The greyhound racing world has lost one of its most respected participants in Neil Maurer, who has passed away after a long battle with cancer aged 82.
Neil enjoyed enormous success as a breeder and trainer, with his most talented greyhounds including Adrenalize, Adrenalin Burst, Adrenalin Storm and Dazzling Dinney.
Based in the Ballarat suburb of Lal Lal, Neil was also a highly respected canine chiropractor, who ran his hands over dogs of the calibre of World Title, Kantarn Bale and Destini Fireball to name just a few.
Neil’s daughters Tracy and Vikki described their dad as their hero, while son Neil Junior said their father would be remembered for his generosity and dedication.
“Greyhound racing was dad’s life. He loved his greyhounds and his life revolved around them which is probably why he experienced so much success.”
“He believed he could get at least one win out of any dog he trained, which speaks volumes about his determination.”
Close friend Paul Hammerstein offered his condolences to the Maurer family.
“Neil had the touch,” Hammerstein said. “Trainers would travel from the other side of Victoria to take their dogs to him, and I’m talking about the biggest named trainers in the game.”
“He would also check people’s pet dogs and show dogs.”
Hammerstein’s friendship with Neil dates back more than 25 years.
“I’ve known Neil since I was a kid when my dad used to take his dogs to him.”
“I also worked for Neil for a while and lived with him and his (late) wife Terry for a few years.”
“Terry was right into the breeding and rearing side of things, while Neil was an outstanding trainer and muscle man.”
“They bred and trained so many quality dogs over a long period, and won a number of feature races including the Maturity Classic (Adrenalin Storm) and the Cranbourne Puppy Classic (Adrenalize).”
Neil also had a great mechanical mind and his sporting prowess extended well beyond greyhound racing.
This included being a premiership player with the St. Mary’s Under 15s AFL team, being selected to train as a cyclist in the Olympics, named the Victorian country champion in ten-pin bowling and reaching A-Grade as a table tennis player.
Neil and Terry Maurer with Paul Hammerstein and Adrenalin Storm following a victory at Cranbourne in 1998.
