Greyhound racing set to return to Whanganui’s Hatrick Raceway

The new track at Hatrick Raceway is nearing completion, signalling the return of greyhound racing to Whanganui.

Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) chief executive Edward Rennell said he thought work would finish in mid-February.

“There have been a number of experts reviewing the camber, the base and the content of the sand.

“We will probably run three weeks of trials, and then racing will recommence in early March.”

In 2021, the track was shut down following a spike in injuries and deaths among racing dogs. It was later revealed there had been a lack of understanding about what maintenance was required on a sand track, which led to its decline.

In August last year, the GRNZ board voted to renovate the Hatrick track and build a straight one at the Whanganui Racecourse.

The straight track is due to be completed in May and will be the first of its kind in New Zealand.

“We’re trying to make it as safe as we can for the dogs that race there,” Rennell said.

Project manager for both projects, Graham Dyhrberg, said the physical work at Hatrick was almost finished.

“They are in the last stage of prepping the base, and we’ll be putting sand back on that next week.

“The whole surface has been rebuilt, and so have the sprint bend corners. Drainage has also been improved.”

Specific dune sand was brought in from Bainesse, west of Palmerston North.

Work on the new Hatrick track was overseen by Australian track safety expert David Eager and GRNZ national racing safety and infrastructure manager Bill Wilson.

Eager is a professor of risk management and injury prevention at the University of Technology Sydney.

“We’ve also used Red Star and Loaders here in Whanganui,” Dhyberg said.

“It’s a decent-sized team, with 10 people working on it at different times.”

The greyhound industry was put on notice by the Government in 2021, following a review of animal welfare and safety by then-chairman of the Racing Integrity Board (RIB), Sir Bruce Robertson.

The review revealed three fundamental issues still needed to be addressed - data recording, transparency of all activities, and general animal welfare.

A RIB report on whether improvements had been made was submitted to Parliament last December.

GRNZ also submitted a 50-page report to Minister of Racing Kieran McAnulty, outlining the progress made and what would be implemented in the future.

McAnulty said there were two options - allow the industry to continue under strictly monitored regulations, or close it down.

He will present the RIB report to Cabinet in February.