Victoria’s greyhound racing landscape will reach a significant milestone in 2026–27, with all 13 Victorian greyhound racing venues featuring in the racing calendar for the first time in four years.

The 2026-27 Victorian greyhound racing calendar approved by the Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) Board, includes 1196 race meetings, an increase of two meetings on the scheduled program for the 2025-26 year.

A key feature of the new season calendar is the planned return to racing at Cranbourne in September 2026, following the completion of a new racetrack construction project.

Off the back of the recent return to racing at Traralgon after a track redevelopment there, Cranbourne will operate in a dedicated Saturday twilight timeslot in the new season, removing the need for the current rotation of meetings in this timeslot between various provincial clubs and delivering greater consistency in the weekly schedule for punters, clubs, participants and stakeholders.

Victoria will take centre stage on the national racing calendar by hosting the prestigious 2026 Greyhound Clubs Australia (GCA) Nationals series in August.

Sandown Greyhound Racing Club will host the Sprint and Distance Finals on Saturday night 29 August, where the nation’s elite chasers will compete for $150,000 in total prizemoney for each of the Group 1 features. Healesville will showcase the sport’s straight track specialists, hosting the National Straight Track Final the day prior.

Changes have also been made to the state’s Group and Listed feature race prizemoney for the 2026-27 year. From 1 July 2026, GCA minimum prizemoney requirements for Group and Listed races will increase, prompting prizemoney boosts and some changes to Victoria’s feature event calendar.

GRV will provide additional prizemoney funding to enable Victoria’s key feature races to maintain their group status with an uplift provided for all Group 2 Country Cup Finals, increasing total prizemoney for each country cup to a minimum $75,000 with winner’s prizemoney increasing from $40,000 to $50,000. The Sale Cup (640m) will maintain Group 1 status, offering $150,000 in total prizemoney and $100,000 to the winner.

Victoria’s two metropolitan clubs have also responded strongly to the revised benchmarks, increasing their overall commitment to the feature race calendar whilst redistributing funds and revising the group status of various races across the group racing list.

The Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association (The Meadows) has confirmed four feature races will be increased to $150,000 total prizemoney to retain Group 1 status – the Sportsbet Topgun Stayers (730m), Hume Cup (600m), Silver Chief (525m) and the Maturity Classic (525m)

The uplift in prizemoney for the flagship events has also necessitated a revised allocation of $75,000 in total prizemoney (down from $110,000) for their three Group 1 invitational events – the Sportsbet Temlee (525m), Sportsbet Rookie Rebel (600m) and Sportsbet Zoom Top (730m) – conducted during the Sportsbet Australian Cup Carnival in February 2027, which will now all be Group 2 events.

Across at Sandown Greyhound Racing Club, the Sportsbet Sapphire Crown (515m), Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson (515m) and Sportsbet Bold Trease (715m) have all been lifted to $150,000 total prizemoney to meet Group 1 status requirements, while the McKenna Memorial (595m) has also received an increase to maintain Group 2 status at $75,000 total.

Collectively, these changes represent a substantial reinvestment into the sport, ensuring Victoria remains a leader in feature race prizemoney.

To accommodate the return of Traralgon and Cranbourne in the new racing year, a number of adjustments have been made to the allocation of dates across the majority of tracks, many of which have been taking on additional meetings during the absence of those two tracks.

Traralgon has been allocated 100 meetings in the new calendar, racing initially Monday Day and Friday Twilight, before moving predominantly to the Wednesday Day slot (replacing Sale) and Friday Twilight (replacing Warragul) once Cranbourne returns to the calendar.

The Sportsbet Cranbourne Cup will be scheduled to be conducted on Saturday 17 (heats) and 24 October (final), while the Sportsbet Traralgon Cup is returning to the calendar on Friday 8 (heats) and 15 January (final).

Quotes from GRV chief executive officer Stuart Laing:

“The 2026-27 calendar strikes a strong balance between growth, sustainability and competitiveness, and we’re confident it positions the Victorian greyhound racing industry for continued success.

“We’re proud to be reinvesting in our feature calendar in partnership with our clubs to reward excellence and maintain the prestige of our major races, while the reopening of Cranbourne allows us to deliver a more consistent and balanced weekly schedule, which is important for our participants, clubs and wagering customers.

“Hosting the 2026 GCA Nationals will also shine a national spotlight on Victoria and showcase our premier venues and the quality of our racing.”

Quotes from MGRA chief executive officer Scott Wuchatsch:

“The club was determined to protect the legacy of some of greyhound racing’s most iconic events.

“We believe the revised structure strikes the right balance between preserving tradition, promotion of the sport, creating aspirational opportunities and rewarding participants competing at the elite level in our sport.”

Quotes from SGRC chief executive officer Adrian Scott:

“The Sandown Greyhound Racing Club is pleased to maintain the Group 1 status of all of our flagship races for the 2026-27 racing season, and we look forward to even more returns being provided to our participants via these prizemoney increases.”

Key changes to Group race prizemoney and status at metropolitan clubs

Race dates break down by club for 2026-27