The Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission has committed to a review of box draw procedures to ensure that the NSW greyhound racing industry is maintaining the highest levels of integrity and fairness.
This commitment comes following the Commission’s decision to reconduct the box draw for the 2024 edition of the Million Dollar Chase on Wednesday morning after finding the initial draw was lacking in integrity.
As the Commission takes an uncompromising approach when it comes to rigorous processes, it conducted a formal inquiry into the initial Million Dollar Chase box draw conducted at Wentworth Park on Saturday night after concerns were raised surrounding the integrity.
This draw saw trainers selected on a random basis to choose a box which contained numbers from one to eight, with barriers one, two, three and eight the first four selected.
The Commission reviewed all available footage, took observations from those who were present at the box draw and those who viewed the live stream of the draw.
The Commission’s Chief Operating Officer Wade Birch said the need to reconduct the draw was regrettable but stressed the importance of ensuring integrity and fairness to all competitors.
“While there is no evidence that anything untoward took place at the initial box draw, we determined that the processes used were insufficient to ensure the integrity of the draw,” Mr Birch said.
“Specifically, we found that the procedures undertaken prior to the draw were not rigorous enough and that some box numbers were visible to some trainers and patrons.
“The Commission will be exploring new and more robust processes for conducting public box draws to ensure greater confidence.
“I stress again that there was no intent to make these numbers visible, we determined that the process was inadequate and are of the opinion a redraw was warranted.”
The redraw was conducted at Wentworth Park using the traditional ‘banjo’ method. It was overseen by Mr Birch and filmed by Greyhound Racing NSW.
