Greyhound Racing NSW has threatened legal action and taken the extraordinary step of appointing an administrator in a bid to ensure Thursday night's Dapto meeting goes ahead.
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The governing body's chief executive Tony Mestrov met owners, trainers and the media outside the Dapto Showground on Thursday morning, where security was in place to prevent anyone from attempting to gain access to the venue.
In making the announcement that former steward Grant Carroll has been nominated to take charge of Dapto greyhounds operations, they were unsure if they would be able to have the gates opened in time.
Carroll had previously taken over the operations at Richmond Greyhound Club.
Dapto is the only one of the 15 clubs statewide yet to sign a new three-year agreement with GRNSW over funding, television rights and betting revenue.
Mestrov declared GRNSW will fight to ensure they take control of the venue so it can be prepared in time for the first race at 7.09pm on Thursday.
"His authority is effective immediately," Mestrov said.
"The message from Greyhound Racing NSW is simple. If the Dapto club do not have the ability to run the greyhound racing venue, we will.
"Since Greyhound Racing NSW were blindsided by the decision yesterday, I've been inundated by calls across NSW to step in and fix the problem."
Mestrov also said he held concerns about the management of the Dapto club by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society.
"What became increasingly alarming during the process of negotiations was the administration of financial reporting of Dapto club's accounts.
"Despite lawful requests for more information, nothing has been forthcoming, which has added to our concerns."
On Wednesday, Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society chairperson Noel Leslie released a statement, saying the iconic races would close.
"We are enormously respectful of the place the Dapto Dogs holds in the history of our great town, but the community has entrusted us with doing the right thing with their land and their assets ... and sustaining an activity at the expense of developing new community infrastructure is a decision that can't be justified.
"Locking us into a non-negotiable three-year term forced us into an unwinnable and financially damaging situation without the certainty of our regular Thursday night timeslot and we have no alternative but to cease greyhound racing."
The society was approached for comment after Thursday morning's press conference. They are expected to provide a statement shortly.
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