It is with great disappointment that for the second year in succession the annual Ready 2 Race (R2R) Sales at the Bendigo greyhounds has been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The Bendigo Greyhound Racing Association is extremely proud of its R2R event and as such the decision to cancel the event again this year has not been an easy one and has taken months of consideration of various factors.

“It’s unfortunate to have to make the decision to cancel yet again however weighing up the pros and cons of the event, and with the most recent Covid roadmap not providing any greater certainty around the ability to host the required number of people to make it worthwhile for all parties, there was only one decision,” said BGRA Manager Troy Harley.

“We have some new conditions for the next R2R that we are confident will have an impact on the quality and the quantity of dogs to be offered for auction. The Club is working on fine tuning those conditions and testing the waters of reaction to them in the new year with the view of the R2R auction returning in 2022 bigger and better than ever.”

Harley concluded that Bendigo GRA still had plenty to look forward to, including in the short term.

“The R2R is one our main events. Our club is proud to be the home of the Ready 2 Race Sales and we are determined that it will be back next year. Until then we will focus on the upcoming Bendigo Cup Carnival, which looks set to be run behind closed doors again.”

“There’ll be significant social media coverage planned for both heat and finals days and we are preparing in hope to be able to welcome crowds back to our track in the not too distant future – and maybe even send out 2021 with a decent Christmas event,” Harley said.

Heats of the Group 2 Bendigo Cup (425m) will be conducted on Sunday 10 October (twilight), with the $50,000 to-the-winner final to take place on Friday 15 October (night).