Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has completed an historic integrity and welfare milestone, with stewards conducting inspections at 100 per cent of Victorian properties housing active participants or greyhounds — the first time this level of coverage has been achieved in the sport’s history.
The statewide sweep, labelled Operation Tenacious, carried out close to 3500 property inspections in the 2024-25 financial year, and was designed to ensure every greyhound is receiving the standard of care expected under the Rules of Racing and Code of Practice for the Keeping of Racing Greyhounds.
“We set out this year to visit every property where a racing greyhound lives – and we did,” said GRV chief executive officer Stuart Laing.
“That level of oversight is unprecedented and reflects our commitment to both transparency and accountability in our sport.”
While the vast majority of inspections found no issues, at least one inspection resulted in the detection of a permanently banned substance, with disciplinary action swiftly taken against the trainer involved.
The trainer has been suspended by GRV stewards pending a hearing before the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT), and their appeal to the VRT to have that suspension lifted was denied last week pending a hearing date in September.
“This case demonstrates that our systems are working,” said Shane O’Connell, GRV’s executive general manager of integrity and welfare.
“Our stewards are not only visiting kennels — they are inspecting, testing, and enforcing. That’s exactly what public confidence and animal welfare demand.”
The property inspection blitz is the latest in a series of proactive integrity and welfare reforms introduced by GRV, aimed at ensuring the sport continues to evolve in line with community expectations.
“The overwhelming majority of our participants are doing the right thing,” said Mr O’Connell.
“And when a rare breach occurs, we act decisively — because every greyhound deserves the best of care and every race needs to be conducted on a level playing field.”
