Victorian greyhound racing’s ability to continue throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been a credit to many, and none more so than our sport’s participants.

As the end of financial year approaches, GRV is showing its appreciation by offering up a number of prize money initiatives totalling approximately $1.3M.

Some of these initiatives are temporary, including a handful that will run throughout the May/June period.

GRV’s General Manager Racing, Greg Kerr said the new initiatives being programmed into the racing calendar through to the end of the racing season would ensure GRV distributes the full amount of prize money promised.

“I’d like to sincerely thank all of our participants from the bottom of my heart for working so hard to help us continue racing in unprecedented times during the pandemic,” Kerr said.

“We recognise how much time and effort you’ve put into adapting to all of the changes we’ve made along the way, while also managing changes in your own personal lives, and you are still continuing to support regular changes within the program today.”

Below is a snapshot of the initiatives:

• Preference to Maiden, Grade 7 and Grade 6 race meetings (11 in total) will be increased to Provincial Full Stakes for May & June 2021. This is providing opportunities for younger greyhounds in the racing program. For more information please click HERE
• A temporary doubling of Starter’s Fees from $10 to $20 will be introduced for May and June 2021.
• The Great 8 series – which are basically Best 8 races – is back after a successful launch in 2020. There will be eight Great 8 events held throughout May and June 2021, each carrying a total pool of $21,000 in prize money. Details of the Great 8 events will be announced shortly.
• The build up to the VIC BRED Pink Diamond series sees two VIC BRED races that carry $10k in bonuses in late May. Grade 5 series heats at Shepparton (17 May) and Warragul (25 May) will lead into finals totalling $14,725.
• The VIC BRED Pink Diamond series in June will see 48 heats across four regional tracks, leading to 12 finals at Bendigo on 18 June. Open exclusively to greyhounds bred in Victoria of all abilities, this series offers opportunities over a variety of distances, encouraging breeding sustainability and providing a feature night to end the 2020-21 racing season. Click HERE  for more information.
• As announced in March 2021, a 15 per cent increase to prize money for races 480m and beyond (at Provincial and Level 3 racing) continues to roll on and is now a permanent part of GRV’s prize money offering. Early results have already seen a positive increase in the number of races being programmed over 480+ metres.