 | ||
Greyhound racing in Australia is a sport and regular gambling activity. In 2015, there were more than 300,000 greyhounds in 40,000 races in Australia. A$4 billion a year is gambled on the results. Australia is one of eight countries with a significant greyhound racing industry.
Contents
Regulation
Each Australian state and territory has a greyhound racing body that regulates the racing, training and animal welfare of greyhounds in that state or territory. Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) and Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) are the two largest authorities, governing over 40 racetracks. The Queensland Greyhound Racing Authority (QGRA), Western Australian Greyhound Racing Authority (WAGRA), Tasmanian Greyhound Racing Authority (TGRA), Greyhound Racing South Australia (GRSA), Northern Territory Racing Authority, and the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club (CGRC), all contribute to running and monitoring of greyhound racing and animal welfare of greyhounds in Australia.
Venues and major races
There are 65 racing venues in Australia, including at least one in each state capital: Wentworth Park in Glebe, Sydney; Cannington Raceway in Perth; Greyhound Park in Angle Park, Adelaide; Albion Park in Brisbane; and Sandown Greyhounds in Melbourne. Other major locations include the Illawarra town of Dapto, and Hobart and Launceston, in Tasmania.
The Melbourne Cup for greyhounds is reputably the world's richest greyhound race, with a prize pool of A$600,000 in 2015. In Sydney, the 2013 Golden Easter Egg had a first prize of A$250,000.
History
The date of the first greyhound race in Australia is not known.
In 1936, the Dapto Greyhound Club gained a licence to run greyhound racing under the supervision of the Dapto Agricultural & Horticultural Society, holding up to 40 meetings per year. In 1942 the Australian Army seized the racecourse until 1944 when greyhound racing was resumed.
2015 live baiting controversy and subsequent fallout
In February 2015, a series of media reports detailed widespread use of live bait animals in the training of racing greyhounds. Despite self-regulatory efforts to address the issue of live baiting and other animal welfare issues, the revelation led to suspensions, inquiries, widespread condemnation of the practice, and, following an inquiry, to the banning of greyhound racing in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory with effect from 1 July 2017, following the passage of legislation.
On 11 October 2016 the NSW ban was reversed, with several conditions:
- Fewer tracks
- Fewer races
- Breeding capped at 2,000
- A bond of A$1,500 for each dog
- Whole of life management for each dog
As of September 2016, in other states investigations and government inquiries were ongoing.
Popular culture
In Australian slang, the term Dapto dog is rhyming slang for wog, a derogatory racist slur for a person of Mediterranean background, active in greyhound racing in Dapto in the 1950s as represented on stage by the Griffin Theatre Company with the 2015 production of Dapto Chaser. Dapto is also home to Australia's largest greyhound pup auctions in Australia. The term "perfumed greyhound" is now commonly used to describe a fashionable elderly gentleman with a penchant for excessive cologne use.
Notable Australian owners of racing greyhounds include Tony Lockett, Tim Cahill, and Ricky Ponting.