Greyhound killed at Gawler Greyhound Club racetrack, South Australia

One of the dog racing starts at the Gawler greyhound racetrack, in Gawler, South Australia. (Photograph: Matilda Duncan)

A greyhound was killed last week at the Gawler Greyhound Racing Club as part of Greyhound Racing South Australia's weekly program of dog racing.

The death, which appears to be the first arising from the regular dog racing events held at Gawler's greyhound racetrack for the year, occurred after the dog sustained an injury while being forced to participate in a race on the afternoon of Friday, January 10, 2020.

The dog was overseen by greyhound trainer Troy Murray, a resident of Lewiston—a town near Gawler—and owned by the "Murray Murray" greyhound racing syndicate, comprised of relatives of Murray.

On the same day as the greyhound’s death, Murray was listed as the trainer of 2 other dogs entered in separate races, and he continues to train multiple other greyhounds. In recent years, several dogs he has trained have earned their owners thousands of dollars in winnings, after being made to race at events held by Greyhound Racing SA at venues including the Gawler, Angle Park and Murray Bridge racetracks.

Troy Murray has previously been suspended from involvement in greyhound racing after being found guilty in 2012 by Greyhound Racing South Australia of the opaque charge of breaching the organisation’s "Rule 86", in which a person "has, in relation to a greyhound or greyhound racing, done a thing, or omitted to do a thing, which, in the opinion of the Stewards or the Controlling Body, as the case may be, is negligent, dishonest, corrupt, fraudulent or improper, or constitutes misconduct."

The dog that lost his life last Friday was entered by the Murrays into the ninth race of the day—a race of 531 metres in length—under the racing name of "Spring Kudu". Between June 2018 and his death in January 2020, the dog was made to race 61 times by his owners, sometimes as many as 5 and 6 times in a month. Over his lifetime, Spring Kudu earned the Murrays $28,904 in prize money. Monetary prizes for each dog race are overseen by Greyhound Racing South Australia.

Troy Murray could not be reached for comment.

According to a race report from January 10, the dog, Spring Kudu, had a slow start to the race, and slowed further as it appeared to become hurt. The injured dog did not have any collisions with any of the other dogs in the same race that may have caused the injury, according to the race report, which was written by officials working for Greyhound Racing South Australia. The race report stated that after a veterinarian assessed the dog to have a "severe" right hock fracture at the race's end, the vet then "humanely euthanised" the dog.

The on-course veterinary surgeon overseeing the race was Dr. Michelle Hague, of the Adelaide Plains Veterinary Clinic, located in Two Wells, South Australia. Dr. Hague did not respond to a request for comment, though a receptionist at the Adelaide Plains Veterinary Clinic did state that she “[didn’t] know if she [Dr. Hague] would be allowed to comment.”

The sponsor of the race in which Spring Kudu sustained his fatal injury was Gawler Dry Cleaners, a business local to the racetrack that has been a regular sponsor of greyhound races in South Australia. On the same day, Gawler Dry Cleaners sponsored a second greyhound race, a 400m race at the juvenile level.

In response to a request for comment, the manager of Gawler Dry Cleaners, John Batten, stated in the course of a phone interview that he was “sad at what happened,” but that he “hadn’t been at the race” due to personal illness.

Asked about the welfare of the greyhounds in the races he has sponsored through his business, and whether he was concerned about the future risk of injuries to the dogs, Mr. Batten said “yes and no love, it’s just bad luck, you can’t do much about it, the track [at Gawler] is a good track, it’s safe.”

He continued: “I’m just upset for the owners…but no, I’m still gonna sponsor, they look after the dogs down there [at the Gawler track].”

Batten stated his sponsorship of the January 10 race had been “worth $8000”, for a “Stayers Cup” event, but online records show the race was worth a total of $1890 in prize money. The $8000 in sponsorship mentioned by Batten had indeed been for a Gawler Dry Cleaners “Stayers Cup” dog race at Gawler—a race held two months ago, on November 3, 2019, where yet another greyhound died after being made to race.

That greyhound, which was owned by Edward Campbell, was entered into a 643 metre-long race under the name of “Zipping Nitro”. He collapsed after the race and was unable to be resuscitated. He was found to have suffered “acute vascular damage” by the on-course veterinarian, which again, was Dr. Michelle Hague.

At the time of his death at just under 4 years of age, Zipping Nitro had been made to race 53 times.

The Greyhound Racing SA officials overseeing the both the January 10, 2020 and November 3, 2019 dog racing events at Gawler were Jann Jones, Michael Fernholz, and Matthew Herrmann.

In response to a request for comment about the January 10, 2020, death of the greyhound Spring Kudu, the spokesperson for Greyhound Racing South Australia, Chief Executive Officer Matthew Corby, stated: ”Regrettably the injury in question was serious enough that the most humane option in the opinion of the on-course veterinarian was humane euthanasia.”

“The Board and Management of GRSA is genuinely committed to ensuring that greyhound racing in South Australia is undertaken with regard for the highest standards of safety and welfare.”

“Animal welfare considerations are central to GRSA’s management of the sport and a framework of strategies have been put in place to mitigate the risk of racing injury to the greatest extent possible. No code of racing in any Australian state returns a greater share of its revenue to rehoming and welfare than GRSA. ($1.5m per year).”

Another greyhound made to race at the Gawler track event on the day of January 10, 2020 also sustained injuries. A dog assigned the racing name of "Big Buzz" sustained a left gracilis muscle tear in the seventh race of the day, according to the Greyhound Racing South Australia race report, leading officials to "suspend" the dog from racing for 60 days after a vet check. Trained by Brenton Prouse of Kadina, and owned by Greg Burrell, the greyhound "Big Buzz" is just under 4 years old, and has been made to race 97 times during her short lifetime.

A total of 6 dogs required veterinary attention after being made to participate in races at Gawler on January 10. According to the race report written by Greyhound Racing South Australia, 4 of these dogs were consequently found to have "no injury detected" after undergoing post-race vet checks by Dr. Michelle Hague.

The rules of greyhound racing as stipulated by the Australian regulator, Greyhounds Australasia, state that any veterinary surgeons appointed by greyhound racing organisations—including Greyhound Racing South Australia—may have their “powers and duties specified” by the racing organisations that appoint them in veterinary roles.

The Town of Gawler Council has supported greyhound racing in its council area for years by providing funding for recent renovations of racing club facilities, and in prior years, arranging lease agreements with Greyhound Racing South Australia to ensure access to local facilities.

The Gawler Council was contacted for comment but did not respond.

A still from footage of the greyhound Spring Kudu (far right, black and white striped vest) falling behind other greyhounds due to injury, in the moment before he leaves the camera’s vision during a greyhound race on January 10, 2020, shortly before… — A still from footage of the greyhound Spring Kudu (far right, black and white striped vest) falling behind other greyhounds due to injury, in the moment before he leaves the camera’s vision during a greyhound race on January 10, 2020, shortly before his death.

Dog racing days are held twice a week at the Gawler Racetrack, on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, and usually consist of around 11 greyhound races per day, during which dogs are made to sprint by their owners over distances ranging from 400 to 643 metres for gambling purposes. “There are TAB facilities. Racing is shown live on Sky Channel,” reads the Gawler track listing on Greyhound Racing South Australia’s website.

Race days often include several races for dogs in juvenile and masters categories.

The dog race events held in Gawler by Greyhound Racing South Australia are just one part of the national gambling industry, with the greyhound races that are held daily throughout South Australia televised by the Sky Racing Channel.

The Sky Racing Channel is owned by the ASX-listed company Tabcorp Holdings Limited (Tabcorp), one of Australia's largest gambling companies. The corporation provides access to greyhound, sports, and horse race betting through TAB, and has an annual revenue of $5.482 billion.

9 years prior to becoming the Chief Executive Officer at Greyhound Racing South Australia, Matthew Corby left his employment at Tabcorp Holdings Limited, where he had worked as a Sportsbet Book Manager for just under 5 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

South Australia's current Marshall Government recently committed millions of taxpayer funds to underwriting the state's greyhound and horse racing industries, despite having little control over industry practices and minimal oversight of the welfare of animals made to participate in gambling activities. Just one year ago, in February 2019, the Marshall Government opened a brand new greyhound racetrack in Murray Bridge—the official opening of which was attended by the Minister for Racing, Corey Wingard—despite its receipt of a 7000 signature petition submitted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urging it not to go ahead with the construction, and public concerns in preceding years about the welfare of greyhounds nationally, after reports surfaced of mass greyhound graves in Queensland, Sydney, and the Hunter Valley, and greyhound racing organisations killing greyhounds at the end of their racing lives rather than finding them safe homes.

The Marshall Government then followed up with a $24 million funding package for the state’s horse and greyhound racing organisations in June 2019.

At the official opening of the Murray Bridge greyhound racetrack on February 3, 2019, another greyhound met his death, despite the Government of South Australia's claims that the new Murray Bridge racetrack would be safer for racing dogs.

According to reportage by the Murray Valley Standard, attendees at the official opening of the racetrack were, at the time of the dog's injury and consequent death, overlooking the track while participating in a cocktail-style dinner in the club's function centre.

The dog that was killed sustained a “severe right hock fracture”, according to the race report from the day, and was another that had been trained by Lewiston trainer, Troy Murray.

He died at just 3 years of age, and his racing name was "He's Okay".

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Published at 9:40 PM (GMT+10:30)

The full statement from Matthew Corby, Chief Executive Officer of Greyhound Racing South Australia is available below:

You can read the relevant race reports written by Greyhound Racing South Australia below: