80 years of breeding data are shown at the end of the 2019 Stud Book - see GA website. Over the last two decades, these reflect a steady fall then a precipitous drop over the cliff. Primarily, live baiting caused the last change but the NSW ban did not help.

The reaction of industry chiefs and their bureaucracies has been to fiddle with some fees and ask if grading policies are OK. GAP publicity has been modestly useful but is influential only amongst those few people who had an open mind to start with. Community programs (mainly in Vic) are also good but still concentrate on cash incentives.

All these issues are down the line. The core challenge is that you like greyhounds, I like greyhounds but two thirds of the population does not. It's not just a matter of recreational or career preferences. It's not just that greyhounds are unfashionable; people just don't like them.

The big reason for that is that they don't know the breed or its history and certainly not how the industry really works because there has been virtually no effort to explain it all.

Tell'em and tell'em again and eventually the ship will right itself.

Do it well and owners/trainers/breeders/punters will come out of cracks in the ground. Not before.

OK Bruce,

It seems nobody else is going to step up to the plate and
tell'em and tell'em again....So it's up to you.

Word of mouth is probably the best way to spread the word, therefore a message is needed.

Now, drawing on your intimate knowledge of the greyhound industry, what is your spiel, in less than 200 words, to entice owners/trainers/breeders/punters, out of cracks in the ground

I just answered your question - advertising and PR to the general public. (Which I have done a thousand times before).

One example is the recent spate of full page ads for GAP in the SMH. All very nice but they missed the opportunity to insert small pars about the history and other wonders of the breed.

Above all, stop or reduce preaching to the converted.

By the way, on the Orange by-election, there is lots of anecdotal evidence that Borsak's mob got over the line solely because non-greyhound people were incensed at Baird's and Grant's action to scrub an entire industry - any industry. Those folk objected to that on principle. Without that support they would have lost.

One such follower was an emeritus professor from Griffith University who freely admitted he did not like greyhound racing or betting but was horrified at dictatorial policies. (NB - not a voter but a Queenslander who wrote to The Australian).

Look outside the square mate.

PS Baird is now CEO of a large home care company looking after older folk. They would not be paying the sort of money you get as a bank chief!

As I have mentioned more than once before, there was a comprehensive professional survey on attitudes done by Ernst & Young for the Qld GRA back in the nineties. Since then two or three states have commissioned separate surveys of public attitudes but have declined to publish the results.

The negative findings included two thirds of the general population classing greyhounds as nasty, bloodthirsty, drugged, etc. Where would that come from?

This is precisely why you see newspaper editors all - repeat all - favouring negative stories rather than positive ones. That's what sells papers.

Of course, many folks will have experience with the other one third who are delighted with their greyhound attachments. That's terrific but it's the former group that will latch on to horrible stories by anti-greyhound groups because they don't have the balanced knowledge to help them make a good decision. The antis themselves start from an entrenched position which they possibly learnt as kids.

Also as I mentioned before, the Orange decision was more influenced by broad political views rather than any like/dislike of the greyhound. You have to know your enemy.

Is it time to rename this thread?

The {{{{{TURNAROUND}}}}} is here

No "Shortage" of money around JQ, IF they are selling for those asking prices?

I wish those were the triggers but they don't stand up. The only worthwhile numbers are those for breeding and they have been terrible (ie halved) since 2015.

Even before that, there was a modest but important decline over the previous decade or two but nobody bother to look. Similarly, the fools appointed to investigate live baiting also did not look at the big picture (remember their "overbreeding" conclusions?).

Aside from the total figures I suggest looking into today's breeding and sale figures and edit out those due to insiders v newcomers or outsiders. A lot of greyhound money goes around in the same circles, naturally enough.

The positive aspect is that (for reasons I don't quite understand) wagering turnover is doing well, therefore funding prize money rises and some confidence amongst participants.

Nevertheless, it did not help Meadows last night where eight of twelve races jumped with six or fewer starters. Victoria is routinely drawing races with six starters, meaning many end up with four or five after scratchings.

At Wenty yesterday for a feature meeting, only three of ten races had reserves - all three due only to structural reasons - ie qualifiers from heats of the big races. Other NSW venues have an erratic number of races per meeting and/or short fields and/or horrible 300s.

Clearly, there is no need to change the title of this thread. Much better to find out what is really causing it and then doing something about it (other than throwing in a few bucks).

All that is the responsibility of the state administrators - no more, no less.