Greyhound Racing NSW is today delighted and proud to announce an exciting new Greyhound Puppy Auction, and associated race series, aimed at stimulating breeding, increasing the supply of quality-bred pups, and ultimately bringing new individual owners, and syndicates, into the industry.
The new events - to be conducted in conjunction with Gold Muzzle Auctions (GMA) - will see the inaugural auction held at Richmond Racetrack on Sunday, June 23 this year, and is restricted to greyhounds whelped between July 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019.
The initial ‘Golden Muzzle’ Race Series for greyhounds sold at the 2019 GMA Auction, will carry total prizemoney in excess of $100,000 and is highlighted by the Golden Muzzle Race Series to be staged over 520m at Wentworth Park in October 2020, with $40,000 on offer to the winner of the final.
A secondary Golden Muzzle Race Series will also be held in November 2020 at Richmond over 400m, with the final winner of that series to receive $6,000.
“We are excited and pleased to announce this new initiative,” GRNSW Chief Executive Tony Mestrov said.
“It fills a void in this area which was created with the cessation of the Dapto Puppy Auction a few years back.
“It’s also about enticing breeders to produce more quality pups to bring into our industry and know that they will have an avenue to offer those pups into a healthy market.”
Mark Duclos, Managing Director of Gold Muzzle Auctions, said the Auction concept has been created to attempt to stimulate a controlled Breeding sector at what is a notorious slow time of the year and provide due financial rewards for breeders and owners.
“It’s no secret that our pool of greyhounds has been depleted in recent years and we need to be pro-active to entice people to breed again in a controlled measure to ensure that we have a sustainable racing industry,” said Duclos.
“The Gold Muzzle Auction will provide a viable sales option for those breeders whose pups are whelped in the second half of the year and we are hopeful of attracting some of the best-bred greyhounds in Australia to the inaugural Auction.”
Nominations for the 2019 Gold Muzzle Auction will open on Monday, March 18 for pups whelped between July 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019 inclusive, and will be restricted to a maximum of 150 pups, with only those pups sold through the auction to be eligible to compete in the 2020 Golden Muzzle Race Series.
While the pups will be the focal point on Auction day, there will also be a number of other activities taking place with a Trainer’s seminar; representatives from the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) will available to answer any questions from participants, as will staff from Greyhound As Pets (GAP); there’ll be entertainment for the whole family and a mini-Greyhound Racing industry expo as well.
GRNSW and Gold Muzzle Auctions are also looking to expand the concept in 2020 into Regional NSW, with plans to hold auctions in Newcastle, the Northern Rivers, Southern NSW, the Central West, and again at Richmond.
For full details of the 2019 Gold Muzzle Puppy Auction and the Golden Muzzle Race Series, head to the website - www.goldmuzzleauctions.com.au
MEDIA CONTACTS:
GRNSW – Wayne Billett: (02) 8324 7600
Gold Muzzle Auctions – Mark Duclos: Mobile 0412 752 963
