The future of the long-running Dapto Dogs has been saved for now after the track operator agreed to run meetings until mid-2021.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Greyhound Racing NSW and track operator Dapto Agricultural & Horticultural Society's bitter feud - which had played out in the Supreme Court and social media - came to an end late on Friday after the two parties reached agreement on a commercial settlement.
The current court-approved racing administrator will be removed, the society will run meets on Monday mornings and Thursday nights until June 30, 2021 and GRNSW will enter a licensing deal for the Dapto Dogs brand, as part of the deal.
The racing authority initiated legal action in November after the society announced it would close greyhound racing at the showgrounds track.
Dapto A&H - which wanted greyhound facilities at its showgrounds redeveloped - claimed race meets lost $275,000 in the last financial year.
That led to GRNSW to accuse the society of dodgy accounting, and report to police its concern that computers and financial records were missing from the society's headquarters.
The scrap escalated further as the society accused GRNSW of trying - by "illegitimate" means or otherwise - to orchestrate a takeover of the "profitable society".
The broader aspects of the agreement are subject to confidentiality agreements between both parties.
GRNSW chief executive Tony Mestrov said future options - including building a brand new facility in the Illawarra region capable of meeting ongoing racing and welfare needs - would be considered in coming months.
"I am delighted that the world famous Dapto Dogs will continue to survive and now thrive," he said in a joint statement on Friday.
The society said it was business as usual.
"We are pleased to be able to put this episode behind us and to move on without the distractions of a complex and expensive legal process," Dapto A&H Society chief executive Katrina Novak said in the joint statment.
"This agreement provides for certainty around greyhound racing at Dapto in the medium term, while also ensuring the broader community users of this vital community asset continue to enjoy the full benefits of the showgrounds facilities."
Australian Associated Press
