Goulburn Announce Free Entry From June
THE Goulburn Club has announced they will move to free entry at their meetings from June 1, hot on the heals of Saturday night's Bulli program being abandoned.
As a matter of principle, greyhound trainers avoided nominating for the meeting at Bulli this Saturday night and Greyhound Racing NSW added a last-minute 10-race card at Richmond to fill the void.
The brouhaha between the Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers' Association – which conducts racing at eight venues (including Bulli) across the state – and participants came into focus when the Wentworth Park meeting (for May 15) was transferred to Bulli.
At Wentworth Park, trainers do not pay gate entry but, at Bulli, the GBOTA denied the same privilege and a firestorm erupted.
"It's not about the money," explained leading trainer Mark Gatt.
"Richmond, Nowra and Dapto all have free entry and Goulburn, I'm told will soon do the same."
Goulburn Secretary Patrick Day confirmed the move this afternoon: "From June 1, all meetings here will be entry free.
"We have some big plans afoot and the facility we believe is one of the best in the country.
"Our kennels are state of the art and facilities for patrons are modern and very comfortable.
"In coming months, major announcements will be made about our racing precinct and night racing is planned with funding for lights granted."
The move to free entry by Goulburn further isolates the GBOTA's stance but it must be said, a complete overhaul of a business strategy, almost overnight, isn't reasonable.
Open discussions need to be had.
"Greyhound participants have been battered for some time now," Gatt added.
"At least with this issue, we can and will stand up for ourselves. This is not anti-racing or a boycott, we simply have the option to race where it suits us.
"The Goulburn decision is fantastic and we now see what can happen when participants stick together for common good. Andy Lord, Neville Brown and I have spoken to a lot people and everyone is on the same page.
"The GBOTA are ignorant if they think this can or will be swept under the carpet."