Greyhound racing enthusiasts are in for a treat at Sandown Park, where the action unfolds throughout the year with nine standout events you won’t want to overlook. Commencing in March with the exhilarating Launching Pad semi-finals, the racing calendar keeps aficionados engaged until November’s grand finale, the Sportsbet Melbourne Cup, where the spinning wheel offers a staggering chance to claim a $1 million prize.
Undoubtedly the most prestigious race of the year with owners and trainers aspiring to compete for the Holy Grail of greyhound racing – the Sportsbet Melbourne Cup. Run over 515m, the track record is held by Aston Rupee who ran 28.79 seconds in 2021.
The Melbourne Cup of greyhound racing has its origins back in the early 30s in the non-proprietary days of greyhound racing, but the race was reinvented when the government licensed the sport in the middle 50s.
Sandown Greyhound Racing Club conducted its first Melbourne Cup in 1956 when the race was won by Rocketeer.
Since that time the Club has built the momentum of the race’s importance, forging its place at the top, making it the pinnacle not only in this country but recognised worldwide.
The history, the tradition, the elation, the pride, the achievement, and the celebration of being connected to the best canine athlete on the planet – that’s winning the Sportsbet Melbourne Cup!
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In 2023, outsider Aussie Rocks gave his trainer Geoff Mitchell the thrill of his life when he won the Sportsbet Melbourne Cup.
Cruising Debbie rocketed into stardom when she took out the 2024 Launching Pad final for trainer Brendan Pursell.
The Launching Pad isn’t just a good race for emerging greyhounds – it’s one of the country’s premier races. Run over 515m, the 2024 winner was Cruising Debbie for trainer Brendan Pursell.
No race has uncovered a generation of stars the way the Launching Pad has, and few have generated the same level of buzz and excitement.
Of the 336 greyhounds to have contested Launching Pad heats since 2015, 37 – or more than 11 per cent – have won a group race. And not just one group race – between them they’ve won a total of 73 group races.
And of those 37 greyhounds that have enjoyed group race success, 16 have done so at the sport’s highest level – and half of them more than once.
Sportsbet Sandown Cup has steadfastly gained a reputation for the world’s premier greyhound distance race (715m). This year’s winner Irish Millie trained by Steve Whyte, was a hugely popular winner, narrowly beating Canya Amy to deliver her first ever group 1 victory.
First run in 1964, the Woolamai Cup (as it was known then) was won by Briar View. The Sandown Cup attracts a huge crowd as trainers and owners compete for the Club’s namesake trophy.
This year’s winner (2024) Irish Millie, trained by Steve Whyte.
Kelvyn and Jacquie Greenough with the infamous Big Energy 2023 Shootout
The Shootout (515m) has been won by some top-class speedsters including Trainer Jacquie Greenough’s Big Energy in 2023.
It’s fair to say the Shootout was a new concept and Sandown as usual, became the trend setter for a different kind of racing.
But not everything new begins with a big bang and the Shootout was slow to take off, but its inventor Sandown Director Bob Smith, persevered and more than a quarter of a century later, the Shootout features some of the nation’s best racers.
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