GRV, in conjunction with the Traralgon Greyhound Racing Club, will commence a pilot program to test processes associated with Preferential Box Draws in a bid to promote cleaner racing.

UPDATE: Preferential Box Draws pilot deferred

The initial pilot will start in April on a small scale, with only two early race trait categories:

• Railer
• Wide Runner

Preferential Box Draws involve greyhounds being placed in either of the abovementioned categories and two separate box draws being conducted, with the aim of reducing early interference and, ultimately, injuries on the racetrack.

The pilot program may be expanded based on initial testing, feedback and results.

The initial pilot will be held on select Wednesday race meetings at Traralgon over 350m and 395m, alternating the distance at each meeting.

The pilot will be for Grade 5 greyhounds only. To accommodate the Preferential Box Draw pilot, an advertised event will be created on select race meetings via the Fast Track calendar.

The first four meetings where preferential box draws will be conducted at Traralgon are as follows

• Wednesday, April 19 – 395m
• Wednesday, May 3 – 350m
• Wednesday, May 10 – 395m
• Wednesday, May 17 – 350m

To facilitate the pilot, all greyhounds nominated will be defaulted as ‘Railers’ and on application by the trainer the greyhound can be approved as a wide runner.

Trainers wishing to make an application for a wide runner would be required to email [email protected]  noting the following information: Trainer Name, Trainer Member number, Dog Name & Dog Ear Brand.

Trainers must apply prior to nominations closing and once the application has been approved for a wide runner, this will remain in place until the trainer reassesses the application or GRV panel deem a change is necessary.

Note that the [email protected]  email address will be activated on Monday, March 20, 2023.

GRV Stewards will then conduct two random manual box draws, one for each category, which would result in eight boxes being assigned.

The number of greyhounds in each box draw would be dependent on how many greyhounds have been assigned as either railer or wide runner for that race. On some occasions, a box draw within each category would not be required if there were one or less nominations received.

During the pilot, no reserves will be drawn.

Following the running of a Preferential Box Draw Event, the panel will be responsible for reviewing wide runners and ensuring they have been placed correctly.

In 2022, Greyhound Racing New Zealand introduced a pilot program where greyhounds in low grade races were drawn according to ‘Early Racing Traits’, while in England and Ireland, greyhounds are also seeded according to their racing habits.

For further information or questions please contact [email protected]