“Who wouldn’t want something like this in our community?” Donato said. “There’s a significant benefit and it will create jobs.”
The Greyhound Breeders,Owners and Trainers Association will own the facility,which it says will bring $20 million into the local economy,and run it with Greyhound Racing NSW.
Association head Allan Hilzinger said not every place was as eager to host greyhounds as Orange or nearby Bathurst,which is also vying for the facility,after floods destroyed its track.
“A lot of these country regions see the economic benefit,” Hilzinger said. “We’ve got other areas that are not as forthcoming about wanting greyhound racing.”
The association’s investment in regional NSW comes as it prepares to move out of its historic Wentworth Park home in inner Sydney and look for a new city home. The state government has said it will not renew the lease on the venue when it expires in 2027.
Greyhound Racing NSW chief executive Rob Macaulay said there was now zero unnecessary euthanasia of dogs,more controlled breeding,a bigger greyhound adoption program and fewer catastrophic injuries than in 2016,when a scathing independent report into the industry almost led to its downfall.