Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) and the Dapto Agricultural & Horticultural Society (Dapto A&H) today jointly announce that after almost 89 years, the Dapto Greyhound Club will host their final race meeting on September 11, to coincide with the Group 1 Ladbrokes Megastar.
GRNSW’s lease on the venue expires on June 30, 2026, but a decision has been made that the most appropriate time to stage the club’s last race meeting should be on Dapto’s night of night’s - the Ladbrokes Megastar.
“We have had several discussions within, and outside the organisation, as to what would be the most appropriate time to stage our final Dapto race meeting,” GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Griffin explained.
“The overwhelming consensus is that to perfectly honour the venue, the lengthy history of the Dapto Greyhounds, and their prestigious Group 1 feature event, that the night of the Ladbrokes Megastar would be the ideal opportunity to host the last ever meeting.
“There were proposals that we held our final race meeting in February next year on the anniversary of the first greyhound race meeting at the site back in 1937, and another suggestion was that we wait until the end of the lease and stage a major event in June next year.
“Ultimately, we believe that the night of the Megastar will be the perfect time to celebrate Dapto Greyhounds and pull the curtain down on the venue, with their premier event - one of the elite races on the racing calendar – and with the eyes of the greyhound racing world on it.
“We have worked with, and thank the Dapto Agricultural & Horticultural Society for allowing us to stage our final race meeting on Megastar night.”
Dapto A&H Chief Executive Officer Katrina Novak said the Society was proud of its role in shaping the legacy of the Dapto Dogs.
"Dapto A&H established one of the longest-running and most recognisable greyhound racing venues in the world — the Dapto Dogs," Ms Novak said. "The Society operated greyhound racing at the venue until 2019, contributing to a tradition that spanned more than eight decades.
"Dapto became a world-recognised name in the racing industry. Its reputation was built not only on racing but on deep community connection and a strong spirit of volunteerism.
"This legacy was made possible by generations of club members, volunteers, and racing families with too many committed individuals to mention including the Dapto A&H Greyhound Supporters Club for their long-standing contributions both on and off the track.
"As the final race meeting approaches, we honour those who helped shape the Dapto Dogs legacy including many who are no longer with us and thank everyone who shared in its history."
Mr Griffin explained that racing and the sport’s participants in the South Coast region would not be impacted by the decision to end racing at Dapto earlier than June 30 next year.
“We are very conscious of the popularity of the sport and the significant participant population in the South Coast region, and as such from the following Thursday night, September 18, the Nowra club will be hosting a race meeting in that timeslot each week,” he said.
The Dapto club employs 17 casual staff, many as their second source of employment and others who are studying. A number of those staff will have access to further casual employment at Nowra, while the track’s curator has been redeployed in the GRNSW track team.
Since its inception in 2010, the Megastar has been one of the prized features on the NSW calendar, and since 2013 has had the status of the only Group 1 greyhound event in the State to be conducted at racetrack outside of the Sydney metropolitan area.
It has been won by some of the stars of greyhound racing including Oaks Road (2011), Peter Rocket (2013), Good Odds Harada (2019), Flying Ricciardo (2020) and last year’s winner Good Odds Cobber.
“It will be nostalgic and emotional night on September 11. There is great history and lots of memories at Dapto, the venue that literally is known worldwide, and one which received incredible publicity during the 1990s through the Channel Nine Footy Show, and courtesy of one of the industry’s greatest supporters, the late Terry Hill.
“We don’t want the night to be a melancholy occasion. I’m sure there will be tears, but we want the night to be a celebration of the Dapto Club and everyone who has been associated with it over its long history.
“We will be looking to encourage anyone who has spent a night at Dapto to come along and celebrate with us on September 11.
“We are in the process of putting together off-track plans for the night where attendees can take their own little memento of Dapto Greyhounds perhaps with some sand from the track, and we are also looking at auctioning the Dapto winning post with proceeds to go to Charity.
“We will be publicising more details about the night as they are put in place. I am certain it will be a Mega-night to remember.”
