2020 Launching Pad Series Cancelled

THE moment Prime Minister Scott Morrison imposed a ban on non-essential interstate travel on Sunday morning, the future of this week's Group 2 Launching Pad series fell into grave doubt.

With $420,000 in prize money to be shelled out across the three week series, interstate trainers were to come from far and wide to contest the lucrative sweepstakes event.

But with the Prime Minister's domestic travel ban on Sunday morning came a list of consequences, including the Launching Pad, which has been cancelled for 2020.

READ SANDOWN'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT HERE

It's understood GRV and Sandown officials met first thing Monday morning to arrive at the decision that cancelling the event for 2020 was the only conceivable course of action.

With borders closing and non-essential domestic travel banned, the industry's main aim for now should be to maintain standard race programming where possible.

Stay local and race local. For a myriad of reasons. All of which are self-explanatory.

The optics of encouraging anything but that would be to essentially flout against everything the government is enforcing to best deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, Greyhound Racing NSW made the bold call to reschedule the Golden Easter Egg and Association Cup.

The Group 1 events are now to be staged in June – providing it's practical to do so – as the industry works through the always changing landscape of this pandemic.

The decision was clear and concise and if not completely vindicated then, certainly is now.

It was reached on a number of fronts.

With such significant prize money on offer, there was a belief that continuing with the series' would seen to be advocating for interstate trainers to unnecessarily travel at a time of significant uncertainty.

Throw in the canine coronavirus outbreak and the crowd lockout for NSW's signature event, and it quickly became a no-brainer for GRNSW to arrive at the decision they did.

Much of that same reasoning can be said about the Launching Pad.

In a meeting last Thursday, GRV and Sandown management met to discuss the fate of the signature event.

It's understood the primary concern was around the financial ramifications of the series beginning and then ceasing midstream in such uncertain times.

The continued fallout of the canine coronavirus was another key talking point.

It was ultimately decided that the show must go on – with heats of the group 2 feature to be staged this Thursday.

Sandown was handed some financial sureties.

But that landscape rapidly changed again on Sunday morning with the Prime Minister banning non-essential interstate travel as states began shutting their borders.

Quickly, the series became unworkable.

Rescheduling a three-week sweepstakes event, which has a wins and starts ceiling, was impossible.

Cancelling the series was the only practical outcome, as disappointing as it is for participants readying for the event.

With the situation of the coronavirus pandemic being so fluid, the most prudent course of action for all jurisdictions is to continue racing and mitigate as much risk as possible.

Interestingly, the decision to reschedule the Golden Easter Egg received next to no blow-back.

It's expected it will be much the same with the Launching Pad.

In the end, there was no alternative.

There's far bigger issues to work through and as an industry greyhound racing has its part to play in that.