Greyhound racing could soon cease in Wagga Wagga following a new report by GRNSW that recommends pulling meets from the city. Photo: File.
A new report from auditing company Deloitte Australia has recommended Greyhound NSW no longer use the Wagga Wagga track.
According to Deloitte’s analysis of Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW), GRNSW should only operate 12 to 15 tracks around the state to “optimise” the future of the industry.
Should the recommendation be implemented, a set of tracks (up to seven) will be closed by the end of 2025 and a second set (up to seven), which includes the Wagga Wagga track, will be closed come 30 June 2026.
Member for Wagga Dr Joe McGirr expressed his disappointment about the announcement and said he was working with the CEO of GRNSW to find an alternative to closing the track.
“I am working with the Wagga Greyhound Club to examine ways to respond to the recommendations of Greyhound Racing NSW’s (GRNSW) Optimal Racing Footprint Report,” he said.
“I have spoken with the GRNSW CEO to obtain additional information and to discuss the issues.
“The proposed closure of the Wagga track is disappointing given that Wagga is the state’s largest inland city and has an outstanding sporting pedigree.
“Animal welfare is extremely important, which is why I have fought for improvements to enhance the care and safety of greyhounds racing in Wagga, and with the right safety and financial sustainability measures in place, there should be no reason for Wagga’s greyhound community to be denied racing in their hometown.
“I note that the final decision will be in the hands of GRNSW, and I look forward to working with them to find an alternative to the closure of the Wagga track.”
While Dr McGirr expressed his disappointment at the announcement, others, including Wagga Wagga Councillor Jenny McKinnon, said they wouldn’t miss the sport.
“Animal welfare really takes precedence over profits and over winnings and people’s enjoyment. I really think animal welfare should come first,” Cr McKinnon said.
“We had the Mike Baird government that tried to stop greyhound racing in New South Wales (in 2016), and it looked for a little while like they had, but then that decision was reversed. I don’t know whether it was public sentiment or whether it was influential lobbyists, but I thought at the time it was really disappointing.
“I’m sorry for anybody who is going to lose out because of this. I really am sorry about that, but I think in the long run, this is the kind of sport that you know belongs in a decades-old kind of society. I don’t think it actually is the right sort of sport for modern times.”
One of the biggest groups to lose out due to GRSNW’s decision could be the Wagga Wagga Show Society. As the owners of the Wagga Showgrounds, the society leases part of the showground to GRNSW for it to host its Wagga-based meets.
Wagga Show Society business manager Michelle Hilton said the society would be disappointed should GRNSW choose to pull out of Wagga.
“We only found out about the outcome from the media release and news report last night. At the moment, we actually aren’t able to give you any idea of how that affects our future,” she said.
“Losing any tenant is going to make a hole in our income, and our income goes into maintaining the ground and to making those grounds available to the community, and then to also holding that one event a year that the community attend through the Wagga show.
“It will leave a bit of a hole.”
