A buyer will need to enter into a ground lease with Whanganui District Council as the land is not for sale. Photo / NZME
A buyer will need to enter into a ground lease with Whanganui District Council as the land is not for sale. Photo / NZME
The Spriggens Park Hatrick Raceway in Whanganui is for sale ahead of a ban on greyhound racing.
The property, at 216 Guyton St, includes one of New Zealand’s six oval greyhound tracks.
On April 3, Parliament passed an amendment to the Racing Act outlawing greyhound racing from August 1. Theban was first signalled by Racing Minister Winston Peters in 2024.
Property Brokers agent Richard White said it was good to see interest in the park from potential buyers, despite the sale’s complexity.
“The improvements are for sale, but are located on council leasehold land, so the tenant would be entering into a new lease.”
Improvements include the raceway, commercial catering kitchen, bar area, offices, meeting rooms, equipment shed, off-road parking and 800sq m grandstand.
The Hatrick Raceway in Whanganui is the first greyhound racing track to be put up for sale before the August 1 ban on racing. Photo / Property Brokers
The sale price is available on application. The property was valued last year at $3.94 million.
White said the council had not shown interest in selling the land, which covers 1.43 hectares.
Wanganui Greyhound Racing Club chief executive Venessa Trass said the club would host races as scheduled until July 31.
About 20 people would lose their jobs after the ban, with some planning to retire.
“All the staff, members, participants and trainers are really upset ... We put a lot of money into the Whanganui economy yearly, so I don’t know what impact it’s going to have on them.
“The trainers are the ones who are hit the worst, because some of them have set up the training facility as a business.”
The club has hosted races at Hatrick Raceway since the 1980s.
In August 2022, Greyhound Racing New Zealand voted to renovate Hatrick Raceway after a lack of maintenance led to an increase in injuries and deaths of racing dogs.
It also voted to build the country’s first straight track at Wanganui Racecourse. The straight track, which is owned by the Wanganui Jockey Club and managed by the greyhound racing club, is not part of the sale.
Save Animals From Exploitation campaign manager Emma Brodie said the organisation was relieved to see Hatrick Raceway for sale.
“The sale of the site reflects the reality that racing is coming to an end.
“An opportunity to reimagine the future of the site in a way that better reflects community values and doesn’t involve harm to dogs.”
A transition agency will be set up to oversee the wind‑down of racing and the rehoming of dogs. It will be headed by the current members of the ministerial advisory committee on greyhound racing, Heather Simpson (chairwoman), Murray Johnson and Dr Lindsay Burton, with a fourth member to be appointed.
Key elements of the transition agency’s work include:
Assistance for greyhound owners to ensure dogs receive a high standard of care while awaiting rehoming, including housing, training and behavioural support for the dogs.
Partnerships with existing rehoming agencies, with practical support in place to expand their rehoming capacity and the number of dogs adopted.
Retraining and redeployment support for industry workers, delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, to help affected workers move into new jobs.
Mental health and wellbeing support services for people whose daily lives have been closely tied to greyhound racing.
Expressions of interest in Hatrick Raceway close on April 10.
This story has been corrected to remove the rugby field from the list of improvements for sale.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.
