But with breeding down by 62% since the invasion of the do-gooders & those that don't have a life in 2015, greyhounds racing over these longer distances are now suffering due to a numbers game.
I can't explain it any simpler.

It's the same reason why your seeing 300m racing now at Albion Pk on a Monday & Cannington on a Saturday night, when those distance were reserved for racing on low classed evening tracks.

Give stamina-based sires a fairer go

Instead of trying to breed a litter where only half will run 520m, try and breed a litter where half will run 600m-720m and the other half may get to 520m

In this day and age, we need to breed more versatile & hardier greyhounds

From a business perspective, 300m-400m greyhound races are poor betting options, especially those off bend starts, the more of see of them, the less I am inclined to have a bet

To answer Daryl's questions, yes. Most trainers these days seem to want a dog that they can once to twice a week with little work. They don't seem willing to train a dog to build stamina in them

There are dogs that I watch racing that could extend to 500m but their trainers keep banging them around the 400m each week

I guess it must be easier and cheaper to do so

When I was on GRNSW in 2000 we would have the TAB come in and tell us what were the good and bad things for turnover was .
No 1 good thing was the further the distance the better the turnover
No 1 bad thing was less then 8 starters was bad for turnover ,really bad.

My opinion on why there is so few stayers is it's a % thing
Of all greyhounds bred 100% will run 300 meters
As you go up in distance that % gets smaller.
There might be 50% of all greyhounds bred get 500 meters .
By the time you get to 700 meters it may only be 5% .
Now with the 50% decease in breeding numbers what are we left with ????

You've all seen the mounting number of dogs not chasing lately. It's hard enough it seems to get a dog to chase for 500m. Good luck getting them to chase a stinking rag for 700m.

What a breath of fresh air! I have been rabbiting on about this subject for many years now, only to be ignored by authorities and rubbished by trainers and others. It is no comfort that my warnings have not only been valid but that the situation is worsening. Let me make two topical points at the outset:

(a) Responding to my July letter of concern about this and other issues, the WA Racing Minister advised that the state continues to perform strongly and their efforts will secure the future of greyhound racing. Contrast that with a while ago when WA had to alter its grading rules to entice more performed imports to fill its higher grade races while another post in GD commented on the paltry state of runners in last Saturdays Cannington meeting (which included several 388m races out of 10 overall). WA will also be hit soon with the current decline in breeding numbers in the east.
(b) Two heats of the premium Summer Cup over 720m at Wenty on Saturday night were won by Fanta Bale in 43.13 and Bogie Bekim in 42.67. The track was on the slowish side but, even so, performances like that would have found them battling for last place a few years ago. Assuming the timing machine did not break down, those runs are 22 and 17 lengths outside the track record. It goes without saying that their opposition was mediocre at best. PS: this was Fanta Bales third week in a row over 700m-plus, in progressively slower times, which suggests you can have too much of a good thing.

So, whats at stake?

1. The integrity of the breed is at risk. While greyhounds are naturally sprinters, a long history has shown that a significant minority could run out 700m. No longer is that true. Only a tiny few exceptions can do it.
2. For well over a decade, the number and proportion of 300m-400m races has been rising. Some clubs have even added those to their schedule (Albion Park, Grafton, Angle Park) while others have increased the frequency of short races (Cranbourne), even when building brand new tracks (Traralgon) .
3. The excuse that trainers ask for short races is just that an excuse. It says that their charges are not capable of anything better.
4. The only prominent sire now available with staying capability (Space Star) is apparently not too popular and is moderately priced. (Correct me if I am wrong).
5. All states now offer bonuses for some city and country middle distance races but they seldom attract dogs of quality and most of those are battling to run out the 600-650m trips. Essentially, they are dogs which were not doing too well over shorter trips.
6. Fading winners and runners going up and down on the home turn in long races make them risky propositions for punters. Unacceptable really.

The Solution.

Stop handing out extra cash to dogs which do not deserve it. Instead, invest in means of strengthening the stamina of the breed, presumably through more sensible breeding. Exactly how is beyond my pay grade but a small expert panel could and should advise. On the way to doing that, owners and trainers may well find that they will also end up with more dogs capable of running solid 500s, or even 600s, which is where the real money is. But it will take time.

The penny has dropped. Act now.

My main concern is where the industry is going to be in 5 to 10 years if it still here at all.

I am not confident it the greyhound industries future at all it has now become a political football

any standouts ?

The average greyhound hits top speed over about 435m. From there on they are all slowing down - some more than others.

Fanta Bale is a terrific race dog but it is yet to run top 700 time and has been beating ordinary ones. So the challenge is even more serious than we see at first glance.

Sadly, while your point about turnover was accurate at the time, it no longer is. The drop in serious punters, the rise in mug gamblers and (no doubt) declining quality has put paid to that. These days, field quality has little to do with betting volumes - barring the big ones.

The scary part is that our powers to be don't know this and many other aspects of the industry and they are making rules and regulations based on their knowledge of the industry (which is very limited)that we have to abide by.

Hey Bruce Fanta bale has won about 10-15 races over 700 plus and I think she's won or places in grp finals over 700 plus 8 odd times. Who cares what times she runs over 700 or who she beat. You can only beat 7 other dogs that you race against.

The problem I now see with "Stayers" is they need to race every week to be able to perform strongly, week in week out.

With the massive drop in breeding numbers, States such as Qld, WA, SA (& possible NSW into the near future) will not be able to sustain 700m races so these dogs will suffer if they don't get moved on to another State such as Victoria (soon to be called Tinsel Town).

If they don't make the grade (which most won't) they'll be returned to their home State where they'll be wasted again due to low breeding numbers, by sitting in their kennels waiting for suitable races that will never come.

The authorities have a lot to answer for come this time next year.

This is where the State Authorities need to step up and combat the various TAB's to put on 4-5 dog staying races so that the continuity of staying events is maintained over the next two-three years

Also a national program that focuses on breeding with longer distance greyhounds would be useful

In horse breeding, stallions like Galileo, High Chapparal, Zabeel etc are proven sources of stamina

Greyhound sires that provide that can identified to produce this kind of stamina sources are the ones that need support

i.e. sons of Mogambo, Turanza Bale, Bombastic Shiraz, USA sires like Bella Infrared, Kiowa Mon Manny, Kinloch Brae, Flying Penske, SH Avatar, DJays Octane and their sons are a great place to start to get behind a push to breed tougher and versatile greyhounds

Exactly. My point was to emphasise that this change in capabilities is not a one-off but a continuation of a long term decline in stamina as well as a fall in total numbers.

It comes out in the wash as insufficient competitive stayers - ie an overall degradation of staying fields - and not enough dogs to make up any fields.

Authorities either failed to notice the trends or adopted unlikely policies when they eventually (but too late) saw what was happening. The classic illustration is the current GRNSW effort to survey trainers about grading changes in an effort to "fix" the breeding downturn. That is ridiculous.

That's the sort of quickie reaction we expect from politicians, not from people charged with advancing the breed and the industry.

The same goes for another comment re Fanta Bale - ie you can't do more than keep winning. Quite so, but it does that because it is a great competitor, not because it is a champion stayer.

The related risk is the apparent desire to keep them running every week to "harden" them up. Yet time and time again, this and almost every other dog have proved conclusively that they physically can't do it. The odd exception like Sweet It Is manages OK because it never ran hard for the first half of its races.

Anyway, not to belabour the same old point, these illustrations should be seen as part of the overall picture - the breed's stamina is in decline. I can't think of anything more critical for the future of the industry.