After 18 months of planning, the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association (MGRA) is thrilled to announce the inaugural eight Slot Holders for the 2021 TAB Phoenix.
To be held on Saturday night 18 December 2021 at The Meadows, The TAB Phoenix is a $1.145 million slot race for greyhounds, offering $750,000 to the winner.
Individuals and organisations were invited to apply for a $75,000 slot in the race, with 14 quality applications received.
“To be honest, I was worried we wouldn’t get enough applications to hold the race, so to receive 14 applications of such a high quality – I’m just rapt,” remarked MGRA CEO Ashley Baker.
“It’s always nerve-wracking trying something new but credit to GRV and my Board of Directors for being brave and agreeing to give the concept a try.
“From the reaction of the successful applicants, we have a great concept and it looks like growing in years to come.
“The Independent Panel had a real challenge allocating the eight slots due to the high calibre of all the applicants.”
Former Victorian Premier, Dr Denis Napthine chaired the Independent Assessment Panel that was tasked with analysing each applicant, and was joined by sports integrity experts Tara Hastings and Dean Kino.
After much deliberation, and conceding that unfortunately the limited number of available slots meant some exceptional applications would be denied a position, the following slot holders have been selected.
THE EIGHT SLOT HOLDERS (in alphabetical order):
- Greyhound Racing New South Wales
- New South Wales Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association
- Racing Queensland
- Ray Borda
- Sports Entertainment Network
- Sportsbet
- Tabcorp
- The Dogs WA
Attention now turns to the selection of greyhounds for the blockbuster event, with a number of slot holders set to run qualifying race series, whilst others will be looking to privately negotiate deals with greyhound owners and trainers.
Key Dates:
- Slot Holders announced Sunday 12 September 2021
- Final Field announced Friday 10 December 2021
- Box Draw Sunday 12 December 2021
- Inaugural running of The Phoenix Saturday 18 December 2021
WATCH: RSN’s Gareth Hall and MGRA General Manager Ashley Baker chat to all eight slot holders.
For more information, please visit the dedicated website for the TAB Phoenix: www.thephoenix.melbourne
*This article was supplied by the MGRA.
