The future of greyhound racing at Dapto has been secured with news that Greyhound Racing NSW has purchased land to build a new track in the region.
GRNSW chief executive officer Rob Macaulay announced over the weekend that the organisation has purchased land on Bong Bong Road in Dapto which will be the site of a new state of the art facility.
“The purchase of a new site for Dapto greyhounds will allow us to transition from the current site - which is operated under a lease agreement with Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society - and own our own destiny,” Mr Macaulay said.
“The new Dapto site will also have a Greyhounds As Pets facility and be central to our expansion of rehoming plans locally and beyond.
“The plan is to develop state-of-the art welfare facilities, the world’s best practice, keeping line with the best welfare and integrity results in the sport’s history.
“Dapto greyhounds is already famous culturally in Australia and beyond, but our future plans include a new richest race in the world, new themed classes of races, and meetings for international wagering markets and more.”
There had been some industry uncertainty about the long-term future of the Dapto greyhounds following an announcement by the A&H Society in 2019 that racing would cease. GRNSW and the Society came to agreement that the venue would be leased for racing but that lease expires in June 2025, so GRNSW have been looking for alternatives beyond that date.
Like all new tracks now designed and built in NSW, a first priority will be that the very latest technology is used on the Dapto track to ensure that safe racing is paramount.
The tentative plan is for a two turn track similar to the new upgraded track at Richmond, but GRNSW will investigate all options in the planning stage including the potential of a straight track.
“The site will not only be a racing venue with scope for significant community based usage, and will be multi-functional with the potential for other sports to have use of the facility,” Mr Macaulay said.
“We will engage the local community and stakeholders in that process to identify everything that can be done at the site for the best of all the community.”
* Caption: GRNSW CEO Rob Macaulay shows local MP Anna Watson, local councilor Linda Campbell and trainer Glen Goodwin around the new site for the Dapto racetrack. Photo: Christian Michael.
