FOLLOWING a multi-million dollar redevelopment, the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club will have its first meeting tonight after being closed for seven months.
Club manager Ken Bennett said the track has been trialled many times and was ready for its reopening.
“It will be our first official meeting, with our first official race on the new track,” Bennett said.
“The Victorian minister for racing and regional cities Denis Napthine suggested our first race is for local greyhounds, and we’ve decided to do that. So our first winner on the track will be a local dog trained in the area.”
Mr Napthine will officially open the club on October 17.
Bennett said the work would have further benefits beyond greyhound racing.
“The track will be a huge asset to the Ballarat community – we want people to enjoy this facility.”
“The track is very special to us. We had the old track for 34 years, so it’s an exciting step to have a new track.”
The first race will begin tonight at 6.58, where only dogs from the local area will race.
That will be the first of 12 races with the last race at 10.37 pm. The meeting has a full entry.