Sydney's historic Wentworth Park greyhound track hosts its final race meeting
The last greyhound races were held on Friday night at Wentworth Park in Sydney, Australia, where the sport has run since 1932. Industry figures are seeking a new home, while opponents want the sport shut down altogether.
Greyhound racing has ended at Wentworth Park, a track in central Sydney, Australia, where the sport has been staged since 1932. Thousands of people attended the final race meeting on Friday night, ahead of the site's planned demolition.
The last race of the evening was the Million Dollar Chase, described as the richest greyhound race in the world. It was won by Magical Ang.
History and what comes next
Wentworth Park was built between 1876 and 1880 on silt dredged from Sydney's harbour. Greyhound racing began there in 1932, and by the 1970s it was drawing large crowds. All buildings are due to be demolished after October 2027, and the site is planned to return to parkland under Sydney's council.
Greyhound Racing NSW, the New South Wales state regulator for the sport, announced this week that it had chosen the existing Richmond race club, about an hour north-west of central Sydney, as the industry's replacement site. Geoff Rose, chair of the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association, said the association was also looking at a site near Appin, south-west of Sydney. The state's racing minister, David Harris, has previously promised $10m in government funding to help find a new home, a move criticised by people who want the industry closed entirely.
Memories and protest
Rose called the closure a sign of the times, since the land in the inner-west suburb of Glebe is worth a great deal, but said it was heartbreaking for many. Jeff Collerson, an 81-year-old greyhound writer, first came to the track in 1962 as a 17-year-old cadet journalist. He said the city track had a special aura that would be lost, and that he no longer wants his ashes scattered at the winning post.
Protesters gathered outside, chanting that the sport kills dogs and calling for an end to taxpayer funding of the industry. Aleisha Kernan of Greyhounds as Pets, which helps arrange adoptions of retired racing dogs, said new facilities could open new avenues. Young punter Harry Dunlop said it was very unlikely he would travel to Richmond.
