It’s already been a mammoth year for the Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club and now it’s two marquee races have been buoyed by hefty prizemoney increases.
The 2022 Ladbrokes Goulburn Cup (440m), with the final set to be held on October 21, will now be worth $40,000-to-the-winner, an increase of $15,000 on last year’s first-place prize.
In further good news for the club, the Goulburn Workers Club Fireball (350m) has also surged in value from $10,000 to $25,000-to-the-winner.
Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club president, Gary Clark, said the prizemoney increases were great reward for participants in the state.
“It was only 10 years ago the [Goulburn] Cup was worth $10,000 to the winner so this is a substantial increase a decade on,” Clark said.
“The Ladbrokes Goulburn Cup was elevated to Group 3 status last year and will remain at that standing but the club is pleased to announce that prizemoney will be at a Group 2 level with $40,000-to-the-winner,” he said.
“We also have the second major event of the year, the Goulburn Workers Club Fireball over 350m, on at the same time as the Cup. This race was introduced in 2016 with $5,000-to-the-winner but each year the club has looked at developing the race,” he said.
“Already the 2020 winner, On The Rocks is being set for a second victory in the Fireball while Victorian trainer, David Geall, who won the Cup in 2019 with Emerald Rainbow is heading to Goulburn for both races,” he said.
The announcement comes only a month after racing minister Kevin Anderson announced a $6 million upgrade to the Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club.
“Both these races will be run for the last time on the existing circle track before the redevelopment so I expect that all available sprinters at this level will contest both races, the cup continues to make headlines each year due to the high standard of chasers,” Clark added.
The Ladbrokes Goulburn Cup is a time-honoured race that has been won in recent times by Wow (2020 and 2021), Emerald Rainbow (2019), the Mark Wilcox-trained Scientific Man in 2018 and Champion Model for the Lord kennel in 2017.
The Goulburn Fireball was taken out by the Ray Webster-prepared Father Rick last year with Spiders Brother winning the inaugural running of the race in 2016.
Greyhound Racing New South Wales Deputy CEO, Wayne Billett, said the increases in prizemoney were reflective of a club and committee determined to help the sport and its participants thrive.
“The Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club has worked extremely hard to enhance the standing of their flagship races and these prizemoney increases are a credit to everyone involved and it’s another real shot in the arm for regional racing. There are also several great support events scheduled around the Cup and Fireball ensuring more participants can get involved in what will be a wonderful week in Goulburn,” Billett said.
Heats of both the Ladbrokes Goulburn Cup and the Goulburn Workers Club Fireball will be held on October 14 with the finals to be run the following week on October 21.
