Wentworth Park is one of the most dangerous and controversial greyhound racetracks in Australia.
In 2020, the LNP government committed to ending dog racing after the current lease expires in 2027. Despite fierce community opposition, the NSW Labor Government is suggesting they will allow racing to continue.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that the community overwhelmingly supported removing the greyhound racing track. There is an urgent need for more parkland and public amenities to support residents, workers and visitors to the area.
Open Letter: End Greyhound Racing at Wentworth Park
On 25 November 2025, over 20 Australian and international animal welfare organisations and local community groups signed an open letter calling on the NSW Government to “end greyhound racing at Wentworth Park, and for this precious public land to be returned to the community“.
The letter highlights that:
“Wentworth Park is Crown land, held in trust for public benefit. Yet it remains dominated by greyhound racing and gambling, offering little value to the local community.
Greyhound racing serves only a small group, profiting from the suffering of dogs, while gambling causes widespread harm within communities. The current lease is set to expire in 2027, creating a crucial opportunity to reimagine this rare parcel of inner-city land for a better future.
We are concerned that the NSW Government may be holding discussions with Greyhound Racing NSW about extending their lease, while the voices of local residents and community groups are not being heard.“
TAKE ACTION
Please use your voice for the greyhounds and join us in sending the open letter to the Ministers responsible. Let them know that Wentworth Park belongs to the people. It’s time to give it back. Please click on each of the names and complete the contact form, attaching a copy of the open letter.
Minister Kamper (Minister for Lands and Property)
Minister Harris (Minister for Gaming and Racing)
Click here to view and download the open letter in .pdf format.
"Revealed: How this inner Sydney park would look without a greyhound track"
The ugly truth
Greyhound racing at Wentworth Park has been contentious since it began in the 1930s. Focused on betting, the activity was denounced early on as a “pastime of parasites” and plagued by allegations of corruption. By the 1990s, off-course betting saw the crowds die away.
Today, Wentworth Park is supposedly one of Australia’s safest tracks. It has been upgraded under the NSW government’s $30m infrastructure scheme and is using new double-arm safety lures.
After the safety upgrade, on average four dogs were killed and 300 injured every year.
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Government backflip
In December 2020 the LNP Government committed to ending dog racing at the track as part of the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy. It would be replaced by “newly activated, publicly accessible open space as part of a larger and enhanced parkland”.
However, in February 2024, NSW Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper told a budget estimates hearing the government was reconsidering the future of the site, including “the continuity of some form of racing … whether it will close and what form it could take”.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore says it would be “bitterly disappointing” if Labor rips up the Coalition’s plan to move greyhound racing from Glebe’s Wentworth Park and turn the prime inner-city asset into public green space.
On 11 March 2024, the City of Sydney Council unanimously supported a Lord Mayoral Minute that “reaffirmed the City’s opposition to greyhound racing”, and urged the NSW Government to return the parkland to the community. The Lord Mayor also encouraged the community to “write to the NSW Government urging Wentworth Park to be returned to the community as public open space“.
A dangerous track that can't be made safe
Racing participants have long complained that the Wentworth Park first turn is too tight and unsafe.
In 2019 the track received a $552,895 redevelopment as part of the state government’s $30 million safety upgrade program.
The track and infrastructure project included work on the track profile and starting boxes, safety rail, and parade area.
In January 2024 the track introduced a “double-arm” lure, a safety initiative that industry leaders hoped would have a “major impact” on reducing greyhound racing injuries.
After 19 race meetings injuries jumped more than 50 percent over the same period the previous year.
Wentworth Park proves that no racetrack can be made safe and all greyhound racing is dangerous. As with all NSW tracks, Wentworth Park does not meet track safety standards.
Doping and dog abuse
Systemic doping continues across the greyhound racing industry.
The CPG report Infractions: Crimes against greyhounds shows:
- The industry is plagued by systemic doping though without out-of-competition testing in most states, this likely represents only a fraction of the true scale.
- Dangerous substances routinely found included arsenic (used to increase stamina), stimulants, steroids, and pain-masking drugs to force injured dogs to race.
- Very unlikely excuses were accepted by authorities, including dogs being poisoned with arsenic by chewing timber, contamination from rinsed coffee cups, and dogs eating poppyseed bread.
According to Animal Liberation’s monitoring of Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission decisions, 177 charges were made against NSW industry participants between January and October 2025. This included 37 charges related to prohibited substances (drugging).
Wentworth Park features prominently in the final disciplinary action decisions published by GWIC.
In many of these disciplinary hearings trainers plead guilty to take advantage of a 25 percent reduction in penalty. Welfare advocates believe the fines and suspensions are largely inadequate, and greyhounds continue to be doped.
In 2025, five of the trainers with dogs listed for racing in the final of the Million Dollar Chase have been found guilty of using prohibited substances in the past. Summary included below, the full industry disciplinary decisions are available on the websites of state racing bodies.
- Victor Sultana: Detection prohibited substance, Greyhound: Foreign Capital, Substance: Meloxicam
- Jason Magri: Detection permanently banned prohibited substance. Greyhound: Zipping Zeek, Substance: Cocaine, benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester. Possession of prohibited substances, a syringe containing a prohibited substance, and four shock collars at kennels.
- Tom Tzouvelis: Detection prohibited substance, Greyhounds: Strategise and Lily Monelli, Substance: Cobalt
- Thomas Dailly: Detection prohibited substance, Greyhound: Gypsy Wyong, Substance: Carprofen
- Melinda Finn: In March 2017, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Finn had been “busted four times for doping her dogs with a potentially lethal performance-enhancing drug” at Wentworth Park. Finn was also found guilty in 2019 of being in possession of two shock collars.
In 2025, Affluent was the first victim of The Million Dollar Chase suffering a foreleg fracture in a qualifying race for the final.
Soon after Affluent was listed as deceased. Affluent won $104,980. Treating the fracture would have cost a fraction of that. He was only two years old.
In 2023, three dogs suffered serious injuries at the event. Three were seriously injured, two suffering fractured legs and one a lacerated neck.
One greyhound was carried away by a racing staff member before the eyes of a large group of animal welfare protesters demonstrating against the event.
A Million Dollar Disgrace
The greed and cruelty of the greyhound racing industry is on full display at the Million Dollar Chase at Wentworth Park.
This is a celebration of all that is heartless and money-hungry about an industry that exploits, injures and kills dogs every day.
Not only does the owner of the winning dog receive a million dollars but the industry spends an obscene amount of money on trying to attract an audience. This includes offering a million dollar lucky door prize and other prizes including a Kia ute.
In 2025, aerial views of Wentworth Park show an almost empty stadium. The real action take takes place on gambling apps while greyhounds risk their lives racing at an empty venue.
Annual protests are held at the event with speakers from across the greyhound welfare and advocacy community.
After a public outcry the Million Dollar Chase is no longer shown on free-to-air TV and the state government hasn’t boasted about contributing prize money.