A surge in interest and involvement from the broader participant group, an increase in nominations from the younger generation of breeders, growth in confidence in the future of the sport, and an extension to the adjoining race series, have all contributed to record nominations for next month’s Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Puppy Auction.
GRNSW received almost 300 nominations of pups for the annual event which will be held this year on June 28 at Richmond.
Due to event logistics, the number of pups going into the Auction will be trimmed, but it’s still expected that around 200 greyhounds will be offered this year, well above last year’s 169 catalogued and the 145 from the inaugural year of the Auction in 2024.
“We are thrilled with the response we have received from breeders wanting to be involved in this year’s Puppy Auction,” GRNSW’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Brian Charman said.
“Naturally some people were a little disappointed that not all of the pups they nominated were able to make the final catalogue, but the team ensured that the process was a fair one and breeders with a bigger number of nominations were able to select which pups remained in the Auction.
“It was an embarrassment of riches for us, and the end result is that there will be quality like we have not seen before, from the opening auction to the final lot to go through the ring and we are expecting plenty of interest from potential buyers.”
In conjunction with the Auction, GRNSW has a race series attached, with the Puppy Classic being run, late in the following year.
For the first Auction in 2024 and last year’s event, the Classic was restricted to one event over the 520m at Richmond. Some tinkering will see a revamp of the race series which will be held in 2027.
“We received feedback from a number of participants who had purchased at our 2024 Auction, who believed we should look at spreading the prizemoney across an expanded range of events instead of investing all into just one,” Charman said.
“It was felt that doing that would be more beneficial to a wider variety of greyhounds, and encourage more buyers to invest at this year’s auction knowing they will have options next year.
“This has truly resonated with participants - vendors and potential buyers – and I personally have spoken to a number of them who feel this has added greatly to the Auction, and we expect this will reflect in the results on June 28.”
The 2027 Puppy Classic Series will consist of three (3) Regional Heats and Finals varying in distances from 300m to 500m. These Finals will be worth $10,000 to the winner and an addition will be that each series will carry a $500 Breeder’s Bonus for all greyhounds nominated (limited to one payment per greyhound) in the series.
A Major Final at 500m+ will then be held with $150,000 in total prize pool made up of $100,000 to the winner, $25,000 for second, $12,500 for third, $4,000 for fourth and $100 for fifth to eighth. Each of the finalists will also earn their breeder a $1,000 bonus.
Venues for all those events will be announced at a future date.
In 2027 GRNSW will also offer the Puppy Classic Race Series Bonus, where a further $20,000 will be paid out.
The eagerly awaiting catalogue will be online by May 29 and those wanting more information on the day and the feature events can find it on thedogs website under the Puppy Auction tab.
Those who do wish to bid for a pup on the day, must register with the Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission as an owner if they are not already one.
