What was good is no longer appropriate. If the signs are not there now, they soon will be.

Thousands do not turn up any more. At best, local and worldwide gamblers support the cause but many choices are available and they may not always favour your particular option.

The critical measure now is that greyhound racing is barely capable of existing on its own. Land costs and availability as well as wages and maintenance are becoming too much to bear.

The answer is a partner, or several of them. Venues need to be multi-purpose in concept, not only to share costs but also to take advantage of the flow of people through the facility. The options are limited only by your imagination.

In NSW we got away with the disappearance of Penrith because Richmond was not far away (for trainers, that is, not so much the public). Victoria canned Wangaratta which cost the industry because of the loss of patronage from the nearby Albury/Wodonga conurbation. Both Tweed Heads and Gold Coast were dumped, not to be replaced so far, leaving the popular tourism region without a needed one-turn track.

While we are now in an online world, the main body of commerce still lies in face to face shopping, whether in major centres or strip shops. Live racing pictures are a boon but they barely serve to promote the sport to potential owners or trainers. Often they are no more than a poker machine substitute.

Let me offer a somewhat ridiculous example. Take a major shopping centre and stick a racetrack on top of it. OK, that may not be practical but you get the idea. The game is about people - dogs are just incidental.