GRNSW To Seek Clarity On Proposed Lockdown

THERE seems to be a sense of inevitability that greyhound racing may be halted this week as the NSW and Victorian governments announced they'll invoke full scale lockdowns over the next 48 hours.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take hold, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews declared that they will move to cease all non-essential activity and services in their respective states following a meeting of the National Cabinet on Sunday night.

And with the announcement having the potential for significant ramifications in the racing industry, GRNSW chief executive officer Tony Mestrov said on Sunday that his organisation will seek further details from government on Monday morning.

“Greyhound Racing NSW will await and seek further clarity on Monday morning from the NSW Premier and the Minister Responsible for Racing, following a proposed decision to enforce further lockdowns of services throughout the State,” Mestrov said.

“GRNSW will seek guidance from the NSW and Federal Governments and medical experts, following the Premier's announcement tomorrow, before deciding the next steps for the industry.

"We have contingency plans ready to put into place, but as we have done throughout this COVID-19 crisis, we will wait and be guided by the information given to us by the State and Federal Governments, and then seek to comply to continue if possible.

"Our number one focus is on the health and safety of our participants and staff, and we will not jeopardise that. We also are very aware of the importance to the livelihoods of thousands of our participants and welfare of our greyhounds. 

"We will continue to race for as long as the Government and health experts says we can continue to race.

"As I have said we will await to speak with the Government in the morning before making any announcement on our future."

Meanwhile, if racing does proceed, Thursday night's heats of the Group 2 Launching Pad at Sandown have been thrown into turmoil.

With a large number of runners in the $420,000 three-week series set to come from interstate, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's ban on non-essential interstate travel on Sunday morning appears to have placed the series in a precarious position.