In his 40 years in greyhound racing, Allan Syphers has experienced many milestone moments, but he’s quick to declare that a new centre of excellence in Tamworth will rank alongside any of them.
Syphers lives in Curlewis, just 15 minutes from his local track at Gunnedah - the only TAB venue in the Northern Inland region - but says he would happily spend an hour behind the wheel heading across to Tamworth to race.
“We have been screaming out for this for years,” Syphers said of a new facility. “A centre of excellence would be just perfect for Tamworth wouldn’t it? Perfect.
“There’s plenty of room to make it there, and this region is a really strong heartland of greyhound people.
“I can tell you now I would love to be driving an hour from here to go to race at a straight track or a circle track at Tamworth.”
Syphers has had his share of success in the sport over the years and raced some handy greyhounds including Murphey, and more recently Jet Keen and the impressive youngster King Con.
Jet Keen defeated Group 1 National Futurity winner Embrace in the heats of the Ladbrokes Millon Dollar Chase in September, then brilliantly won the Regional Final to win a place in the semi-finals at Wentworth Park. Unfortunately for Syphers, as Jet Keen charged forward on the first turn in the semis he was checked and his chances were dashed.
“That’s racing,” he said. “You get a lot of good luck and a lot of bad luck in this sport.”
While a new track in Tamworth is music to the ears for local participants, Syphers pointed out it will have wider-spread benefits.
“It’s not just the industry that would be benefit from it. It would be good for the whole community,” he said.
The numbers support his view, with the IER report on the size and scope of the NSW Greyhound Racing industry, released this year, showing that in the Northern Inland region where the Tamworth and Gunnedah tracks reside, the greyhound industry was responsible for generating close to $11.4 million in value-added contribution to Gross State Product in the 2021-2022 financial year.
“A new venue at Tamworth would see people travelling from all around the region and further, and of course when greyhound people travel they invest in the local community on those trips whether it be food or petrol or other things,” Syphers said.
Greyhound Racing NSW is awaiting a response from the Tamworth Council about the subdivision of the land but, according to Council, the combination of a large number of applications and loss of council staff has delayed the process.
This subdivision is the first step in a multi-million dollar facility with GRNSW already having plans drawn up for the proposed venue, which includes a one-turn circle track and a straight track.
Like all in the region, the prospect of the new facility is exciting Tamworth Club President Robert Munn.
“It’s been a long time waiting and the patience of many has worn a bit thin, but every single participant around here is pretty keen for it to happen,” Munn said.
“It is a heartland for participants with the majority within half an hour of here. Right now we only have Gunnedah with TAB racing for us, or else you have to head down to Maitland and now Muswellbrook.
“I think everyone understands things take time and it can be a slow process but hopefully we are getting close and work can start soon on the new track.”
