Losing Dapto Dogs for the Illawarra would be like the Dragons losing Jubilee Oval, or Fords and Holdens no longer being able to race around Mount Panorama, with the cultural and spiritual significance attached to their respective communities.

The Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society has notified Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) that there will no longer be racing next year at Dapto Showground after 89 years.

However, it seems the Society does not want to part ways completely, as it owns the brand “Dapto Dogs”.

Nowra Hill trainer Allan Manwaring was saddened by the potential demise of the Dapto Dogs.

“My father raced dogs at Dapto back in the 60s and my wife and I won our first and only group race at Dapto, so it holds a special place in our hearts and is one of our favourite tracks” Manwaring said.

While there has been much speculation within racing circles about the future of greyhound racing at Dapto, with many up in arms about the closure, Manwaring sees it differently with the financial logistics weighing heavily on the Dapto outcome.

“There is talk that the rent was around $20,000 a month at Dapto,” he said.

For newly appointed GRNSW CEO Steve Griffin, this is a significant issue for him to resolve but he appears to be approaching it with a positive outlook.

“While the Dapto decision is disappointing, we have exciting plans to modernise greyhound racing in the months and years ahead, introducing innovative measures to make it a more visually appealing TV sport for punters across the state and around the world” Griffin said via a GRNSW statement.

One of the innovative measures being introduced by GRNSW is the development proposal from over the other side of the Great Dividing Range in Goulburn.

This “straight” greyhound racing track is said to be a safer option of racing than the conventional “two bend” circuits within the industry.

This decision is not the first time this has happened to the Dapto greyhound fraternity after the Society announced a similar decision in 2019. The Society later renewed its lease with GRNSW.

The inquiry commissioned by the NSW State Government into GRNSW has been extended to 31 July due to the high number of submissions.

The purpose of this inquiry “is to ensure a viable and sustainable greyhound racing industry in NSW with the highest standards of integrity and animal welfare”.

Across the ditch in New Zealand, their greyhound industry was decimated earlier this week with the New Zealand Government’s decision to ban the sport from July next year, something the Mike Baird-led NSW Government tried to do unsuccessfully in 2017.