Greyhound Racing
Victoria
Sandown Park · The Meadows · 13 tracks statewide · Home of the $1M Melbourne Cup
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Victoria is the heartland of Australian greyhound racing. No other state comes close to matching the volume of meetings, the depth of prize money, or the prestige of the feature races that run through the Victorian calendar year after year. The Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park is the richest greyhound race in the world. The Australian Cup at The Meadows is one of the oldest and most revered. And behind those headline events sit more than a thousand race meetings a year across 13 tracks, from Saturday night metro cards under lights to Wednesday afternoon provincial meetings at regional circuits.
This page is the complete guide to greyhound racing in Victoria: who runs it, where it happens, the feature races worth following, where to find fields and form, where to bet, and how the state handles greyhound welfare. Whether you are a Victorian punter looking for your local track’s schedule, or you follow the dogs nationally and want to understand the state that sets the standard, everything you need is below.
Victoria’s greyhound racing is governed by Greyhound Racing Victoria, known universally as GRV. The organisation regulates, promotes and oversees every aspect of the sport in the state, from licensing trainers to setting the racing calendar to running the greyhound adoption program. It is the authority behind everything that follows on this page.
Greyhound racing in Victoria at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) |
| Tracks | 13 (all active in the 2026–27 season) |
| Annual race meetings | Approximately 1,196 (2026–27 calendar) |
| Annual prize money | Over $40 million |
| Metropolitan tracks | Sandown Park and The Meadows |
| Biggest race | Melbourne Cup — $1 million (Sandown Park) |
| Racing frequency | Most days, often multiple meetings per day |
| Digital platform | GRV FastTrack (fasttrack.grv.org.au) |
| Adoption program | Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) |
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What is Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV)?
Greyhound Racing Victoria is the statutory body responsible for governing, regulating and promoting greyhound racing across the state. If a greyhound races in Victoria, GRV is behind it — from licensing the trainer and setting the racing calendar to employing the stewards who oversee each meeting and enforcing the rules that keep the sport fair.
GRV’s core responsibilities cover the full scope of the industry:
- Licensing and registration — all trainers, owners and breeders must be licensed through GRV to participate in Victorian greyhound racing.
- Racing calendar and scheduling — GRV sets the annual calendar, allocating meetings across all 13 tracks and managing timeslots to balance metropolitan, provincial and country racing.
- Integrity and stewards — a team of stewards oversees every race meeting, investigating any incidents, rule breaches or concerns. Serious matters are referred to the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB).
- Prize money distribution — GRV oversees the allocation of more than $40 million in annual prize money across the Victorian program.
- Welfare and rehoming — GRV administers welfare standards, injury reporting, veterinary protocols and the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), which we cover in its own section further down.
The organisation is led by CEO Stuart Laing and operates under a board structure. Its role is dual-purpose: it promotes and grows the sport commercially while simultaneously regulating and policing the people within it. That tension is built into the model, and it is the same structure used by racing authorities in the other states.
For punters, the most important GRV resource is FastTrack, the digital platform at fasttrack.grv.org.au. FastTrack is where fields are published once box draws are completed, where nominations and meeting calendars are managed, and where you can access form, results and grading information for every Victorian-trained dog. If you follow Victorian racing regularly, FastTrack is the primary source for official data, and it feeds into the third-party form sites like BoxOne and The Greyhound Recorder.
GRV has also been proactive on welfare policy in recent years, including a hot weather protocol that cancels or adjusts meetings when temperatures are forecast to exceed 32°C, mandatory pre-race veterinary inspections, and investment in track upgrades at venues like Cranbourne and Traralgon. That welfare commitment is relevant to anyone following the sport and worth understanding, which is why we dedicate a section to it later on this page.
Victorian greyhound racing tracks
Victoria’s 13 tracks span the state from Melbourne’s metropolitan venues to regional country circuits, and for the first time in four years all 13 will be active in the 2026–27 racing season. The return of Cranbourne in September 2026, following a full track rebuild, and the recent return of Traralgon after its own redevelopment mean the Victorian program is running at full capacity.
The tracks split across three tiers, and the racing experience at each is different:
| Track | Tier | Racing schedule | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandown Park | Metropolitan | Thursday nights (metro), Sundays (provincial) | Home of the Melbourne Cup — $1 million, world’s richest greyhound race. Racing since 1935 |
| The Meadows | Metropolitan | Saturday nights (metro), Wednesdays (provincial) | Home of the Australian Cup. First meeting 1999. Melbourne’s second city track |
| Cranbourne | Provincial | Saturday twilight (from September 2026) | Returning after new track construction, dedicated twilight timeslot |
| Traralgon | Provincial | Monday day / Friday twilight, moving to Wednesday day / Friday twilight | Recently returned after track redevelopment, allocated 100 meetings in 2026–27 |
| Geelong | Provincial | Regular weekly meetings | Solid provincial track in the western suburbs region |
| Bendigo | Provincial | Regular weekly meetings | Central Victoria’s main greyhound venue |
| Ballarat | Provincial | Regular weekly meetings | Strong regional track west of Melbourne |
| Sale | Provincial | Transitioning as Traralgon returns to the calendar | Gippsland region, adjusting schedule in 2026–27 |
| Warragul | Provincial | Transitioning as Traralgon takes Friday twilight slot | West Gippsland, schedule adjusting in new season |
| Shepparton | Country | Regular meetings | Northern Victoria’s key venue |
| Horsham | Country | Regular meetings | Western Victoria, smaller country cards |
| Warrnambool | Country | Regular meetings | South-west Victoria, strong local following |
| Healesville | Country | Regular meetings | Yarra Valley region, intimate country venue |
The two metropolitan tracks are where the headline racing happens. Sandown Park is the spiritual home of Victorian greyhound racing, operating since 1935 and hosting the sport’s richest event. Thursday nights at Sandown are the must-watch card of the week for serious Victorian punters. The Meadows is Melbourne’s second city track, opened in 1999, and its Saturday night metropolitan meetings are the other anchor point of the Victorian calendar. Between them, these two venues carry the Group and feature race program that defines the state’s racing year.
The provincial tracks — Cranbourne, Traralgon, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Sale and Warragul — form the backbone of the weekly schedule. These tracks run the bulk of Victoria’s meetings and produce competitive racing at a level just below metropolitan standard. The return of Cranbourne in a dedicated Saturday twilight slot is the biggest structural change for the 2026–27 season, removing the rotation that previously shuffled provincial clubs through that timeslot and giving punters a consistent weekly fixture.
The country tracks at Shepparton, Horsham, Warrnambool and Healesville complete the program. These are smaller venues with lower prize money and shorter race cards, but they play an essential role in the grassroots of the sport and can offer genuine betting value for punters who follow local form.
With all 13 venues active and nearly 1,200 meetings on the calendar, Victoria’s program offers racing almost every day and multiple meetings on most. Next we look at the feature races that sit at the top of that calendar.
Major races and feature events
Victoria’s racing calendar is built around a series of Group races and feature events that attract the best dogs from across the country. These are the races that define careers, the ones trainers build campaigns around and punters mark on the calendar months in advance. The prize money and prestige at the top end of Victorian racing is unmatched anywhere in the greyhound world.
The headline feature events:
| Race | Track | Group | What makes it special |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Cup | Sandown Park | Group 1 | The world’s richest greyhound race at $1 million. The ultimate prize in Australian greyhound racing |
| Australian Cup | The Meadows | Group 1 | One of the oldest and most prestigious races, first run in 1958. A career-defining event |
| Top Gun | Sandown Park | Group 1 | Elite sprint feature at the home of the Melbourne Cup |
| Launching Pad | The Meadows | Feature | Restricted to younger dogs, a springboard for emerging stars |
| Great Chase | Multiple venues | Feature | A series format with regional heats leading to a major final |
| Pink Diamond Series | Various | Feature | A series dedicated to the best female greyhounds in the state |
| Shootout | Sandown Park | Feature | Sprint feature attracting the fastest dogs in the country |
| Cranbourne Cup | Cranbourne | Feature | Returning to the calendar in October 2026 after the track rebuild |
| Traralgon Cup | Traralgon | Feature | Returning in January 2027 following the venue’s redevelopment |
The Melbourne Cup stands alone at the top. A $1 million race at Sandown Park, it is to greyhound racing what its horse racing namesake is to the turf — the one race that transcends the sport and captures mainstream attention. The best dogs in the country are aimed at it, interstate raiders travel specifically for it, and winning it cements a greyhound’s place in the record books. For punters, the Cup heats and final generate some of the biggest betting turnover on the greyhound calendar.
The Australian Cup at The Meadows carries almost as much prestige, and for many in the industry the history and tradition behind it give it a weight that even the Melbourne Cup’s prize money cannot buy. First run in 1958, it has been won by many of the greatest greyhounds in Australian racing history.
The 2026–27 season carries an additional highlight: Victoria will host the 2026 GCA Nationals in August, bringing together the best dogs from every racing state for a series of national championship events. It is a once-every-few-years opportunity for Victorian tracks to showcase the sport on a national stage.
Beyond the Group and feature races, the Victorian calendar runs a constant program of graded racing from maiden level up, meaning there is quality racing and competitive betting available on almost every card, not just the showcase nights. The feature events are the peaks, but the depth of the week-to-week program is what makes Victorian greyhound racing the strongest in the country.
Next we cover where to find Victorian fields and form, so you can follow the racing from card to bet.
Where to find Victorian fields and form
We covered the full national picture on our Today’s Racing page, but Victorian racing has its own dedicated resources worth knowing about, starting with the one every serious VIC punter should have bookmarked.
GRV FastTrack (fasttrack.grv.org.au) is the official platform and the definitive source for everything Victorian. Fields are published here first once box draws are completed, and the platform goes well beyond just listing the runners:
- Fields and box draws for every Victorian meeting, updated as soon as draws are done.
- Nomination counts so you can see how many dogs are nominated before final fields are set.
- Form and results for every Victorian-trained greyhound, with full race history.
- Grading information so you can see a dog’s current grade and recent grading movements.
- Meeting calendar covering the full 2026–27 season across all 13 tracks.
- eDog Tracker for following individual dogs through their careers.
If you only use one resource for greyhound racing Victoria, make it FastTrack. Everything else builds on the data that originates here.
Beyond the official platform, the third-party sites that cover Victoria well:
| Source | What it adds for VIC racing |
|---|---|
| BoxOne | Speed maps and AI selections for every VIC meeting, updated daily |
| The Greyhound Recorder | Expert editorial selections, late mail and news with strong VIC coverage |
| Racing and Sports | Detailed form guides with VIC track statistics and course data |
The major betting operators — TAB, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, bet365 and others — all carry Victorian fields within their apps alongside live odds and streaming. For most punters, the practical workflow is to check FastTrack or BoxOne for the fields and form, then move to the betting app to place the bet and watch the race.
Where to bet on Victorian greyhound racing
The same licensed Australian operators that cover national greyhound racing all carry Victorian meetings, and since Victoria produces the most meetings of any state, VIC racing makes up a large share of every operator’s daily greyhound program.
TAB has a particular presence in Victoria. Beyond the app and website, TAB operates through a network of physical agencies, pubs and clubs across the state where you can place a bet in person and watch the racing on Sky Racing screens. For punters who prefer the social side of following the dogs, watching a Saturday night Meadows card at a local venue is part of the Victorian racing culture.
The two metropolitan meetings are where the heaviest betting action sits:
| Meeting | When | Why it matters for betting |
|---|---|---|
| Sandown Park (metro) | Thursday nights | Strongest fields in the state, deepest betting markets, most liquidity |
| The Meadows (metro) | Saturday nights | The other anchor card, feature races and strong graded racing |
Provincial meetings at Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and the other regional tracks carry solid betting markets too, though the turnover is naturally lower than metro nights. The upcoming return of Cranbourne in a dedicated Saturday twilight slot will add another consistent weekly fixture with strong betting interest.
All Victorian TAB meetings are broadcast on Sky Racing and streamed live through the major betting apps. If you have a funded account with TAB, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, bet365 or any of the other licensed operators, you can watch every VIC race live on your phone. For the feature events — the Melbourne Cup heats, Australian Cup, Top Gun — the streaming and betting coverage is as comprehensive as it gets in greyhound racing.
For guidance on how to assess form before placing a bet, our Tips page covers the full framework: reading form, speed maps, box draw analysis and staking. Everything on that page applies directly to Victorian racing, and the VIC metro cards are an excellent place to put it into practice because the form data and market depth are the strongest in the country.
Greyhound welfare and adoption
Greyhound racing in Australia operates under significant public scrutiny, and Victoria has been at the forefront of the industry’s response. GRV runs a range of welfare programs and policies that are worth understanding if you follow the sport, whether as a punter, an owner or simply someone interested in how the industry manages the dogs that make it possible.
Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) is GRV’s dedicated rehoming initiative for retired racing greyhounds. When dogs finish their racing careers, GAP assesses them for temperament and prepares them for life as companion animals, placing them with adoptive families across Victoria. It is one of the most visible parts of GRV’s welfare commitment, and the program has rehomed thousands of greyhounds since its establishment.
Welfare standards on race day cover every meeting at every Victorian track:
- Mandatory pre-race veterinary inspections for every dog before it competes.
- On-track veterinary care during each meeting, with vets present from first race to last.
- Compulsory injury reporting — all racing injuries must be recorded and reported to GRV.
- Stewards monitoring for any signs of mistreatment, prohibited substances or rule breaches.
The hot weather policy is one of the more proactive measures in Australian greyhound racing. In place since 2015 and most recently updated in September 2025, it triggers when the forecast maximum temperature at a track location reaches 32°C or higher. When that threshold is hit, air-conditioned race kennels open 30 minutes earlier than standard times, and meetings may be rescheduled to cooler timeslots or cancelled outright if conditions are deemed unsafe. In January 2026, four Victorian meetings were cancelled and three adjusted under this policy during a period of extreme heat, demonstrating that GRV enforces the rule rather than treating it as a guideline.
Track investment is another strand. The Cranbourne rebuild and the Traralgon redevelopment, both returning to the calendar in the 2026–27 season, represent significant investment in modern, safer racing surfaces. These are not cosmetic upgrades — track design and surface quality directly affect injury rates, and upgrading ageing venues is one of the most tangible things the industry can do to improve greyhound safety.
None of this means the industry is without criticism. Greyhound racing in Australia faces ongoing public debate about animal welfare, and Victoria is no exception. What the measures above represent is GRV’s operational response to that scrutiny — a set of standards, programs and policies designed to protect the dogs within the framework of a regulated racing industry. Whether those measures go far enough is a question for the broader public conversation, but for anyone following Victorian racing, knowing they exist is part of understanding the sport.
Frequently asked questions
How many greyhound tracks are in Victoria?
Victoria has 13 greyhound racing tracks, all active in the 2026–27 season. The two metropolitan venues are Sandown Park and The Meadows, with the remaining 11 tracks classified as provincial or country. Cranbourne returned to the calendar in September 2026 after a full track rebuild.
What is the biggest greyhound race in Victoria?
The Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park, with a $1 million purse, is the biggest race in Victoria and the richest greyhound race in the world. The Australian Cup at The Meadows is the other major Group 1 event, carrying decades of history and prestige dating back to 1958.
When is greyhound racing at Sandown Park?
Sandown Park holds metropolitan meetings on Thursday nights and provincial meetings on Sundays. The Thursday night card is the strongest weekly meeting in Victorian greyhound racing, with the highest-graded fields and the deepest betting markets.
When is greyhound racing at The Meadows?
The Meadows runs metropolitan meetings on Saturday nights and provincial meetings on Wednesdays. Saturday night at The Meadows is the other flagship card of the Victorian week and home to several feature events including the Australian Cup.
What is GRV?
GRV stands for Greyhound Racing Victoria, the statutory body that governs, regulates and promotes greyhound racing across the state. GRV licenses trainers and owners, sets the racing calendar, employs stewards, administers prize money and runs the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP).
Where can I find Victorian greyhound racing fields?
GRV FastTrack is the official source for all Victorian fields, box draws, form and results. BoxOne and The Greyhound Recorder also cover every Victorian meeting with speed maps and expert selections.
Can I adopt a retired racing greyhound in Victoria?
Yes. GRV’s Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) rehomes retired racing greyhounds as companion animals. Dogs are assessed for temperament and prepared for life in a family home. Details are available through the GAP section on the GRV website.
How many greyhound meetings does Victoria hold each year?
The 2026–27 calendar includes approximately 1,196 race meetings across all 13 tracks, making Victoria the busiest greyhound racing state in Australia. Meetings run most days of the week, often with multiple cards on the same day.
