Emma Pritchard
The Grafton Greyhound Racing Club will host several races in a new feature series worth more than $200000 following a stunning announcement by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW).
Set to become the world’s richest race over a short distance course, The Thunderbolt series will include qualifying heats held at eight regional venues, a semi-final and final.
Grafton will host one qualifying heat on June 4 followed by a semi-final on June 11 and the inaugural final worth $75000 on June 19, each one run over 350m.
President of the Grafton Greyhound Racing Club John Corrigan said it means a lot to the club to be involved in The Thunderbolt series and for participants to have the opportunity to race for substantial prizemoney.
Describing the club as very grateful to have been selected by GRNSW to host the final later this year, Mr Corrigan happily revealed the event will also coincide with the first anniversary of the re-opening of the track following a $4.6 million upgrade.
“It’s good timing,” he said.
Praising the strength of the sporting industry within the Clarence Valley, Mr Corrigan said the Grafton Greyhound Racing Club has been well supported since work was completed on the state-of-the-art facility in 2021, and recent race meetings have attracted quality greyhounds to Grafton.
“The other week for example, we had a dog called Louis Rumble race and win here, and he went on to win the Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg Heat 6 at Wentworth Park in Sydney,” he said.
“A lot more people are interested in coming to the area to race greyhounds here.
“We have Brisbane trainers who bring their dogs to trial here and that speaks volumes.
“We’ve got a really good facility here.”
Mr Corrigan also confirmed the track surface has not been affected by the recent wet weather as the club hosted a 10-race program on March 27.
The feature event, the Ladbrokes Boost 5th Grade Final over 450m was won by the short priced favourite Black Comanche.
Jumping from box 8, the Gregory Stella trained greyhound extended its impressive record to five wins from eight starts, winning in a smart time of 25.39 seconds.