Michelle Niele Living with ‘Sixty-Five Roses’ ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2016 CONTENTS
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In This Issue: ICG Making a Dierence | Healesville Cup | The Lure of Adventure | Greyhound Tales | Racing Calendar ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2016 Michelle Niele Living with ‘Sixty-Five Roses’ ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2016 CONTENTS CEO’S UPDATE 3 ARTICLES 4 -19 ICG Making a Dierence Strategic Communication & Marketing Monthly Report Revised Approval Process for New and Renewals of Registrations Michelle Niele: Living with ‘Sixty-Five Roses’ Racing, Wagering & Business Development Monthly Report Animal Welfare Monthly Report Have Your Say on New Greyhound Racing Facilities New Meeting: Healesville Friday DAY The Lure of Adventure Hoop Arm Lures to be Introduced at all Victorian Tracks A Regulation Catch: Shane Gillard GOTBA News Arnold Shows Zip in the Healesville Cup TAB Talk with Mark Duclos Greyhound Tales Integrity Monthly Report Hard Chasers Can Make Great Pet Hobby Trainer Reaches New Heights Club Development & Member Services Monthly Report Q&A with The Meadows GRA Manager Marg Long GREYHOUND ADOPTION PROGRAM 20 - 21 LATEST LITTERS 22 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS & INTEGRITY 23 DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY REPORT RACING CALENDAR 24 - 29 CLUB DIRECTORY & TRIAL INFORMATION 30 - 31 The information in this publication is correct at time of printing OCTOBER 2016 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA CEO’S UPDATE I think it’s now clear to participants and other stakeholders that Victoria’s greyhound industry is now changing permanently. It’s no longer just racing with some animal welfare programs attached. Instead it must be about the whole lifecycle of every Victorian greyhound, on and o the track. I am condent that real reform can be achieved in the sport of greyhound racing but only if it’s driven by genuine cultural change in how we manage the careers and lives of the greyhounds, and in particular that we are able to fully re-home all greyhounds other than for medical or temperament issues. We need to extend racing opportunities for all dogs as currently the average career for a Victorian greyhound lasts only 1 year 9 months, with only 30 starts. It’s now not just about rearing to race but now also about rearing to re-home. This leadership on cultural change must come from participants within the sport and I have been very encouraged by the commitment to this issue as demonstrated by participants at the recently concluded series of Stakeholder Engagement Workshops. They were very productive and we learnt much from the workshops. The workshop program will be followed this month by regional workshops in Shepparton, Warrnambool and Traralgon. One key animal welfare issue is current injury rates at the racetrack which are far too high. All the Clubs have now come up with plans, based on injury data supplied by GRV and ideas put forward at the Stakeholder Engagement Workshops, to improve track safety. As these plans are implemented GRV will conduct a quarterly review of all tracks to monitor and measure how eective these plans are at reducing injury rates. GRV will also contact trainers whose dogs are experiencing higher than average injuries to resolve any issues that are triggering these higher rates. In another move to reduce injury rates, GRV is phasing in the hoop arm lure over next six months at all 12 Victorian circle tracks following trials over the past year. Test data from the trials clearly shows the hoop arm produces cleaner and safer racing by reducing interference and injuries in races, with trials at the Meadows alone showing a 37% drop in injuries. You can read more about the new hoop arm lure in this issue of Greyhound Monthly Victoria. Also covered in this issue is the new Draft Guidelines for Racing Dog Keeping and Training Facilities in Victoria, being developed by Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. These draft guidelines cover a range of issues and propose new permit exemptions if greyhound facilities meet various zoning requirements. They are a signicant step forward in providing a very positive and clearly understood framework to enable greyhound racing participants achieve compliance. The public consultation process is now nishing up and GRV will keep participants informed about the further development and implementation of the new guidelines. Finally, in racing news, GRV and Healesville Greyhound Racing Club are now working on presenting a second weekly race meeting at Healesville. This will provide more racing opportunities for dogs and give them more experience of running on straight tracks. This spring will again be a very busy time for GRV and will see a range of new animal welfare initiatives rolled out along with new marketing campaigns for the spring and summer racing calendar. I look forward to working with you as the industry continues on its journey of reform. Alan Clayton Chief Executive Ocer Greyhound Racing Victoria 3 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA Please visit grv.org.au for all the latest GRV news this is the most critical time in the sport’s history. At the same ICG Making A Dierence time they admit to not knowing a lot about greyhound racing, so they want us to express our views if we believe in something, The Board of Greyhound Racing Victoria’s decision to appoint a and they want us to nd a solution. Provided we do that they take Board Committee - the Industry Consultative Group (ICG) - has it on board” – Steven Clarke (Participant nominee), who has been a great success, according to GRV Deputy Chair, Judith 27 years of experience as an owner, trainer, breeder and rearer of Bornstein. greyhounds. Appointed by the Board to advise them on current issues “It has been so insightful to see some of GRV’s concerning the industry, including the welfare of greyhounds, internal condentialities, which I am able to the ICG meets regularly and includes representatives from across break down and express my own unique the sport including owners, trainers, breeders, greyhound clubs views from an owner’s perspective. The fact and a veterinarian. that Alan Clayton has attended every one of “The ICG have met a number of times now, and each time we our meetings tells me that the ICG is being meet it is loud and clear that all members of the ICG are passionate taken seriously. It’s early days but I’m fairly condent we will about the future of the industry. Discussions are lively, informative see some core actions emerge from our discussions in the near and the ICG’s advice is of great assistance to the Board,” said Judith future” – Duane Dalton (Participant nominee), who has been Bornstein, who is also the Chair of the ICG. an owner of racing greyhounds for the past 19 years and has been breeding greyhounds for the past seven years. “While a lot of what we discuss is sensitive information, we look forward to sharing our outcomes over the coming weeks and “Discussions have been robust to say the least but this has led to months. One major suggestion the ICG has presented to GRV’s a lot of good ideas. I’ve been really impressed with some of the Board is developing a policy to improve access to veterinary stats that (GRV CEO) Alan Clayton has provided us. I’m not a big services. This is underway.” name participant, and most people don’t know me when I go to the racetrack, but I feel like I am representing the hobby owners ICG members talk about their involvement with the group so far: and hobby trainers out there as I am able to give an opinion “There is a good mix of people on the ICG with dierent from their perspective, which is really nice” – Tracey Corneille backgrounds and involvement in the sport, which leads to a lot (Participant nominee), who has been involved in greyhound of conicting opinions. Among the key items we have discussed racing since 2003 in a variety of roles including an owner, breeder has been the pending closure of greyhound racing in NSW and and an attendant. how that aects Victoria going forward” - Barbara Backhoy “It’s early days but the forming of the ICG is a huge step in the right (Veterinarian nominee), a former trainer who has worked as the direction. There has been a lot of change at GRV in the past 12- on-track vet at the Cranbourne GRC for the past 14 years and is 18 months and there are a lot of new people working there that the current Australian Greyhound Veterinarian President. don’t have a lot of greyhound racing experience. It’s early days “I’ve been in greyhound racing since 1986 and this is the rst time but we need to see results. A few good things have come out of the GRV Board have been prepared to listen to the industry and the ICG and hopefully that continues” – Peter Craig (Participant work with the industry. It is a two-way street. The Board are strong nominee), who is a former General Manager and Director of the in their stance on animal welfare, and they have to be, because MGRA. He is also the current President of Victoria’s NCA. 4 OCTOBER 2016 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA “I suspect there may be a perception that the ICG is simply rubber Strategic stamping GRV’s ideas, but I can assure you that is not the case. Members of GRV’s Leadership Team and Board have presented ideas to us to seek our input and feedback and the quality Communication of information presented has been outstanding” – Leeanne Crawford (Participant nominee), who has bred and owned & Marketing greyhounds and was on the GOTBA committee, GRV’s Animal Welfare Taskforce Group and GRV’s Grading Review Group.