GRNSW is trying to steamroller regulator GWIC into allowing 400m racing at Taree.
But GWIC says the 400m starting boxes are too close to the turn.
While criticising GWIC’s civil engineer, Wayne Edgeloe, GRNSW has also used him in the past.
The $6 million Taree racetrack was promoted as a “super track” and “centre of excellence”, with a host of advanced safety features.
The Drake Inquiry heard that no safety rail had been installed.
The Taree track is among the deadliest NSW tracks in FY25 GWIC injury data, with the second highest fatality rate of 0.67 deaths per 1000 starts –
Taree’s death rate is also higher than GRNSW’s target catastrophic injury rate of 0.4 per 1,000 starters.
GRNSW also arrogantly dismissed Commissioner Drake early on, saying “at the end of the day, the industry knows best what it needs to do.”
But then again, this is an industry under great pressure.
Word on the street is that Ladbrokes is quitting NSW greyhound racing. Monday 16 Feb saw the hearing for Shayne Stiff, with an “incident” caught on camera at Wentworth Park last year.
Update: eight dogs were injured in Taree races on 15 February 2026, one with a scapula fracture.
Image at top shows Simplicity Magic falling at Taree on 11 February 2026. Source: racing industry website.
Link:
https://www.thegreyhoundrecorder.com.au/news/tensions-rise-over-as-taree-400m-start-sidelined/