TAREE Greyhound Club's first TAB meeting has been put on hold.
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The meeting was to be held today (April 22), however, the club received word from Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) last week to confirm it wouldn't be going ahead given the current restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"No meetings will be held in country areas until at least July,'' Taree Greyhound Club president Des McGreachie said.
He said the club hasn't been given a date for the first meeting, but he was hoping to get clarification from the controlling body this week.
"I don't think anyone knows what's going to happen. If some of the restrictions start to get lifted next month we might be able to get a better idea,'' he said.
Mr McGeachie said there is still some work to be completed at the Kanangra Drive track to bring it up to the standard required to run a TAB meeting, as required by Greyhound Racing NSW and Sky Channel.
"We're about 90 per cent there,'' he revealed.
"We have a bit of electrical work to be done and a few other things. I'm confident everything would have been right if we were going to race this week.''
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Had the meeting gone ahead no spectators would have been allowed into the track in compliance with the Covid-19 restrictions, so Mr McGrachie said the delay could be a positive for the club.
"I know Greyhound Racing NSW was keen to pump up our first (TAB) meeting,'' Mr McGeachie said.
"So it would be better to run it when we can get a crowd there. We were hoping to get a few community organisations involved.''
The club had planned a gala day for the April 22 meeting before the Covid-19 restrictions were put in place. A number of Greyhound Racing NSW officials were expected to be in attendance.
Taree was informed in January that the club has been granted 13 TAB meetings a year, a first for greyhound racing on the Mid North Coast. All will be run on Wednesday afternoons.
The club will also run five non-TAB meetings.
Taree's popular Easter Carnival was also cancelled because of the current restrictions.
