It has been a positive 2017 for the Bathurst Greyhound Racing Club and racing manager Jason Lyne is looking forward to an exciting new year.
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One change the club is planning to implement new changes which includes a Friday night meeting.
It’s been a while seen Kennerson Park has hosted Friday night racing but Lyne is excited to bring it back.
“We’ve got a Friday night meeting coming up in February, with our Bathurst Cup, which is going to be on a February 23,” Lyne said.
“I’m very excited. It’s been a long time since we’ve had Friday night races. In the middle of February, we can be looking forward to a great crowd and see some of the best dogs in the state come and have a crack at it.
“Big thanks to the Dubbo club. They swapped their meeting so we could do it. Working with other clubs has definitely played a big part. Other clubs have started working with each other which has been good.
“We’re also starting up a new promotion, where if community clubs want to raise money they can sponsor a race out here. It can get businesses to come out here and buy the races.
“We’ve got a senior citizens day in April, where businesses have come on board, sponsoring the day and coming out.”
Racing wise, it’s been another great year out at Kennerson Park with several records broken
“We’ve had some great racing including track and club records broken, which has been good,” Lyne said.
“Our feature races like the Bathurst Cup was fantastic, with some of the best dogs in the state coming here to have a crack at winning the money.”
Overall, the greyhound industry has been moving forward since the state government announced the sport was to be banned back in July 2016 before a controversial back flip on the ban in October the same year.
“It took a lot doing, moving our industry forward,” Lyne said.
“We’ve moved on and many of those recommendations pased on from the government, we already had them in place already,” he said.
“For us, it wasn’t a massive change. Some had to change their training routines and how they educate dogs. We’ve embraced the change and we’re moving forward. That’s why the industry is thriving.”
Regular greyhound racing is back at Kennerson Park on New Year’s Day.
“We’ve got 11 races,” Lyne said.
“Race eight is probably the race of the day. You’ve got Zagati who has won five from 13, broken 30 seconds here and also at Wentworth Park and you’ve got Heeza Boherna who’s hit and miss but when he goes he’s hits 30.04. So it’s going to be a great race.”
First race is 3.25pm.