Hundreds Flock To Mid North Coast Mecca

Participants, punters and politicians all descended on the new Mid North Coast Greyhound Racing Club at Taree on Saturday morning for the official opening of the new state-of-the-art racing facility. 

More than 400 spectators piled into the multi-million-dollar venture to witness the ribbon cutting ceremony and enjoy the club’s third race day program since its soft launch seven days ago.

Greyhound Racing NSW Chairman, Adam Casselden, said the track was an exceptional community asset that prioritised safe racing.

“It is a centre of excellence. It’d be wonderful to roll these out across the state but obviously money is always a problem, land size is a problem but what we’ve got here is spectacular,” Casselden said on track at Taree.

“We’ve got some new initiatives to make greyhound racing safer. The new soft sand, from all accounts, the dogs are enjoying it and the trainers like it. We’ve got a wider track circumference, and we’ve got a new safe chase lure which is working wonders as well.”

“Participants are also over the moon, I was just talking a moment ago with a local trainer and she’s so, so happy she doesn’t have to do the long drive to The Gardens…it’s now a 15 minute drive for her and that is making her life so much better and its safer because she’s not on the road.”

Casselden quick to acknowledge the hard work and selflessness that has made the project possible.

“The three clubs that came together, that wasn’t easy, sacrifices needed to be made and I think it’s paid off. It’s been a wonderful collaboration between Wauchope, Taree and Kempsey…new club, new committee, new facilities and importantly, the local community is embracing it,” Casselden added.

“I couldn’t believe it because I couldn’t get a car park…I had to drive around because there was no spots. That says it all I think, everyone had come from near and far to be here as part of this opening but really to appreciate this magnificent new track we’ve got here on the Mid North Coast of NSW.”

The Chairman also doubling down on his commitment to making greyhound racing in NSW the best product in the country. 

“Theres always room for improvement, you can’t rest on your laurels. You’ve just got to keep doing better and better but it’s a team effort,” he said.

“It’s a wonderful organisation [GRNSW], we’ve got a strong and stable board, we’ve got great staff spread across NSW, all working of the same thing, to make greyhound racing in NSW the best sport it possibly can be, and most important, the safest. That’s our number one priority, animal welfare, that means safer tracks and really robust quality animal welfare programs, and of course the rehoming of retired greyhounds.”

Major improvements at the new Mid North Coast facility also include smoother engineered turns for safer racing, a new slipping track, upgraded amenities, automated gates as well as several other flood-resistant and safety enhanced features.

Member for Myall Lakes, Tanya Thompson MP, was also on hand to official unveil the new circuit and was in awe of the finished product. 

“What a spectacular day today and it’s good to see so many people here enjoying the facility already. Proud to be here to officially open it, it’s great for our local economy…and I’m really happy to see it finally open,” Thompson said.

“This is the perfect place for people to come and connect…the guys have done a really great job getting this together finally, we know we’ve had a lot setbacks with the weather that we can’t control but the sun is out today, the weather gods have shined on us and it’s going to be a great facility for many generations to come.”

The Mid North Coast Racing Club will conduct TAB race meetings on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings with the upcoming Taree Cup the first feature race to be held at the venue.