Racing Queensland and Greyhound Racing New South Wales selectors today announced their starting UBET Greyhound Origin teams, ahead of the inaugural series at Albion Park in Brisbane on Thursday 12 July.
Each state’s squad of 25 has been narrowed to nine ahead of the best-of-three race series (4 sprinters, 4 stayers, 1 match-racer) with each state naming one reserve for each event.
Boxes for all three races will be drawn at the Breakfast Creek Hotel on Monday 9 July (10am), with the draw to be live streamed via UBET, Puntersland and Racing Queensland social media channels.
Queensland selector Doug Lutherborrow said the panel had a tough job deciding which greyhounds would be granted the highly sought-after positions.
“Congratulations to all of the trainers and owners that have been selected. Narrowing down such a talented squad wasn’t easy but we believe we have selected a side that is both in-form and proven at this level of racing,” he said.
GRNSW selector Wayne Billett said: “This is a truly great concept and we have been delighted to be involved in the series, which is yet another exciting opportunity to showcase our sport.
“It was a difficult decision for the panel to whittle down our squad, but we believe we have come up with a strong team which will do our state proud. It’s also great that we have been able to assemble representatives from a variety of regions throughout NSW, and I know all feel it’s a tremendous honour to be representing our state in the Inaugural Origin Series.”
UBET spokesman Gerard Daffy said the momentum had swung Queensland’s way following a thrilling night of racing for the Group 1 Winter Cup at Albion Park.
“We’ve had the betting open since the concept was launched and most of the money had come for NSW. However, the pendulum has definitely swung back Queensland’s way after Thursday night. NSW is $1.65 favourites to win and QLD is at $2.25 but, as we see in the football, being the outsider doesn’t worry Queensland,” Daffy said.
“Full markets for each race will be available after the box draw on Monday. In the football version of Origin, one of the most popular bet types is the correct score for the series and this same bet type will be applied in this series.”
Racing Queensland Greyhound Manager Adam Wallish said excitement would continue to build in the next six days, with RQ and the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club continuing to promote the event via multiple channels.
“A radio campaign inviting punters to the track began this morning across a number of AM and FM stations, with free-to-air TV commercials set down for next week," he said.
"Our social media channel Puntersland will continue its well-known Runners To Watch and ‘Out of the Box’ programs to encourage punters to do their form ahead of the night."