Greyhound Racing Victoria’s response to Four Corners

1 12 February 2015 Greyhound Racing victoria s response to four Corners What measures have you as the regulator taken to ensure that Greyhound Racing has integrity? The 2012 Ombudsman s report of his Own Motion Enquiry into Victorian Greyhound Racing was a catalyst for significant change to the governance and integrity practices at GRV. New board appointments along with new senior management appointments signalled a new era for GRV and the organisation has publicly and consistently stated its commitment to Greyhound welfare, governance and integrity.

2 Following this report; the organisation restructured in order to align the areas of Integrity, Racing and Welfare; there was the establishment of an Investigations Unit; there has been significant investment and additional research into prohibited substance detection the number of stewards and compliance officers has increased significantly there are more than 3500 kennel inspections conducted each year there is regular monitoring of betting activity and dialogue between wagering operators and the stewards department drug testing protocols have evolved significantly o GRV now takes Pre-race.

3 Post-race and Out-of-competition swabs as well as freezes samples for future testing o GRV has the capability to test saliva, blood and urine o The number of swabs taken has increased year on year with 5050 samples will be taken in FY15. This is a 130% increase on FY08. mandatory treatment record books were introduced for all trainers there have been significant developments in the area of Greyhound welfare o Every Greyhound is now microchipped at the time of litter registration for identification and attachment to registered persons throughout its life.

4 O GRV now has greater reporting and data collection capabilities. o Increased registered participant education o More stringent requirements to enter the industry, including a successful kennel inspection, prior to licensing of new trainers o DNA parentage check for all breeding animals In 2014 GRV established an independent Integrity Committee to oversee GRV s integrity function. The Committee includes Independent Chair Rick Harley, AFL Integrity Manager Brett Clothier, and prominent Greyhound vet Dr Ray Ferguson GRV has been responsible for the initiation and development of the National Welfare Strategy National Welfare Strategy These are just some of the many measures and initiatives taken to improve the integrity with which Greyhound Racing is conducted in victoria .

5 What is your response to the allegation that doping is endemic in the sport? Any suggestion of widespread doping in Greyhound Racing is not supported by the evidence. We have had less than 60 positive tests in the past 2 years across the thousands of races conducted. o GRV now takes Pre-race, Post-race and Out-of-competition swabs. The introduction of these tests resulted in the suspension of high-profile trainer Graeme Bate in 2014 o GRV also freezes samples for future testing o The number of swabs taken has increased year on year with 5050 samples will be taken in FY15.

6 This is a 130% increase on FY08. o Less than of all swabs return a positive result, and that figure is decreasing. Given this evidence we don t believe that the deliberate administering of performance enhancing drugs is endemic in Greyhound Racing however this doesn t diminish our obligation to participants and the punters, or our desire, to eradicate it from our sport. The GRV Integrity Council and the Board recently funded a program by Melbourne University to undertake research into the detection of prohibited substances.

7 How many integrity officers are employed by your organisation? 15 Full Time Stewards; 24 Casual Stewards; 1 Full-time Investigations Manager; 2 Full-Time Greyhound Welfare Compliance & Education Officers; 1 Veterinary Services Officer (Prohibited Substance Research) 1 Veterinary Inspection Officer (currently vacant) Please list prohibited substances (including testosterone) and the thresholds that are set? Please refer to the National Rules for the substances: . GAR 83 in particular contains thresholds for testosterone in females, and ethanol.

8 We have a stronger rule than other codes that allows us to call a positive on an unusual or abnormal amount of an endogenous substance in the absence of a defined threshold. This has enabled GRV to successfully prosecute in several instances. For example, there is currently no hydrocortisone threshold but GRV has successfully prosecuted following the detection of levels over 1000 ng/mL. GRV does not determine the penalty for drug cheats. An independent body (RADB) is responsible for this. However, GRV recently took the unprecedented step of appealing to VCAT a decision of the RADB relating to high-profile trainer Graeme Bate as GRV deemed it too lenient.

9 As a result the penalty was strengthened. Graeme Bate has also been removed from our Hall of Fame. This is an indication of GRV s view of the use of prohibited drugs. How many greyhounds are bred per year in your state for Racing ? We view responsible breeding as a key pillar of our Strategic Plan. The number of litters bred in victoria has steadily decreased since the recommendations of the Responsible Breeding Task Force were implemented in 2007. To give you some idea of the change - in 2004, 1377 litters were whelped in victoria with 8287 pups.

10 In 2013, the number of litters whelped in victoria was 939 (reduction of 32%) with 5974 pups registered (reduction of 28%) How many of those subsequently go on to race and how many are deemed as wastage per year? - We do not consider ANY Greyhound bred to race to be wastage . It is a term coined by those opposed to Greyhound Racing and GRV does no not consider that term to be reflective of the attitude towards the Greyhound in this industry. - The percentage of greyhounds whelped that are named for Racing is increasing.