CJC CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION ON GREYHOUND CLUB
THE Cairns Jockey Club are seeking urgent action from Racing Queensland to resolve the “dysfunctional and unsustainable” Cairns Greyhound Racing Club.
RQ wound up the local greyhound club in late 2018 after abandoned meetings marred the club in the second half of that year.
While the greyhound club is not licensed to conduct race meetings anymore, the track has remained open and operational as a training and trialling track, with local trainers and greyhound numbers dwindling significantly over the last year.
Former Cairns Greyhound Racing Club president Jeff Down confirmed he had stepped down from the role, with no one taking on the position going forward.
Cairns Jockey Club, which houses the greyhound track, have become frustrated at the unused and dilapidated facilities on their premises.
In an email sent by CJC to local trainers last week, the club estimated 54 dogs trialled from June 2019 to December 2019, with just five dogs trialling in 2020 – and of the dogs trialled this year, most were the same two unraced dogs from one trainer.
The greyhound training track agreement between RQ and CJC concludes on March 31, with CJC most likely not taking up a further service agreement.
CJC general manager John Cameron used the words “dysfunctional and unsustainable” when describing the future of the greyhound club.
“It has got to come to a head,” Cameron said.
“The club has not been operating for two years and there is a mess that has been left, with equipment and the rest, and as a club, we cannot let it go on for any longer.
“The situation has just been left and there is no urgency on resolving the matter.
“It is urgent now.
“There has to be a finite date for when the Cairns greyhound club is formally wound up as a club, with whatever assets they have – going wherever the industry determines they should go.”
Racing Queensland is reviewing the use of Cannon Park as a training and trialling facility for greyhound participants within the Cairns Jockey Club’s precinct.
“RQ will engage with all relevant stakeholders, including greyhound participants and the Cairns Jockey Club before the end of its current agreement which is scheduled to conclude on March 31,” an RQ spokesman said.
“Any public commentary prior to the completion of RQ’s review is premature.”
The future of the greyhound track and the facilities is likely to affect the upcoming
Cairns Amateurs Carnival, which uses the inside of the racetrack to house marquees.
“We need to start preparing now for a business that does not have the greyhound club operating from our facilities,” Cameron said.