In what is an Australian first, the upcoming Shepparton greyhound meeting on Monday will be broadcast to the United States with the potential to be viewed by millions of fans of the sport.
Greyhound Racing Victoria has teamed up with Sky Racing and TAB to broadcast greyhound racing on skyracingworld.com and online wagering companies.
For the time being, one Australian greyhound meeting a day — with separate US Tote pools — will be beamed live to the US.
GRV chair Peita Duncan said the upcoming move to broadcast greyhound racing in the US would be beneficial for everyone involved in the sport.
“This initiative with Sky Racing allows us to showcase our great athletes, trainers, racing and sport to the world,” Duncan said.
“It also opens up a massive new wagering audience which will help us work through COVID-19, increase returns to our participants and position us for an exciting new future.
“This is a first for Victorian and Australian greyhound racing and gives us an unprecedented opportunity to share and grow the sport with a massive new audience.”
Duncan said next week's Shepparton meeting would be the first of many to be broadcast to States.
“The first meeting beamed into the US will be the Shepparton meeting on June 15 and we will be pushing hard for more Victorian meetings as we go forward,” she said.
“I would like to thank Sky Racing, TAB and our clubs for partnering with us to bring these projects to fruition.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a range of clubs and venues remain shut in the US.
However, Duncan said once restrictions eased there would be opportunities for the sport to be shown live in casinos and numerous other clubs and venues.
● Meanwhile, superstar greyhound Hooked On Scotch delivered an ominous warning to his Group racing counterparts with a stunning victory at Shepparton last week.
Hooked On Scotch — a winner of five Group race finals — notched his 14th win from 22 starts when he claimed a comfortable 3.2-length win in a time of 25.15 seconds.
Trained by Jason Thompson, Hooked On Scotch ($1.60) jumped from box eight and fought for the lead in the early stages, before powering away down the straight.
Last week's win was the talented greyhound's third start since a near-record breaking win in a heat of this year’s Warragul Cup.
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