In This Issue: Victorian Greyhounds Awards Wrap | Making a Difference: Gavin Goble | Racing Calendar ISSUE 7 SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE 7 SEPTEMBER 2016 CONTENTS CEO’S UPDATE 3 VICTORIAN GREYHOUND AWARDS WRAP 4 -9 ARTICLES 10 - 19 Animal Welfare Monthly Report There is no Take Two! Stakeholder Engagement Workshops Update Court for Live Baiters Racing, Wagering & Business Development Monthly Report Making a Difference: Gavin Goble GOTBA News Feeding, Medication & Supplement Guidelines Strategic Communication & Marketing Monthly Report Greyhound Community Fund Helps Kids Keep Cool This Summer TAB Talk with Mark Duclos Greyhound Tale Integrity Monthly Report Club Development & Member Services Monthly Report Q&A with Geelong GRA Manager David Hoey 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 SEPTEMBER 2016 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA CEO’S UPDATE The biggest highlight of August was undoubtedly the Victorian Greyhound Awards at Sandown Park where many of Victoria’s greyhound racing community came together to celebrate some great achievements over the past 18 months. Fernando Bale was quite rightly judged greyhound of the year and I congratulate all the nominees and winners on the night. Both the Premier, The Hon Daniel Andrews, and the Minister for Racing, The Hon Martin Pakula, also provided strong messages of support on the night for the industry and for the reforms now underway. The Victorian Greyhound Awards was a great showcase of the commitment, passion and hard work of the good people who have driven the sport’s achievements and that will underpin the journey of reform we need to take to secure its long term future. August also saw the conclusion of GRV’s first series of Stakeholder Engagement Workshops, attended by over 600 people. Following the great contribution made by participants who either presented or attended the workshops, GRV will be holding a further three workshops in regional Victoria this month and you can find out more on the GRV website. The workshop discussions were very much driven by participants and generated many constructive proposals for a range of issues from breeding controls, to rearing and training, to improving opportunities for smaller scale participants. GRV is already acting on some of these proposals and has provided to all 13 Clubs the recommendations and suggestions made by panel experts and participants who attended the ‘Track Safety, Track Design and Lures’ workshop and the Clubs have each submitted a plan to improve the safety of our tracks. So you can expect to see a number of changes to tracks as we strive to make them safer. On this issue, race day trials of the hoop arm lure system to reduce injury rates have now also been completed and GRV is studying the results with a view to making a decision on future lures for Victorian racetracks. In other news, I was pleased to announce last month the appointment of Shane Gillard as GRV’s first General Manager of Integrity. Shane brings more than 20 years’ experience in management and leadership across a variety of sectors including senior compliance and enforcement roles with WorkSafe Victoria. He will lead GRV’s much expanded Integrity Department which will be increasingly busy over the coming year with an expanded swabbing program and a stronger focus on working directly with participants to ensure compliance through new education and information initiatives. The Department now also has a new 24/7 phone hotline on 1300 856 109 to confidentially report suspicious activity and, as well, its Investigations Unit will be engaging more closely with participants to make everyone part of the solution in ensuring the sport’s integrity. While much has been achieved over the past year in positioning the sport in Victoria for a sustainable future, the decision to close down greyhound racing in NSW makes it clear the rate of reform in Victoria cannot slow down. Over the next six months, GRV will be picking up the pace as its capital works program rolls out, as new race day injury and treatment initiatives are put in place and as it works towards the goal of giving all Victorian greyhounds the opportunity to live out their lives in full. GAP will also keep growing, with a new assessment centre at Mt Mercer in Central Victoria and the expansion of GAP Seymour to promote and educate people about greyhounds as pets. Alan Clayton Chief Executive Officer Greyhound Racing Victoria 3 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA Please visit grv.org.au for all the latest GRV news Victorian Greyhound Awards Fernando Bale was crowned the 2015/16 Victorian Greyhound of the Year at the Victorian Greyhound Awards, held at the Sandown Greyhound Racing Club on August 19. The night was deemed a huge success by everyone there, with greyhound racing in Victoria receiving a glowing endorsement by Premier Daniel Andrews (via video message) and Minister for Racing, Martin Pakula. The night was also highlighted by the appearance of 12 adopted greyhounds, along with video packages outlining the tremendous recent growth of Victoria’s Greyhound Adoption Program and Victorian greyhound racing’s increasing presence in local communities. The Andrea Dailly-trained Fernando Bale was judged the best performed greyhound in Victoria during the 18 month period incorporating the 2015 calendar year and the first half of 2016. The eight-time Group 1 winner received the most votes by the Victorian Greyhound of the Year Panel, ahead of fellow finalists (in alphabetical order) Dyna Double One, No Donuts and Space Star. 4 SEPTEMBER 2016 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA 5 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA Please visit grv.org.au for all the latest GRV news Greyhound of the Year: Fernando Bale Victorian Sprinter of the Year: Fernando Bale Trainer: Andrea Dailly (Anakie) Received the most votes by the Victorian Greyhound of the Year Panel Breeder/owner: Paul Wheeler based on performances during the 18 month period encompassing Group 1 wins: 8 2015 and the first half of 2016. He beat fellow finalist and champion Best wins: Topgun, Golden Easter Egg kennelmate Dyna Double One in this award. Prize money: $1.299M (first Australian greyhound to win $1Million in prize money) 6 SEPTEMBER 2016 GREYHOUND MONTHLY VICTORIA Ken Carr Medal: John Reid Named in honour of the late Kenneth Russell Carr, a leading Victorian Victorian Stayer of the Year: Space Star greyhound racing administrator, the Ken Carr Medal is considered the Received the most votes by the Victorian Greyhound of the Year Panel highest award for excellence within the Victorian greyhound racing based on performances during the 18 month period encompassing industry. John Reid has volunteered countless hours to Victoria’s 2015 and the first half of 2016. He won 11 of his first 12 starts in 2015 Greyhound Owners Trainers & Breeders Association (GOTBA), Helping including three Group 1 wins, and beat fellow finalist No Donuts for Hand Fund, Greyhound Owners & Breeders Incentive Scheme (GOBIS) this award. and Responsible Breeding Taskforce. Metropolitan Trainer of the Year: Ned Bryant “Silver Fox”: GRV Welfare Award: Andrea Dailly Gerard O’Keefe Aileen Travis Trained the most full stakes winners at Victorian Awarded to a person for showing The GRV Welfare Award recognises city tracks - The Meadows and Sandown Park outstanding achievement in the training, outstanding contribution to the welfare - during the 18 month period. Leaderboard breeding, welfare or promotion of of greyhounds. Aileen has fostered almost - Andrea Dailly 279; Robert Britton 107; Jeff greyhound racing. Gerard O’Keefe trained 58 200 greyhounds through her home for the Britton 100. winners at a strike rate of 27 per cent during Greyhound Adoption Program since 2001, the 18 month period, including victory in the helping them make the transition from a Provincial Trainer of the Year: world’s richest greyhound race for stayers, racing career to a domestic pet. Aileen has Andrea Dailly the 2016 RSN Sandown Cup. Gerry has also volunteered countless hours of her time Trained the most winners across Victoria’s 11 embraced numerous media requests with transporting greyhounds, meeting new foster country tracks during the 18 month period. enthusiasm and appeared on one of the carers and assisting with adoptions. Aileen Leaderboard - Andrea Dailly 281; Robert panels of GRV’s Stakeholder Engagement is the inaugural winner of the GRV Welfare Britton 251; Mark Delbridge 245. Workshops in 2016. Award. 7 GREYHOUND MONTHLY Please visit for all the latest GRV news VICTORIA Racing Association at a pivotalgrv.org.au time in its history, overseeing the move from Olympic Park and the development of The Meadows, which opened in February 1999. “Margaret has been terrific for us over the last 20 years,” said long-time MGRA Chairman, Eddie Caruana. “She was there for the ‘Last Bark in the Park’, our final meeting at Olympic Park in 1996, and there were some very difficult times while we raced at Sandown before we eventually decided on the location of The Meadows. Everyone thought we were crazy but it ended up being a very good move. “Margaret oversaw the whole operation at The Meadows; from buying the land to the opening meeting. We built the place from scratch and we had very limited funds, so she did a very good job with the finances. “I think Margaret’s best quality is that she’s brutally honest. She calls a spade a spade and she doesn’t take any rubbish from anyone. She is hard but fair with the staff and I think the longevity of the staff at The Meadows is testament to the respect they have for Margaret.” From humble beginnings The Meadows has gone from strength to strength under Marg’s guidance, with the circuit now host to nine Group 1 events, highlighted by the jewel in the crown, the Topgun, and the lucrative Australian Cup Carnival.