BALLARAT'S lucrative Western Districts Derby will be rocked by Greyhound Racing Victoria's decision to suspend at least two dogs as the fallout of the live baiting scandal continues.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
GRV's board met Tuesday afternoon and finalised a decision - based on advice from the state's Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna - to ban any greyhound trained and/or owned by the 10 persons suspended by GRV last Friday in relation to illegal training practices.
FULL COVERAGE:
This suspension of greyhounds will continue until Perna and GRV have concluded their investigations into the allegations uncovered by ABC's Four Corners program, which aired on Monday night.
The GRV board has made the decision under Greyhounds Australasia rule 14 1c. It states that the controlling body can "prohibit any greyhound from competing in any event if, in its opinion, that action is necessary for the proper control and regulation of greyhound racing".
While it is unclear how many greyhounds will be scratched from Wednesday's meeting in Ballarat, champion trainer Darren McDonald had 450m track record holder Over Limit and kennel mate Armed and Ready engaged in the $24,000-to-the-winner final of the Western Districts Derby, as well as Swagzilla in a grade 4/5 event earlier in the night.
McDonald was one of the people shown allegedly involved in live baiting practices by Four Corners.
GRV's decision means reserves Gravitation, trained by Darren Murray at Napoleons, and Fuelish, prepared by Pearcedale's Keith Hellmuth, will gain a run in the event.
Over Limit is a brilliant chaser, who broke the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club's 450m track record in October last year and was likely to start favourite in Wednesday night's final after recording the fastest of eight heat victories last week.
Perna told The Courier he understood it had been a tough call by GRV, but fully supported its decision.
"In circumstances where you have got allegations of what has been described as cheating, action needs to be taken and taken fairly quickly to address that," Perna said.
Perna urged people to come forward with information - through racingintegrity.vic.gov.au or by calling the Racing Integrity Hotline on 1300 227 225 - that would help in the investigation into alleged live baiting.
"The critical aspect in all of this is maintaining or restoring public confidence and GRV's move to suspend dogs will go towards that," Perna said.
