TAB racing on the Mid North Coast of NSW moved a significant step closer on Wednesday when the Taree Greyhound Club hosted an 11-race meeting, a dress rehearsal for June 17.
Due to COVID-19, racing has not been held at Taree since February 29, naturally disappointing for the club which was granted permission by Greyhound Racing NSW in January, to host TAB meetings.
The original plan was for Taree to undergo a number of upgrades to the complex, required to bring the venue up to standard to host TAB meetings, and the club was then to race on Wednesday afternoons from April, the commencement coinciding with the club’s very successful Easter Carnival.
In the 2018 GRNSW Strategic Plan, it was made clear that all participants should have access to TAB racing, and the Mid North Coast had been one region where it was lacking, a situation to be remedied by the Taree announcement.
However like many things, COVID-19 put a halt to those plans, but with restrictions around racings easing this week, the club was notified late last month, that Taree would host a Non TAB meeting on June 3, and then host their inaugural TAB meeting on June 17.
Among the work completed by GRNSW and its contractors to ready the track for TAB racing included: track surface renovation, kennel upgrade, with additional race bay and new kennel infrastructure, new swab room and vet room in kennel building, new wash bays.
Other work included, CCTV in kennels for integrity security, stewards’ room upgrade, safety rail installation, safety padding on bends and in catching pen, three sets of pneumatic starting boxes and all starting infrastructure including shelters, installation of digital timing system and semaphore board.
The installation of a TV broadcast system was completed so that Taree could facilitate the live coverage of racing through Sky Racing, and also thedogs.com.au’s live streaming. These upgrades were also tested yesterday, and all boxes were ticked.
While yesterday’s Non TAB meeting was not streamed live to thedogs.com.au, you can visit the site now and watch all 11 races conducted at the track.
Head to the ‘Video’ section of the website, and then click on the ‘Featured’ tab, to access all the video replays from the Taree meeting. All results from the meeting can also be found on the website in the ‘Racing & Results’ section.
