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Formerly a part of the British Empire, it comes as no surprise that Greyhound racing is popular in both Australia and New Zealand. The organization Greyhounds Australian (GA) is working hard to harmonize the rules of greyhound racing in these two neighbour countries, to make it easier for greyhound racing enthusiasts to be active in both countries simultaneously. Even though the Australian and New Zealand Greyhound Association, the predecessor of GA, was founded as early as 1937, there are still notable differences between the two countries.
Simultaneously, the Australian Greyhound Racing Association (AGRA) is striving to decrease the differences within Australia, since each state and territory have their own greyhound racing rules and traditions.
Greyhound racing in Australia
The above mentioned AGRA is the umbrella organisation for greyhound racing in Australia. It has its roots in the Commonwealth Greyhound Racing Association.
At the time of writing, AGRA is comprised of ten member organizations:
- Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association (MGRA) in Victoria
- Sandown Greyhound Racing Club (SGRC) in Victoria
- NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers’ Association Limited (NSW GBOTA) in New South Wales
- NSW National Coursing Association (NSW NCA) in New South Wales
- Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club (BGRC) in Queensland
- Darwin Greyhound Association of the Northern Territories (Darwin GA of the NT)
- Greyhounds Western Australia (GWA)
- Greyhound Racing South Australia (GRSA)
- Launceston Greyhound Racing Club in Tasmania
- Hobart Greyhound Racing Club in Tasmania
The Melbourne Cup
The annual Melbourn Cup is famous not just in Australia and neighbouring countries, but around the world in the greyhound racing community. Each year, it tends to draw large crowds of both Australian and foreign spectators to Sandow Park´s 515-meter racetrack, where it serves as the zenith race of the three-week-long Superdog Series.
2019 Melbourne Cup Prize Money
| Placing | Prize Money |
| First Prize: | $4,400,000 |
| Second: | $1,100,000 |
| Third: | $550,000 |
| Fourth: | $350,000 |
| Fifth: | $230,000 |
| Sixth: | $160,000 |
| Seventh: | $160,000 |
| Eighth: | $160,000 |
| Ninth: | $160,000 |
| Tenth: | $160,000 |
| Eleventh: | $160,000 |
| Twelve: | $160,000 |
Greyhound adoption
Several organisations actively work with the re-homing of retired greyhounds in Australia. One of the largest one is the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), which is headquartered in Victoria but have operations and collaborations throughout the country.
Greyhound racing in New Zealand
The New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Incorporated (NZGRA) is the umbrella organization for greyhound racing clubs in New Zealand. It is also known as Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ). At the time of writing, NZGRA was comprised of 11 clubs.
The Racing Act of 2003 places greyhound racing under the auspices of the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB).
Greyhound adoption
Founded by the NZGRA in 2006, the Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) organization runs two kennels where retired greyhounds wait to be matched with new owners and become companion dogs. One kennel is in Sanson on North Island and the other one is in Amberley on South Island.