Greyhound Racing in New Zealand

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Greyhound racing in New Zealand is governed by the New Zealand Racing Board, a government body formed in 2003 under the Racing Act. The Racing Board reports to the New Zealand Minister of Racing. The New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association, also known as Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ), is the organization that represents the greyhound racing industry and organizes its activities. GRNZ is one of the three racing codes that the New Zealand Racing Board oversees, in addition to the harness and thoroughbred racing organizations.

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GRNZ currently consists of 11 greyhound racing member clubs. In the 2018-2019 racing season, over 5,800 races were run by the clubs in New Zealand.¹ The greyhounds racing in New Zealand are both bred in-country and imported from Australia. There are ten breeding kennels in New Zealand listed on greyhound-data.com, an online database maintained by dog racing gamblers.² Between 2016 and 2020, 1,048 greyhounds were imported from Australia.³

GRNZ has Rules of Racing that include regulations for its member clubs, registration and breeding requirements and greyhound drug testing procedures.⁴

The 2017 “Report to New Zealand Racing Board on Welfare Issues Affecting Greyhound Racing in New Zealand” found that 1,447 greyhounds were euthanized between 2013-2014 and 2016-2017.⁵ Data provided by Greyhound Racing New Zealand confirm an additional 937 greyhounds were euthanized from 2017-2018 thru 2019-2020.⁶

Wagering on greyhound races is legal in New Zealand. Bets can be placed at the track and through off-site betting outlets. In 2018, $421 million was wagered on New Zealand races.⁷

New Zealand races are currently broadcast to Australia and GRNZ has expressed plans to expand its simulcast market to include other countries, and of particular focus is the Asian market.⁸

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