Greyhound Racing NSW is excited that news of State’s first straight track has been made public, with racing to hopefully commence at the Richmond facility in late February.
GRNSW have been working for some time on bringing straight track racing to the State, and Richmond was chosen as the venue for the first straight track to be build.
With planning and work with the local council completed, contractors began working at the Richmond venue in late November. The turf is expected to be laid next week and weather permitting, it’s expected the first dogs will be running up the Richmond straight in February.
The track will be a 330m distance with the straight measuring 400m for a 70m catching pen.
“Greyhound Racing NSW is delighted that the straight track build at Richmond is well underway, the latest project funded by NSW Government’s Safety & Welfare Capital Grants Program,” GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Tony Mestrov said.
“The Richmond straight track has been a long time in planning and it is tremendous to see it now coming to fruition. The opening will be great news for the industry and its participants.
“The Richmond straight track is the latest initiative from GRNSW in line with its Strategic Plan 2018-2021 to improve welfare and safety in the greyhound racing industry.”
The Richmond straight track is the latest project to be funded by the $30 million the industry received through the Government’s Safety & Welfare Capital Grants Program, with the $4.6 million rebuild of the Grafton track another major project currently being built.
“The NSW Government is supportive of the development of straight track racing in NSW and it is great to see the work that has been done by Greyhound Racing NSW to progress the new straight track at Richmond Race Club,” the Government’s Minister for Better Regulation and INNOVATION, and Minister Responsible for Racing, the Hon Kevin Anderson said.
“The comprehensive greyhound welfare reforms we have brought in over the past few years have had a real impact in driving down injury rates in the sport, but there’s more to be done.
“A key part of this is the introduction of more straight track training and racing, and GRNSW is to be congratulated on taking its first steps towards this new way of racing.”
