Greyhound Racing Victoria has made an announcement on its annual awards night.
The organisation is currently investigating how best to achieve its necessary cost savings.
As a result, Greyhound Racing Victoria has decided to replace its current gala-style format for the 2023-24 Victorian Greyhound Awards with a scaled-down awards presentation night.
The gala-format event was to be held in late August, but the scaled-down version of the awards night is expected to be held at Sandown Park on August 8.
The governing body announced that a few awards would be presented at the event on August 8; some awards would be recognised, but not presented and others would be deferred until 2025.
Greyhound Racing Victoria’s chief executive Stuart Laing said a formal gala-style event would not have made sense given the industry’s financial hardships.
“It’s neither appropriate nor financially prudent to proceed with this year’s Victorian Greyhound Awards night in its previous format,” Laing said.
“Instead, we will hold a revised, scaled-down presentation night, which will recognise the stars of the sport from the past season and also allow for a detailed assessment of the awards night and how the event can best represent the industry going forward.
“We thank everyone for their understanding as GRV continues to adjust its operational expenditure in the current climate.”
Greyhound Racing Victoria also announced cuts would be made to the prize pool allocations to some Group and feature races for the 2024-25 season.
The prizemoney will remain the same for marquee races such as the Phoenix, the world’s richest greyhound race ($1.65 million).
In consultation with racing clubs, Greyhound Racing Victoria has announced the following major financial changes for next season:
Prizemoney allocations for Group Two country cup finals will be reduced to $40,000 for the winner; there will be a removal of top-up payments for heats of Group One races, a reduction in prizemoney for The Great Chase final down to $25,000, the removal of Country Championship and Provincial Plate events and the removal of Go Distance Racing bonuses.
Laing said he appreciated the racing clubs’ understanding of the reasons behind the financial cutbacks.
“We’d like to thank the clubs for working with GRV to revise feature race prizemoney, given industry revenue from wagering has been under significant pressure for the past 18 months,” he said.
“The growth in prizemoney and bonuses on offer in Victorian greyhound racing over recent years for Group and feature races has been extraordinary and, as previously indicated, we needed to take a close look at where we are positioned with these races in the current economic circumstances.
“GRV has also made cuts to its operating expenses and is continuing to do so in a range of areas without compromising the commitment to and expenditure on core integrity, welfare and rehoming operations and we have done so to ensure the financial viability of the industry.”