Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) is delighted to announce that from March 1, 2026, events will be programmed to be staged over the 400m distance at Taree’s Mid North Coast Greyhound Club.
The 400m start has been in place since the new Mid North Coast racetrack was built and completed in late 2024, but as the start had a run into the first turn of less than 40m, GRNSW’s Minimum Track Standards required independent research to be undertaken to assess the start’s suitability for racing.
But following extensive research work with industry experts and engineers and, testing late last year, with some minor modifications the 400m start is now compliant with our Minimum Track Standards and, as a result, racing from the 400m start will commence on Saturday, March 7.
“I know it has been a source of much frustration for participants on the Mid North Coast not being able to race from the 400m start,” GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Griffin said.
“One of our priorities at GRNSW has been working with experts to ensure racing would not only be able to be approved from the 400m boxes, but more importantly be safe, and we have undertaken extensive testing to guarantee that.
“In November we conducted non race day evaluation trials which were essentially a race meeting simulation, and we gathered footage from drones and head on cameras, as well as data from the trial session.
“Some minor track rectifications were recommended and have been completed to support racing now being conducted from this starting point.”
Consulting engineers, the Kelley Covey Group, was commissioned by GRNSW to undertake an inspection and observe trials at the 400m start. The purpose was to assess the impact of the location of the starting boxes and comment on the relative safety of the greyhounds run at this start location and provide advice and recommendations to improve the safety and performance of the starting location.
They found that the trials conducted “occurred without major incident” and aerial tracking of the greyhounds “demonstrated that the 400m curve start did not cause the greyhounds to engage in a dangerous racing trajectory”.
As such it was deemed the 400m start could be made safe for greyhound racing with the recommended rectifications undertaken.
Local trainer Nathan Goodwin has been waiting a long time for news that 400m racing can commence.
“This is the news everyone has been waiting for,” Goodwin said. “The 300m start is good but it requires a specialist 300m dog and there are just so many dogs not getting the opportunity to win more races by only going 300m and not being able to get a strong 525m.
“There has been a massive void in between those distances. We only have one or two in the kennel out of 30-odd that are 300m dogs, the rest are 400m plus dogs, so we have had to go the Gardens.
“This will put another demographic on the dog in the area. You’ve got your 300m dogs, then 400m dogs will step in, and then a handful of 500 dogs in the region.
“This is a great step in the right direction. The races that will be programmed will suit local trainers and we will target them as well.”
MNC Secretary Manager Peter Cassar finally has an answer to the most frequently asked question he has received since opening day back in September 2024.
“Everyone at just about every meeting has asked when the 400m starts were going to be able to be used,” Cassar said. “They have been sitting there waiting since day one, and it’s fantastic that we now have an answer and everyone will be eagerly awaiting that first meeting.
“I can understand the feelings of the participants and from a club’s perspective I think it will add an extra facet to our racing, and I think not only will we have more competitive racing over the 400m, but we'll have a lot more competitive dogs, and I think the nomination flow will improve with it as well.”
