NSW bans greyhound racing: Who is hit hardest?

The NSW Government’s decision to ban greyhound racing from July 1 next year came as a shock, but not necessarily a surprise. The industry is set to disappear, and that’s going to affect more than just trainers and owners.

The industry was exposed by the ABC’s Four Corners programme and subsequent findings from State-based enquiries haven’t softened the blows.

The strongest issues are two-fold: disgraceful use of live baits as a training method, and the ‘wastage’ rates, where dogs that aren’t competitive enough for the track are put down.

The industry set itself up for failure, with regulation by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) seemingly non-existent and made worse by attempts to cover up findings, or deflect blame.

The Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NS​​W doesn’t read well for participants.

Some of the evidence presented has been strongly questioned by those in the industry – read Nathan Absalom’s own shakedown of certain facts and figures for an insight into what’s contestable and what isn’t – but it remains alarming.

The path forward was an absolute turnaround by GRNSW, but the Hon. Michael McHugh QC, conducting the Special Commission, found that live baiting behaviour was too entrenched and expressed “pessimism” for real change beyond the current spotlight. McHugh further questioned if greyhound racing had lost its “social licence” to operate.

The pessimism expressed by Michael McHugh for change isn’t unjust, and the NSW Government was given two options:

Option 1 – no longer permit greyhound racing and close down the industry.
Option 2 – maintain the industry and undertake reforms to improve transparency and governance and reduce the level of greyhound deaths.

Option 2 contained 79 recommendations, including establishing a NSW Greyhound Racing Integrity Commission armed with strong powers.

The NSW Government chose Option 1, without consultation. Reasons for choosing the ban are laid out at a page dedicated to the Commission.

The ACT Government immediately followed suit, with Victoria, Queensland, and South and Western Australia maintaining​ their industries, noting their own inquiries and commissions did not reach the same recommendation of closure.

In particular, the Queensland Government’s official Greyhound Racing Industry Commission of Inquiry, led by Alan MacSporran QC and established on a similar basis, did not recommend a total ban on greyhound racing in the state.

The NSW inquiry did.

Understanding who is right and who is wrong is for others to decide as the report is digested – but for now, here’s how the straight ban will play out.

A way of life gone
My great-grandmother bred and raced greyhounds, as a hobby. She loved her animals, and Saturday afternoons at her place involved being soundless – something hard for kids! – lest she miss hearing a race.

I’ve been to Birmingham Gardens on hot summers nights, Dubbo greyhound races on Boxing Day, Maitland on a chilly autumn’s eve – and it’s safe to say that the most marginal people in society are the ones affected here.

A day or a night at the greyhounds shows a great love for the muscled animals. You see the dogs at their best on the track, plus the community supporting them and being supported by them.

The attendance is decidedly blue-collar, plus the odd bucks night at Wentworth Park.

But it’s the unseemly air about greyhound racing that has surely played into this. Too many stories follow the dogs – everyone knows some kind of dodgy story about making dogs go fast or slow.

There’s no air of magnificence that horse racing has managed to establish and grow. There’s just not the premium product at the dogs on a cold Dapto evening.

It’s an event for the battlers – some 13,000 of them who actively participate in greyhound racing, according to the report.

Maybe it’s easier to take away from them.

The ABC’s role
Four Corners remains one of the few true bastions of investigative journalism, and their work is rarely off the mark. Many stories involve exposing corruption, foul-play, blatant rip-offs, or worse. Still, the exposé didn’t represent the industry at large.

It remains a fact that for every dodgy trainer – make that despicable trainer – involved in live baiting, dozens more were simply trying to get by.

While there’s no way Four Corners can be blamed for shutting down the industry – the story wouldn’t have been there without the appalling activities – the public framing of an industry at large through a single lens means that the issue became volatile, with little chance for the honest majority to show their side.

Punting and the racing industry
Tabcorp, the operator of retail betting shops and pub TABs in NSW and Victoria, have a mighty task awaiting them. Some 9000 races a year, or just under 30 races a day, will be missing. In 2015, more than a billion dollars was wagered on NSW greyhound racing, from more than 100,000 punters, according to Tabcorp.

Corporate bookmakers will also be affected.

While it’s expected there’ll be more meetings across the states that have reaffirmed their commitment to greyhound racing, including Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia, there’s a big loss of revenue coming from New South Wales punting from lost turnover.

There’s some irony that the date given for the stoppage of greyhound racing is July 1, the end of the current financial year. Don’t ever say the Government aren’t fiercely aware of gambling revenue. Tabcorp shares plunged more than five per cent before recovering slightly.

Prime real estate
Sydneysiders have been quick to point out that Wentworth Park, on Crown land, is ripe for development. You’d like to say it’s a footnote to a much bigger story – this affects people across regional and rural areas far more than the consideration of a plot of land in the CBD.

Still, there’s already speculation about which sporting code might get it, or if it’ll be turned into parks – or more apartments.

Where to from here?
There are rumours of a legal challenge, but the basis of that, and where a challenge could be heard, aren’t known. The industry found out at the same time as the media – there was no consultation by the Government.

Millions in compensation will be needed to be paid for those who rely on breeding, training or racing dogs.

Thousands of racing dogs and pups will need to be rehomed. RSPCA NSW CEO Steven Coleman said a “fair proportion” of the dogs will have to be euthanised, given that not enough of them will be able to be raced in other states, and adoption programmes are sadly unlikely to find a home for all.

Those interested in adopting what could be the last greyhounds in the State can visit the RSPCA NSW website on Friday.