Left with mixed feelings to be honest because there were so many positives (stadium v impressive, staff friendly and helpful, food excellent, track surface looked perfect and racing clean) yet the numbers in attendance were very low. What made me feel a little sad was seeing the Members Bar that was closed and looked like it had not been used for a long time.

So my question for all my Aussie friends is does the game have much of a future if it is not attracting the numbers despite how well it is presented on the night (a way better experience than in the UK these days thats for sure)? Or, did I just happen to go on an unusually quiet night?

Hoping to get to The Meadows when in Melbourne next week so will be interesting to see how things are there.

The lack of patrons on course at just about all tracks is dwindling for a number of reasons, but it's not the be-all and end-all to indicate that our sport here in N.S.W. (and, indeed, Australia) is on the way out anytime soon.

The decline in numbers on course, I think, is because there is so much competition for the entertainment dollar when people, generally, are doing things tough financially.

Another factor is that you have to wonder why anyone (apart from owners, trainers etc.) would attend and spend their hard-earned when they can either sit comfortably at home watching the races (while enjoying a medicinal libation or two, along with a having a wager) or go to the local pub or licensed club with friends/mates and do the same thing at nowhere near the cost or inconvenience.

Further, greyhound racing in this state is seen, I think, by the general public as having a dubious reputation - thanks, in part, to the lies spread by those "do-gooders" who never let the truth get in the way of them making money from those gullible enough to believe them.

We went through a rough stage in 2016 when greyhound racing was slated for extinction, bought on the by the lies of certain politicians, a tainted inquiry and the actions of a handful of idiots who did the wrong thing. Inexplicably, there are still a very, very small minority who have continued to do the wrong thing but they, quite rightly, to the joy of the rest of us have received life bans and, hopefully, prosecution for their actions.

What doesn't help either is that there doesn't seem to be much of an appetite by those in charge to try and introduce young people to our sport. The only advertising you seem to see is on racing websites and the like, so they are basically preaching to the converted.

Despite all this, greyhound racing is not in the parlous state you may think. Prize money, in general, is pretty good but we are in a situation where not enough new dogs are being bred because there is no room for them. Retired dogs sit in kennels waiting to be re-homed and are taking up kennels that in previous times would have been vacated for new dogs coming through.

Gambling revenue on the dogs is still quite healthy and, as our industry receives a percentage of that revenue, the future is not so bleak.

I hope you enjoy the Meadows.

Thanks very much for such a detailed reply - very helpful. There are certainly some parallels with things back home in the UK (rehoming issues meaning there are fewer spaces in racing kennels, dwindling attendances, lack of appeal to the younger generation etc.) but the relatively healthy funding and prize money levels are certainly different and that is a huge positive for you in Australia.

The levy at home is a voluntary one and not all bookmakers contribute, despite being more than happy to benefit from gambling on the product. Bookmakers have too much control in the UK, including the ownership of most tracks and media rights. Add to that the perception of the wider public, who have been fed the same rubbish from the anti brigade, and very poor prize money levels it is hard to see how new owners and spectators (also prospective new owners of course) will be attracted to the sport.

I am very pleased to hear that things are relatively positive for you and the sport in Australia and long may that continue.

Best of luck.

Neil

Just as an addendum to my earlier posting; the following article was in the news section today on the Greyhound Recorder website. I think it's fairly apt in light of your observations of Wenty the other night.

"SATURDAY'S Paws Of Thunder heats provided spectacular racing yet, with only 38 nominations for the Group 1 series, serious attention to the Group Race Calendar must be had.

So few were the noms at closure (Tuesday at 9am), it took another two days for the meeting to be structured and all heats had vacant boxes (obviously no reserves).

The Paws of Thunder was once the National Coursing Association's time-honoured St Leger but it has completely lost its relevance as new races are added to each state body's calendar.

GCA only aggregates the national calendar and has no call on what or when new races are scheduled but GCA is funded by member states (fees for races being considered as Group events) and time has come for some to be jettisoned.

In recent years, the Million Dollar Chase, Phoenix, Sandgroper, 715, Gold Bullion, Dubbo's Country Classic, the Summer Six Hundred at Gosford and Pink Diamond (to mention but a few) have evolved.

GRNSW has warmed to a carnival-like outcome for feature events but this Paws Of Thunder episode absolutely compromises depth in the National Derby and Futurity.

In 2023, the story was not a lot different yet the concept was given another chance and history repeated itself.

Being age restricted', the Derby and Futurity are very important events yet their value (prize money-wise) has been lowered in the past few years as has the Paws Of Thunder.

I was fortunate enough to win a Paws Of Thunder (2013) with $100,000 going to-the-winner it's now $75,000 to the winner.

Clearly there are budgetary issues in NSW and a rationalisation of sorts (regardless of what GCA might do or not do) is front and centre.

Surely the closing of nominations only on Thursday before a Saturday event and snaring only 38 hounds is enough evidence that change is needed."

Mention is made in this article that first prize money for the Paws of Thunder final is only $75,000 so what therefore must be remembered is that the other races listed are, on average, about ten times more than that.

I don't think things are going too badly here when owners/trainers can't be bothered nominating dogs for a "measly" $75K to the winner race.

The biggest difference, as I see it, between greyhound racing here in NSW (and it's fairly similar in other states) is that corporate bookmakers/TAB have to contribute for having access to greyhound racing information and their associated usage fees.

Last financial year this amounted to over $96 million in revenue for Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) and, on top of this, "Sponsorship and Rights" added a further $12.5 million.

Out of this, GRNSW paid out over $55 million in prize money and still made a profit of over $6 million - despite paying participants $60 travel subsidy for every dog raced at any meeting.

I don't wish to sound like an apologist for GRNSW, because I'm certainly not as, according to it's Annual Report, it spent an inexplicable $12.3 million on "Finance, Legal and Corporate" and has not, seemingly, bothered to collect $6.5 million that has been owed to GRNSW by the Wentworth Park landlord for decades - this is in spite of the fact that the landlord will not renew the lease to race at Wentworth Park past 2027 and charges us $30,000 per week to race there.

Despite this, I think it's fairly obvious that racing participants (horses and dogs) in the U.K. have been screwed over big-time, since day one, as a consequence of your successive governments not regulating bookmakers to ensure they contribute funds back to the industries upon which they make their money.

All the best, Neil.

On the prize money front, for comparison, pretty much only the English Derby would have prize money of any significant level. Most other Group 1 competitions, where you would have to get through at least 2 rounds to get to the Final, would have a winners pot of no more than the equivalent of 20-40 thousand Aus Dollars. When the most promising pups are selling for the equivalent of 30-50 thousand Aus Dollars, you can see there is no great financial incentive to be an owner. An average graded race at most tracks would pay the equivalent 200-300 Aus Dollars so even less incentive to have a grader.

I have gone from owning around 28 dogs to having a half share in 2 in Ireland (where things are not perfect but certainly much better than in the UK). Still cant quite give it up though!

All the best.