
Im surprised more people havent moved there to set up.

Thanks Jamie,

Shame that did not happen in Victoria.

They were to busy running around saving their own arses. What a different world we would be living in, in Victoria if GRSA's example was known and followed and maybe it was and it was ignored.

Because politically is where the problem lies and instead of talking to trainers and supporting them they lumped people who had a case to answer and ones that did not together and crucified them to appease the Greens and the anti's making a spectacle of the whole shemozzle.

Bring on November, the Victorian Government's day of reckoning!

A vote for Labor is a vote for the Greens and we know what they stand for.

All of us, me included, are talking about and from a limited number of areas. However, its worth noting a few things.

SA has a board which represents the clubs, individually and as a whole.
Corby is neither a public servant or a blow-in.
SA staff members are contactable by their email addresses thats unique.
The monthly Kennel Capers offers plenty of frank info about what is happening or envisaged. It does not contain waffle or boring platitudes about how good we are. Some states offer nothing at all.
SA is partly dependent on PAW output, which is threatened, but Victoria is more vulnerable.
SA (and Tasmania) opted to go with Tatts for reasons I cannot fathom. Now the Tabcorp merger is moving into place these states could expect to see improvement in pools and therefore in turnover, commissions and prize money.
SA has been quite proactive in organising publicity via radio and GAP.
Murray Bridge 550m has a bend start but may not be heavily used. TBA.
* In my view, both major tracks warrant modest corrections to their design/layouts but they are manageable in the meantime.

Where there is a will there is always hope. Dog numbers would be the immediate risk.

Oh hello Robyn, you beat me by a nose. Again

Fair enough - the proportions have fallen dramatically in recent times. Still, previously it was not uncommon to see 3 or 4 in a single race so he did provide some of the backbone.

But note that Vic is short of dogs so there would be less incentive or need at the moment to send them over. Plus his total numbers are starting to ease.

Whatever, a major decline in PAW output - which he has mandated - is a serious risk to Oz racing, irrespective of how it comes out in the wash.

He runs a business, he is just adjusting to the status quo

Like all larger breeders, his production has to decrease because, with the restriction on exports, there are less options to relocate greyhounds that are at the end of their career and even fewer options to rehome them locally

With lack of greyhounds in all states, especially performing 500m+ greyhounds in the major racing centres, it is far more economical for him to leave them where they are

Grading in all States needs to be adjusted to SA's model with the progression of maidens to juveniles to Grade 6's etc so that a greyhounds racing life can be staggered whilst it is learning its craft

It is not uncommon for SA greyhounds to have 100 starts. They must be doing something right.

An increase in this area would ease the pressure on rehoming and thus reduce the need to breed unnecessarily

These two areas alone in the racing greyhound's life cycle needs a major overhaul if you want to see breeding numbers increase by any meaningful number

"He runs a business, he is just adjusting to the status quo"

His stated reason was the burden of excessive regulation.

To see breeding numbers improve you first need to conduct a serious, professional investigation into the reasons for the long term downturn. No doubt that would include your points. Meantime, everyone is guessing or ignoring the subject.

It's funny that once upon a time club graders were well able to sort out Grade 5s into suitable mixes according to their experience and age. Similarly Grades 1 to 4. A few mishaps and that job went to town and later into the computer. Once there, it was straightforward to add more and more and more "grades" and associated conditions - at a cost, of course. There are now 125 different "grades" in total.

By the way, Juveniles and Grade 6 were in place in Tassie long before SA adopted them.

The more complex the system the more people you need at head office, the more powerful are the bureaucrats and the less any imagination is needed at clubs.

We have digressed. I agreed SA is doing nicely. I particularly like the painted tram displaying the GAP message.

All business adjust to outside influences in the economy or by Government Regulation that affects them

His is no different

Bruce Teague wrote:

To see breeding numbers improve you first need to conduct a serious, professional investigation into the reasons for the long term downturn. No doubt that would include your points. Meantime, everyone is guessing or ignoring the subject.

Risk & Return govern all business like activities including breeding of greyhounds

Is there a strong market for pups? Since 4 corners and subsequent government intervention it is perceived there isn't

Are prizemoney levels stagnating or increasing and outstripping costs?

This is a long term problem as the industry has been shrinking slowly over the last two decades with low uptake from the younger demographic

The more short term impact on breeding numbers is the Government/Regulatory intervention by way of restricting exports, imposing limits on females breeding, higher administrative costs, higher compliance costs, life style tracking of greyhounds etc etc which have all placed additional burdens upon breeders/owners

Bruce Teague wrote:

It's funny that once upon a time club graders were well able to sort out Grade 5s into suitable mixes according to their experience and age. Similarly Grades 1 to 4. A few mishaps and that job went to town and later into the computer. Once there, it was straightforward to add more and more and more "grades" and associated conditions - at a cost, of course. There are now 125 different "grades" in total.

Far too capital intensive to have a grader to grade every dog

However, there should be a grader that oversees the process especially where people usually forget to put the 2nd preference in and up missing out on a run

e.g. club advertises for 500m maiden heats

They get 12 nominations for the heats, 6 of the nominations put an open maiden as a 2nd preference, the other 6 have forgotten to put a 2nd preference for the open maiden (the usual reason is that in the past the grader would include them in an open maiden, if there were not enough dogs for 2 heats)

The computer grades a 6 dog open maiden, the other 6 are not given the opportunity to get a run in that maiden due to their nomination not being filled out with a 2nd preference

This happens a lot in the NSW system, not sure about the other states

Bruce Teague wrote:

By the way, Juveniles and Grade 6 were in place in Tassie long before SA adopted them.

Yes I know but their Juveniles are now called Grade 6 and are restricted to dogs < 24 months of age

They have no maiden races, The Grade 6 races are basically mixed races

They don't have this path that SA have: Maiden --> Juvenile --> Grade 6

Bruce Teague wrote:

The more complex the system the more people you need at head office, the more powerful are the bureaucrats and the less any imagination is needed at clubs.

No you don't, you just need a fair grading system, a powerful computer, a well written program, a person who acts a chief grader to iron out anomalies and not just accept what the computer spits out, a person that will ring participants to ensure that what they nominated via the online system is what they wanted and to educate them with it, and an online interface at the client level that is easily understood

You also still need club secretaries who are active in their communities to gain sponsorship and to liaise with the grader on the fields being formulated and the nomination flwo

Bruce Teague wrote:

We have digressed. I agreed SA is doing nicely. I particularly like the painted tram displaying the GAP message.

Agree

You make Some valid points there Sandro in terms of decrease in breeding. Also the two trainers that have trained Bale dogs for years, one is no longer in the industry and the other has very few of his dogs. Im sure the finish on lure being removed from Angle Park also has some effect on the number of dogs that are now sent to SA