THE Shoalhaven Greyhound Club is gearing up for a big night of racing this Saturday when it stages regional qualifiers of the TAB Million Dollar Chase (520m).
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And the kick-off to the rich series this weekend marks a big few weeks of racing at 'the Pinebowl' with the club to stage heats of a Maiden Battlers event when it races in the Thursday night timeslot on September 24.
"While the Million Dollar Chase is obviously the focus at the moment the club wanted to cater for the opposite end of the spectrum as well," said Nowra secretary Glenn Midson.
"So next Thursday night we have programmed Maiden Battlers heats over the 520 metres with the final on Sunday, October 4 worth $2,000 to-the-winner."
Midson says the event will be staged as a trial and if successful may well become a permanent fixture at Nowra.
"Sometimes the hardest race to win can be your maiden," Midson said.
"You can have a good honest dog that keeps running into extremely talented first starters from the big kennels.
"So to try and curb that frustration for trainers this series will be open to greyhounds which have had six or more starts without a win.
"We'd love to see at least two heats next Thursday night and demonstrate races like this are worth programming more often into the future."
The roll out of the maiden event comes hot on the heels of the Nowra club announcing that from this week it will increase its travel subsidy to $60 per greyhound.
"It's a way of supporting the owners and trainers that support the Shoalhaven Greyhound Club," Midson said.
"It will run until at least January (2021) with the club to reassess from there."
With Nowra assuming the Dapto timeslot on Thursday, September 24, the club will also stage a Ladbrokes Red Dog Best 8 over the 630m carrying a tidy $5,000 -to-the-winner.
"It's a big few weeks for the club and we're looking forward to some great racing," Midson said.
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