Gone to the dogs: racing fans mourn closure of ‘Wenty’, Sydney’s historic greyhound track
0 / 24
English
中文
The end of an era has fallen upon an Australian sporting landmark as the greyhound races at an inner-city track kicked off for the very last time.
（暂无翻译）
Thousands packed into Wentworth Park in central Sydney on Friday night, where greyhound races have been held since 1932, for the last race meeting before the track’s planned demolition.
（暂无翻译）
The final race of the night was the richest in the world – the Million Dollar Chase – and was won by Magical Ang.
（暂无翻译）
For Geoff Rose, the closure was a sign of the times – the land in the inner-west suburb of Glebe is worth a fortune in a city where growth will not slow down.
（暂无翻译）
But the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association chair remained sad to see the park go.
（暂无翻译）
“It is quite heartbreaking to a lot of people,” he said.
（暂无翻译）
Another spectator mourning the closure was Jeff Collerson, a veteran greyhound writer who first set foot on the track at Wentworth Park in December 1962 as a 17-year-old cadet journalist.
（暂无翻译）
Now 81, he was trackside as the dogs raced around the circuit, nestled against the Sydney city skyline, for the final time and reminisced about his career.
（暂无翻译）
He said the closure of what locals refer to affectionately as “Wenty” was tragic.
（暂无翻译）
“I remember saying to my wife years ago, I want you to cast my ashes in front of the winning post at Wentworth Park, but I told her not to do that now,” Collerson said.
（暂无翻译）
“Wentworth Park’s got a special aura about it that the other tracks won’t have … it’s got a special buzz to it.
（暂无翻译）
“That will be lost forever because having a city track is just fantastic.” All buildings are slated for demolition after October 2027, and the site is planned to be returned to parkland under the auspices of Sydney’s council.
（暂无翻译）
Wentworth Park was created between 1876 and 1880 using silt dredged from Sydney’s harbour.
（暂无翻译）
Greyhound racing began in the park in 1932, and by the 1970s, the sport was attracting large crowds. Greyhound Racing NSW, the state’s regulator for the sport, announced this week it had chosen the existing Richmond race club, about an hour north-west of central Sydney, as the replacement site for the industry.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Rose said his association was also exploring another option, which could see it establishing race meetings at a site near Appin, south-west of Sydney.
（暂无翻译）
Either way, the state’s racing minister, David Harris, has previously promised $10m in government funding to help the industry find a new home – a move criticised by those calling for the industry to be shut down altogether.
（暂无翻译）
Some have welcomed the track’s closure as a move towards the whole industry’s end.
（暂无翻译）
A crowd of protesters stood outside the park as punters filed in, chanting that the sport kills dogs, and calling for an end to taxpayer dollars propping up the industry.
（暂无翻译）
Aleisha Kernan and Kirsten Lambros work for Greyhounds as Pets, which helps facilitate the adoption of retired racing dogs.
（暂无翻译）
Kernan said the sport’s potential new facilities would “open new avenues”.
（暂无翻译）
“I think people should look at the future as well,” she said.
（暂无翻译）
But for one young punter, Harry Dunlop, nothing would replace what he described as a “prominent piece of Australia”.
（暂无翻译）
“It’s very unlikely that we’ll be going out to Richmond,” he said.
（暂无翻译）
仅供学习使用，如有侵权请联系删除 · 查看原文