Delegates from the three Mid North Coast greyhound clubs at Taree, Wauchope and Kempsey have agreed in principle to merge into one entity that will race at the new track being built at Taree.
Greyhound Racing NSW officials met with representatives from each of the clubs on October 27 where it was agreed they would merge and become the Mid North Coast Greyhound Racing Club.
The new club intends to stage meetings at the new track in Taree, which is expected to be completed in about 12 weeks, with work having commenced five weeks ago.
The new entity will also oversee the tracks at Wauchope and Kempsey which will be used for trialling. GRNSW is also looking at the prospect of building a straight track at Kempsey.
Taree’s new track will be a two-turn 474.9m (circumference increased from 462m) track with the surface changed from grass to sand, which is designed to increase the racing capacity of the track and present a more consistent surface.
Turns will be a larger radii from 52m to 57m, transitions will be added, and there will be increased flood resistance.
The track will have three new starts: a 300m, 400m, and 525m. A 300m slipping track will also be added, as will a new semaphore board and winning post, and improvements to kennels and tower.
“We had 100mm of rain last Friday but hopefully that won’t put us back too far,” the Taree President Des McGeachie said. “The good thing was it was so dry to start with it shouldn’t effect anything too much at all, and I honestly can’t see it putting things too far behind.
McGeachie and participants on the Mid North Coast have been eagerly awaiting the building of the new track since it was proposed in 2022.
“It finally does seem real now looking at the work being done,” he said. “It’s been a long time in the making but we can actually see it happening now and everyone around here is very excited.
“To have this sort of track, a state of the art facility on the Mid North Coast will do wonders for local participants. We have had to travel for hours to get to each TAB track, down to the Gardens and Maitland. I was at Grafton on Sunday night … I don’t go that far on holidays normally.
“To get this track in our own backyard it’s exceptional. It’s going to be unreal.
“And as we know with racetracks in regions, it will be good for the local community and the local economy as well with not only locals racing here, but people coming from all around to race here, and spend their money in town.
“The impact of this new track will be felt right throughout the region.”
Trenching for electrical works at the venue has been done over the past week, along with finalising civil topography works for drainage and the track base.
“As a sport we know there is a real need for this facility on the Mid North Coast, and once completed it will not only be capable of racing multiple times a week, but more importantly this new track will be designed to be one of the safest in NSW,” GRNSW CEO Rob Macaulay said.
