by GRACE JOHNSON
Another greyhound death over the weekend has intensified calls for the closure of Wentworth Park, a notoriously dangerous racetrack.
Two-year-old Oceanside was euthanised on Saturday night after suffering fractures, the second death in only a fortnight.
83 greyhounds have been injured on racetracks since the beginning of 2024.
Outrage at the increasing toll of greyhound deaths and injuries is spreading amongst the inner Sydney community, who want to see the racetrack closed down before the lease expiry in 2027.
Director of the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) Kylie Fields is calling for an end to the cruelty, saying “How many more dogs will die and be maimed by 2027?”
“Wentworth Park shows all that is wrong with greyhound racing,” she continued. “It is supposed to be one of the safest tracks in the country, upgraded with public funds.”
In an effort to promote safety, the racetrack has reportedly been trialling the double-arm lure, which is designed to prevent greyhounds bunching together as they pursue a single lure, but to no avail.
“But dogs keep dying and suffering while the big gambling companies rack up their profits,” said Ms Fields.
“The inner Sydney community is sick of seeing young dogs suffer. Greyhound racing has no future at Wentworth Park and the sooner it closes the better,” she asserted.
Labor’s plan for the racetrack
The previous government committed to ending dog racing at Wentworth Park when the licence expires in 2027 and planned to convert it into shared green space.
The Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association, which runs Wentworth Park, agreed to leave upon the lease expiry, but now they are saying the former Coalition government left office without an alternative being finalised.
The association no longer wants to leave, saying the cost of a new site would be around $100 million.
“Wentworth Park is the ideal place. We’ve invested many millions of dollars in that facility,” said chief executive Rob Macaulay.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has said it would be “bitterly disappointing” if the current Labor government backed down from converting the park into green space for the community’s use.
The Lord Mayor has been a long-term proponent of removing greyhound racing from Wentworth Park and the City, saying her council had begun developing a master plan for the precinct.
“Wentworth Park sits in the middle of one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Australia and is dominated by a greyhound racing track,” she said.
“This parkland should be for the benefit of the community, not an industry that has admitted to killing up to 17,000 healthy dogs each year, has been shown to live-bait, and causes problem gamblers real suffering.”
Animal Justice Party upper house member Emma Hurst said, “It is absolutely reprehensible that the Minns Government is considering backflipping on the decision to close this racetrack.”
“Omega Texas and Oceanside were killed for gambling profits and if Minister Kamper signs an extended lease to allow Wentworth Park to remain a greyhound racing track, many other dogs will die too.”
“No justification”
NSW Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper had said in a budget estimates hearing on February 20 that 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”.
Ms Hurst said there was no justification for keeping this track open except to appease the racing and gambling lobby groups.
“Dogs are being killed on this dangerous race track, and there will continue to be deaths and high injury rates if the Minister Kamper chooses to extend their lease on Crown Land,” she said.
“This cruelty simply cannot be allowed to continue – Wentworth Park racetrack must be shut down.”
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