Late Lift For Richmond Cannonball Meeting

FRIDAY night's Cannonball program at Richmond has been handed a late boost with a special showcase presentation of the meeting to be broadcast across Ladbrokes and Neds.

On Wednesday, the Greyhound Recorder revealed that Sky Channel had relegated the traditional Richmond Friday night meeting to Sky 2 following a fracturing of relations following recent broadcast negotiations.

At the time a Sky Racing spokesperson said: "Sky Racing's greyhound broadcast schedule reflects the innovative new agreement with Greyhound Racing Victoria that will increase air time for Victorian greyhound racing.

"Richmond's feature race on Friday will be showcased on Sky 1 and punters will continue to be able to access all NSW greyhound races across the Sky network. 

"The scheduling reflects and adheres to the agreements with each jurisdiction."

We were treated to heats of the @ladbrokescomau @richmond_greys Cannonball last night, and our Stockman & Paddock #RunOfTheWeek goes to Preston Lee, who not only ran the quickest time of the 6 heats – he also set a new 401m record, clocking 22.50 for the journey!#thedogs pic.twitter.com/s7357ov3h1

— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) July 23, 2022

Following news of the meeting relegation, Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) moved feverishly to secure additional coverage of the event, with the Entain Group, owners of bookmakers Ladbrokes and Neds, coming on board at the last minute.  

In announcing the dedicated coverage on the recently established channels Live 1 and Live 2, an Entain spokesperson told the Greyhound Recorder.

"Entain launched our channels with a spirit of innovation and a goal of offering our customers a modern, fresh and different approach to live racing," the spokesperson said.

"Just a fortnight later we are excited to partner with GRNSW to launch our first showcase event on the three NSW greyhound meetings on Friday night.

"Extended vision pre-race, live interviews with key contenders and an expert host to guide us through are all firsts for our channels and offers an exciting glimpse into our future.”

As well as the coverage out of Richmond, races at The Gardens and Wagga will also be coverage between 6pm and 9pm.

A GRNSW Spokesman said: "GRNSW will always work with industry partners who are keen to support greyhound racing and the great NSW participants."