Years involved in industry: Over 50
Category : Pioneer
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:
- National Coursing Association Executive 26 years
- National Coursing Association President 33 years
- Greyhound Racing Control Board of Victoria 15 years
- President ANZGA
- Awarded MBE in 1978 for services to Greyhound Racing
In his role as Executive of the sport’s then controlling body, the National Coursing Association [NCA], a position he held from 1951 to 1977, Doyle was one of the main players in arguably the most pivotal movement in the history of Victorian greyhound racing, that being the cessation of proprietary [privatized] racing in 1958.
It took the hard work of some brilliant, innovative and hard working people to achieve this, and Doyle’s ability to present a logical case to the then Labour government was crucial. The reason this movement was so important is because it brought all race clubs into line – thus helping eliminate potential integrity issues – and it created new levels of consistency in the way in which greyhound racing operated. “He was very big on integrity, black was black and white was white”, Doyle’s granddaughter Deanna Keogh said recently.
The end to proprietary racing saw the berth of a new and more powerful controlling body, the Greyhound Racing Control Board [GRCB], now known as Greyhound Racing Victoria, in 1958. Doyle joined the GRCB from 1961 to 1976 and during those years he continued his role as NCA Executive, and he was also the NCA President.
It was in that era that administrators such as Doyle benchmarked the standards of professionalism in the sport, and wrote many of the rules and regulations that apply today. As if his involvement in greyhound racing wasn’t enough to keep him occupied, Doyle lived in Bendigo and spent most of his working life as a Real Estate Agent specializing in country hotels. In this role as a hotel broker Doyle became extremely well known throughout Bendigo and many other towns throughout northern Victoria.