The Sunday Afternoon ‘Finish On'

MOTHER Nature stepped in to stall the Golden Easter Egg series at Wentworth Park yet the forced changes to the original April 13 finales may be a blessing in disguise for Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW).

The New Sensation and Magic Maiden were decided on as per GRNSW's long range schedule yet the Masters Final, Ultra Sense, Association Cup and the iconic Golden Easter Egg are six days away.

No doubt one big night of racing has appeal but minor finals on Golden Easter Egg night have lost lustre over the journey.

The Championships have been a winner for Racing NSW with feature events run all through April and it's a landing place which – in a debrief – GRNSW should have on the radar.

The upside for change is that pressure is relieved on trainers' with multiple dogs in finals (think swabbing to say the least) and the organisational issues for the club on final night.

Ladbrokes are major sponsors of the Golden Easter Egg while Farrell's are partners in the Group 1 Association Cup and others are along for the ride.

A lot goes on behind the scenes, there are presentations and trainers changing attire too. Less might be more in 2025.

CERTIFIED

Interesting news coming out of Greyhounds Australasia is that a Parentage Certification Service will commence on July 1.

The PCS will be available to greyhounds (females primarily one has to assume) under 24 months of age and provides a pedigree certificate via a DNA test, at a fee of $130.

As an introduction, GA is providing the Parentage Certification & Pedigree Certificate Service free to GRNSW's 2024 Puppy Auction vendors.

For the vendors, it's a voluntary offer that they can take advantage of, prior to the auction and GA plans on being on-site on auction day to handle any queries and or bookings.

A DNA test costs $190 and the saving is sure to be appreciated by breeders but is the uptake likely to be significant?

On a personal note, I know which female(s) I will likely breed with prior to 24 months of age but we have an 18-acre property in a location where six race tracks and two trial facilities can be reached in less than two hours … a gilt-edged opportunity to breed, rear and pre-train our own. Most don't have such a luxury.

DNA testing for GA is conducted in Palmerston North in New Zealand by the Massey University and there is an inherent cost in the offshore processing.

Just why no genetics can be carried out locally is baffling and if $130 can provide a PCS, why should it be limited to dogs under 24 months of age? We'll get into that next week, I'm sure.

SETTLED

A wagering dispute which dates to January (for just $500) was finally settled this week.

The outcome was in favour of the punter and it serves no purpose to go into detail yet the processes in place deserve attention.

This dispute, on face value, appeared cut and dried yet it took more than three months to resolve and that's just not good enough.

In early July, a dispute dating back to January 2022 gets to court. Given the substantial sum (well in excess of $150,000 and with multiple elements) the Supreme Court was to be the decision maker but it has been redirected to District Court and an outcome is not too far away.

The appellant has spent more than $25,000 to get to this stage and mediation failed to get the job done. Once this is settled, the detail will shock one and all.

Terms and Conditions for Wagering Service Providers are written to protect the bookies and punters – rarely if ever – avail themselves of much detail or any changes.

Long delays serve to add costs which many punters may not be able to afford and it's the fault of regulators that it takes so long.

The protection of WSP's by regulators has gone on all too long and an independent tribunal of sorts needs to be established to provide a level playing field.

At a minimum, a statutory time limit for dispute resolution is a must.

AGELESS

It's quite rare greyhounds are racing beyond five years of age and that makes what Hardaway Ranger did at Nowra on Monday so unique.

Owner-trainer Ron Marsden has placed the January 2019 son of Fernando Bale judiciously through a long career and his Nowra effort on April 8 was a career best at the track.

Not only did Hardaway Ranger run very quick time in his 46^th win, it was his 100^th career outing and he's had only one extended break since October 2020 when he won on debut at Dapto over 297m in a slick 16.92. It was a portent of things to come.

High speed is Hardaway Ranger's calling card and he's the one to beat in the two-week $5000-to-the-winner 365m Ladbrokes Masters series which kicks off on Monday.

FIX NEEDED

Adverse weather has caused far too many meeting abandonments in NSW and Queensland this year financial year (28 in Queensland alone) yet the abandonment of the final four races at Rockhampton last Wednesday was avoidable.

With only three tracks in central and northern Queensland, the capacity to employ full time staff is problematic and casual staff, at times, have priorities beyond the few hours they spend at greyhound tracks.

Last week, the lure driver at Rocky was ‘on call' for his full-time role as an electrician and the back up lure driver was unable to attend.

Others capable of driving the lure had conflicts (runners engaged) in races late in the night and, following Tagovailoa's win in the Wildcard qualifier for the Rocky Cup, the final four races were abandoned.

How Racing Queensland fixes, or even manages, a similar outcome into the future is not clear cut.

Full disclosure of work commitments would allow for each club to manage a situation and clubs are trying to do the right thing by cross-training staff in differing roles but how many people are available – with certainty – only once a week?

Conflicts of interest re lure driving are transparent – is that not the role for stewards to act if they consider anything inappropriate has occurred?

It's not worth abandoning a meeting on the premise of avoiding something which might happen.

RQ would be best served by having a team of race day officials capable of working from site to site but that comes at a vast cost in Queensland.

QRIC staff handle varying roles from day-to-day and have often chipped in to assist when club staffing has come up short but that's not sustainable.

Wagering was disaffected on Wednesday and that's the lifeblood of industry – it's one of many pressing issues for greyhound racing.

HE'S BACK

A constant at Grafton since the early 80's, Club President John Corrigan – the 2023 Allen Wheeler Medallist – had not missed a meeting at Cranworth Street circuit for as long as many could recall until the end of March.

Doctors curtailed his unbeaten appearance record with the indefatigable veteran undergoing a right knee replacement only two weeks back.

With his ‘steward's' standdown of 14 days served, ‘Corro' will return to steer the ship on Sunday with the capable aid of General Manager Brennan Naidoo – and a walking cane.

Sectional times are yet to pass an acceptable standard yet the hugely popular Corrigan is making great progress and, like most who have undergone knee replacement surgery, he's rueing procrastination on getting it done.

Fortunately, his mobility is returning and wife Joan and daughter Paula have stepped up to train two winners from just four runners while the family patriarch rested up.

Let's just hope the girls have been well compensated!

FAIR REWARD

On March 15, the GBOTA in NSW added $500 to maiden 520m events at Wentworth Park in order to incentivise participation.

The $2000 was a premium of $800 on week-to-week maiden prize money in NSW for races beyond 440m as the usual return is $1200 yet Richmond has consistently paid $1500 for a maiden over 520m for recent Wednesday meetings.

In this time of fiscal constraint, there's next to no prospect of prize money increases but why has maiden prize money been at a lower level than graded races in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania?

Does it cost less to feed or train a maiden?

A vast majority of greyhounds don't get to double digit wins so it makes sense to weight lower graded races better for owners in order to get a return on investment.

A life in maiden prize money makes sense to me but, clearly, not to hierarchical bean counters yet not one of those have any skin in the game.