The public's return to Dawson park for Friday night Greyhound racing is being hailed as a strong success by Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club president Shayne Stiff.
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"It all went really, really well," Stiff said.
According to Stiff, a sizable crowd gathered for the first event that was open to the public since the lockdown began, but all rules and regulations were adhered to.
"There's been no problems with the general public, they all stuck to the new guidelines," Stiff said.
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"That does get a bit hard at times, you've got people who want to cheer and celebrate together and stuff like that, but it went really, really well."
There was plenty of cheering for familiar faces track-side as well, with Paul Braddon's Flaming Fury taking out a win well ahead of the pack down the 318m stretch and Charmaine Roberts' Ruphert Keeping also winning emphatically later in the night.
Keeping finished a full four margins ahead of the rest of the field, making the most of every one of the 400 metres and upsetting both dogs who had been favoured more strongly on the bookie's tally.
The dogs are also adopting to a life of isolation as well, with new procedures limiting the time trainers and other attendants spend in the kennels.
"We're keeping the dogs kenneled in the kennel block, so they're away from the trainers and everyone else and the trainers can then go and get them, one at a time, race by race," Stiff said.
"What you have to remember is that we've got 25 acres out here, so there's plenty of room for us all."
The shift back to Friday nights is also a welcome change for Stiff and the club, with a full slate of Friday and Saturday night racing planned out for the rest of the year.
"The Thursdays was just while we were in the lockdown and limited to zones, but that's all gone now, we're back to the Friday nights and when that new calendar from July comes up, we've got about another 10 or 15 Friday nights and then a whole lot of Saturdays with a few Sundays, which should be great for everyone," Stiff said.
"It'll be good for the public, it's something a bit different to do and right now greyhound racing across NSW and even across Australia is in for a really big boom."
For Stiff, the resilience shown by the Greyhound industry in recent years is an encouraging sign, but none moreso than the strength shown during isolation.
"The racing industry's kept going strong and virtually could have kept the country afloat through this, it was a really good job by our administrators at Greyhound Racing NSW and all the owners and trainers deserve a pat on the back as well," Stiff said.
"The atmosphere on course has been terrific."