Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Chief Executive Officer Mr Rob Macaulay today announced a $3million upgrade at the Lithgow track that will see the venue host weekly TAB racing when completed.
Mr Macaulay said GRNSW would fully fund a complete rebuild of the track – including the latest safety and state of the art welfare measures – as well as new facilities at the site.
"Work on the project will commence immediately, and when the rebuild is completed the Lithgow track will be at TAB standard, and as such we plan to race 52 TAB meetings a year at the track," he said.
"This is tremendous news for our industry and particularly for its participants in the Central West.
"There has been a void for those participants west of the Blue Mountains since the flooding and subsequent permanent closure of the Bathurst track last November. Regardless of what might occur in relation to a replacement track, this announcement about Lithgow will not only be an interim measure for those participants, but part of the permanent solution for racing in the Central West.
"Lithgow is the latest major investment into track facilities in the State, and the strong support of the NSW Government, Minister for Racing Kevin Anderson and local member, and Deputy Premier, Paul Toole, have made this possible."
The Lithgow club has a long history in the sport, dating back to the turn of the 20th century when the Lithgow Coursing Club was formed in 1901, before the "tin hare" was introduced to Lithgow in 1928.
The racetrack has always attached participants from the Central West, but also those from Sydney and its outer suburbs who would regularly trek across the mountains each week to race.
"The region around Lithgow and particularly to its west, is another heartland for our greyhound participants and being able to upgrade the facility and bring the Lithgow racetrack in line with the other gold standard new racetracks we have recently rebuilt, is a massive positive for our sport," Mr Macaulay said.
"GRNSW is committed to constantly improving our tracks and being the leader of safety innovation and world's best practice in greyhound track design."
Deputy Premier and NSW National Party leader, Paul Toole, the Minister for Regional NSW, attended the announcement at Lithgow endorsing the project with the backing of the NSW Government.
The Lithgow track is part of Mr Toole's Bathurst electorate, and he described the announcement as "tremendous news for the people of the region."
"I applaud Greyhound Racing NSW for their initiative and foresight in making this decision for the industry and the people of the region, it is tremendous news, and as we know it is not only the racing participants who will benefit, but the entire community will be winners with this project to inject millions into the local economy," Mr Toole said.
The announcement of the Lithgow project comes less than two weeks after the latest track rebuild was unveiled at Muswellbrook on the weekend, a $2.8 million project which saw work including a full refurbishment and re-profiling of the track, a new safety rail, safety padding on the turns and in the catching pen, installation of a Safechase lure system, insulation and air conditioning to the kennels, and new starting boxes installed.
