{"id":777003545,"date":"2023-03-21T13:19:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T16:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777003545"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T02:34:51","slug":"orange-mp-pushes-for-au15m-greyhound-racing-track-in-regional-nsw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/orange-mp-pushes-for-au15m-greyhound-racing-track-in-regional-nsw","title":{"rendered":"Orange MP pushes for AU$15m greyhound racing track in regional NSW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Phil Donato argues that the facility would bring significant economic benefits and job opportunities to the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- Orange MP Phil Donato <\/strong>is urging the greyhound racing industry to invest in a new AU$15m racing track<\/strong> in his town in regional New South Wales (NSW). The Greyhound Breeders, Owners, and Trainers Association<\/strong> would own the track, which it says would create jobs and bring AU$20m into the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The association is investing in regional NSW at the same time that it prepares to leave its historic Wentworth Park home <\/strong>in inner Sydney. It has been announced that the state government will not renew the lease on the venue in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, animal welfare advocates are against the project. Kylie Field <\/strong>from the Coalition for<\/strong> the Protection of Greyhounds <\/strong>argues that before opening any new facility, a cap on breeding should be put in place to prevent dogs from suffering fatal injuries. She claims that investing in tracks is a ploy “to win votes in regional areas” that “leaves nothing but dead dogs and destroyed families from gambling.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: <\/strong>Australian greyhound track criticised due to animal injuries<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greyhound racing has faced controversy in recent years. A report by former High Court judge Michael McHugh <\/strong>detailed evidence of live animal baiting and the slaughter of tens of thousands of greyhounds in July 2016. Former NSW premier Mike Baird said he would shut down greyhound racing<\/strong> but backtracked after public opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greyhound Racing NSW says that today there is zero unnecessary euthanasia of dogs, more controlled breeding, a bigger greyhound adoption programme and fewer catastrophic injuries than in 2016. An economic impact report cfound that the sector contributes almost AU$630m a year to the NSW economy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans for the new racing track in Orange are part of a wider push to improve existing racing tracks or build new ones. NSW deputy premier and member for Bathurst Paul Toole <\/strong>joined Greyhound Racing NSW chief executive Rob Macaulay in Lithgow last week to announce an AU$3m upgrade of that track. There are also plans to build a new “super track” in Taree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Donato argues that the facility would bring significant economic benefits and job opportunities to the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777003546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Orange MP Phil Donato advocates for a new AU$15m greyhound racing track in regional NSW, citing significant economic benefits and job creation, as the industry prepares to vacate its Sydney venue. This capital investment, supported by Greyhound Racing NSW, faces strong opposition from animal welfare advocates who highlight past controversies and call for breeding caps to prevent animal suffering.","focusai_entities":"Phil Donato, Greyhound Breeders, Owners, and Trainers Association, Kylie Field, Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, Michael McHugh, Mike Baird, Greyhound Racing NSW, Paul Toole, Rob Macaulay","focusai_location":"Australia, New South Wales, Orange, Sydney, Wentworth Park, Lithgow, Taree, Bathurst","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.8), regulator (0.9), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (0.7), investor_analyst (0.85), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.95), gambler_consumer (0.75)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Future of NSW Racing?","query":"Given the significant capital investment in regional tracks and the non-renewal of the Wentworth Park lease, what is the long-term strategic vision for greyhound racing infrastructure and its operational footprint in New South Wales?"},{"label":"Regulatory Compliance Impact?","query":"How will the proposed new facilities and industry expansion be monitored to ensure stringent animal welfare standards and responsible gambling protocols are met, particularly in light of past controversies and public opposition?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,155],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-777003545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-sports-betting-news","tag-sports-betting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777003545"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777003563,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003545\/revisions\/777003563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777003546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777003545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777003545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777003545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}