From Friday 1 July, the Richmond Race Club will commence racing with a new lure arm. The lure system is of a hoop arm design, has two squawkers attached and extends approximately 1200 millimetres from the rail.
As recommended by the Working Dog Alliance’s Review & Assessment of Best Practice Rearing, Socialisation, Education and Training Methods for Greyhounds in a Racing Context , the lure itself is not an animal shape. The lure provides an increased amount of movement compared to the traditional racing lure which may be more visible to the entire field and more visually enticing to the greyhounds.
The arm has been used during trials at the Richmond track. Feedback received from participants revealed that more than 70% were satisfied with the lure arm and the lure material.
The new arm will be used with a catching pen finish. The catching pen will have a decoy system to reward the greyhounds at the completion of the race and to entice them to safely enter and remain in the catching pen.
Reducing interference between greyhounds during racing is a priority to reduce racing injuries. Additionally, reducing the risk of collision with the inside running rail is essential to increasing racing safety. The installation of the new lure system is aimed at achieving these aims and will be reviewed for potential improvements as results are received from research projects examining chase motivation in greyhounds and optimum track design.
A roll out of the hoop arm lure is planned at other tracks in NSW as the appropriate infrastructure changes are addressed.
The Richmond club will trial with the new arm this month to allow those who have not already taken part in hoop arm trials to do so before 1 July.
The dates of the trials are as follows:
- Monday, 21 June
- Thursday, 23 June
- Sunday, 26 June
- Monday, 27 June
- Thursday, 30 June
Please contact Richmond Club for details on the hoop arm trialling sessions.
