Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Beginning on May 2, Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) will commence a trial of G-SIX racing every Thursday and Sunday at Tara Raceway, along with Angle Park and Gawler.

As the name suggests, G-SIX racing involves six-dog fields being drawn as the norm for the three venues through until the end of July.

The G-SIX format mirrors the traditional approach at some overseas tracks but with the additional appeal of dogs being more generously spaced at box-rise, the change said to reflect willingness by GRSA to explore a new approach to its racing product.

And GRSA chairman Grantley Stevens is just one of those expecting big things from the introduction of the concept.

“In this instance, less really does amount to more,” he said. “The G-SIX initiative will allow us to run more race meetings and more races on each card.

“Participants will race for the same stakes, but more often, and wagering clients will be offered more choice. SA greyhound racing is a proud innovator and one that believes in pushing the boundaries as a driver of positive change.”

GRSA said the innovation was expected to drive a number of immediate benefits for greyhound racing in SA – maximising the racing opportunity for participants in each of the key TAB-track regions in SA.

Also, G-SIX is predicted to drive up participant returns by more than $1m annually, offer cleaner racing with less interference and allow for two weekly meetings at all SA TAB greyhound tracks.

Tabcorp General Manager of Wagering (Vic, Tas, SA, NT), Trevor Parkes, said GRSA was a key partner of TAB and that greyhound racing was an exciting sport within the Australian entertainment landscape.

“We have supported the trial of six-dog races with scheduling on Sky Racing and are looking forward to seeing how participants and punters respond to G-SIX racing,” he said.

The Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s format will be weekly Thursday time-graded six-dog races and Category 3 racing every Sunday with fields of six dogs.

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