Records for greyhounds re-homed, prizemoney and wagering, along with a major fall in euthanasia and track fatalities rates and Australia’s first Integrity in Sports conference, were some of the highlights in Greyhound Racing Victoria’s (GRV) 2018-19 Annual Report.

The Report, tabled in the Victorian Parliament today, provides a comprehensive overview of work undertaken by GRV and Victoria’s 13 greyhound racing clubs and the sport’s contribution to Victoria over the year.

In 2018-19, 2631 greyhounds were re-homed by GRV’s Greyhound Adoption Program, other re-homing agencies and directly by participants – up about 2% on the previous year and up almost 100% since 2014-15.

Euthanasia numbers fell by about 28% over the year and continued a significant downward trend since 2014-15. Race fatalities were down about 23% on 2017-18 and race injuries also fell during the year and are down 17% since 2014-15.

GRV CEO, Alan Clayton, said the figures reflected GRV’s core focus on greyhound welfare and a major cultural change in the sport over the past few years.

“Through a combination of education, regulation, investment in track infrastructure and initiatives like our Safe Racing Program, GRV is working to deliver the best possible environment for racing greyhounds in Victoria from birth to retirement,” Mr Clayton said.

National wagering turnover on Victorian greyhound racing reached a record $2.37 billion in 2018-19 and GRV’s total income, driven mainly by a share of this wagering expenditure, rose by about 5% to $103.6 million over the year.

“This strong wagering performance has been driven by Victoria’s ability to offer a professional, well-regulated and exciting racing calendar – the largest in Australia,” Mr Clayton said.

“In 2018-19, GRV strengthened its racing promotion work with the introduction of a new brand for the sport and the release of the Watchdog mobile form guide app.”

Mr Clayton added that increased wagering and income meant GRV was also able to increase prizemoney and other returns for participants to a record $46.5 million in 2018-19.

”GRV’s standing as a leading racing industry regulator was highlighted during the year by hosting Australia’s first major conference in integrity in sport, held in Melbourne in August 2018 and which attracted leading national and international speakers on a range of integrity issues,” Mr Clayton said.

“All these strong outcomes in 2018-19 mean GRV is now well placed to deliver on its new strategic priorities for the next five years which include a new focus on industry growth to secure a vibrant and sustainable future for the code in Victoria.”

GRV’s 2018-19 Annual Report is available online at: grv.org.au/about-us/grv-annual-reports