Dapto Greyhound Club have vowed to never stop fighting to overturn a decision to ban the sport in NSW.
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The NSW Government passed legislation through Parliament in the earlier hours of Wednesday morning last week to bring an end to greyhound racing by July 1, 2017.
The state’s greyhound racing community is still coming to grips with the news.
It is expected to leave thousands of people throughout the state without work and force the closure of tracks at Dapto, Bulli and neighbouring Nowra.
Dapto president Tony Glackin said his club ‘had to keep fighting the ban’ to keep their sport alive. NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers’ Association (GBOTA) chief executive Brenton Scott echoed his words in a statement last week.
“The greyhound racing industry across NSW is, of course, devastated by last night’s vote in Parliament. However, we will continue to pursue all legal avenues to challenge this ban. The fight does not stop here,” he said.
The statement expressed industry concerns of ‘factual flaws’ within The McHugh Report which found “overwhelming evidence” of systemic animal cruelty, including mass killings and live baiting. The industry believes the government never gave it a chance to prove it reform measures have worked and felt it was tarring everyone with the same brush.
“The decent, hard-working, law abiding stakeholders in the industry have not been given a fair go… that’s simply un-Australian treatment from a lazy Government,” the statement said.
“We will continue to fight through legal channels but at the same time we need work to ensure that any transition plans are fair. Compensation was excluded from the legislation and we have a three month period to negotiate this as financial assistance will be critical to thousands of families across the state. We will be holding the Government to its obligations.”
In more positive news on the track, the Group 3 Dapto Maiden Classic Final (520m) was run and won last Thursday night. Ken Chappelow-trained Vintage Power upset his more fancied rivals to claim the $25,000-to-the-winner prize with a convincing victory.
Jumping from box eight, Vintage Power ($26) got a lovely cart into the race outside of Costin ($4) and went underneath Shaun Evans’ chaser at the first turn.
The son of Where’s Pedro and Vintage Blend was never headed from that point on as he stormed away for an emphatic 5-¼ length win over $3.80 favourite Krakka in a time of 29.80 seconds.
Costin faded for third.
The 159th annual Dapto Show will be held this weekend.