GOSFORD SET TO CONDUCT CITY CLASS RACING

Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) has confirmed a clear plan to transition city racing to Gosford, ensuring a smooth changeover for participants and an increase in prizemoney across the state. Gosford is preparing to conduct City and Provincial class racing each Saturday and Thursday.

GRNSW will proceed with a newly constructed racing calendar which will cater for the transition period following the closure of the Wentworth Park racetrack on October 16. The calendar has been structured to ensure the continuity of racing opportunities for participants throughout the changeover.

The Gosford Greyhound racetrack will undergo Minimum Track Standard upgrades following the race meeting scheduled for Tuesday 6 October in preparation for City class racing commencing Saturday 24 October.

The restructure of the calendar will result in Gosford conducting three race meetings each week, highlighted with the City class race meeting each Saturday, a Provincial race meeting on a Thursday and a Country class race meeting each Tuesday.

As a result of the revised calendar through to September 2027 the City class prizemoney will increase by $15,000 taking total prizemoney to $115,000 for each Saturday.

GRNSW invited all trainers to complete a survey during September seeking feedback from the industry relating to the allocation of the Thursday Provincial Plus prizemoney following the closure of Wentworth Park and the transfer of the Thursday race meetings to Gosford. 

The survey saw a significant majority of trainers opt for the spreading of the prizemoney across NSW, which GRNSW will now plan for the calendar following Wentworth Park’s closure. 

As a result, $30,000 each week will be reallocated to the Provincial racing sector across the State to races at 421m+ and with an estimated prizemoney increase of $500 per race.

“While the racing team at GRNSW believed originally that a spread of prizemoney was best for all participants, we listened to the concerns that were raised by the Trainers Advisory Group (TAG),” GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Griffin said.

“That was the reason why I introduced the TAG so that we can get the perspective of participants when it comes to making decisions which impact participants.

“We listened and decided it would be best to ask the broader participant base what they felt would be most beneficial for the NSW industry and the results of the survey were very decisive that the additional prizemoney being reallocated from Thursday night Provincial Plus racing, be spread right across NSW for all to take advantage of.”

The new Saturday City class prizemoney distribution in NSW effective from October 17 and a comparison with current prizemoney distribution, can be seen in the table below.

The Saturday city class prizemoney for races up to 420m is set out below.

GRNSW is currently conducting approximately 60 races per week at Provincial class meetings in NSW which are raced at 421m+ and as a result will distribute the $30,000 in prizemoney as a $500 per race increase.

The new Provincial class racing prizemoney distribution in NSW effective from October 17 for racing 421m+ and comparison to the current prizemoney schedule, can be seen in the table below.