Following the final consultation notice and feedback review of the proposed Grading Procedures, Racing Queensland firstly thanks all participants who provided their feedback throughout this extensive process.
The feedback received through club visits, online submissions and stakeholder consultation has now been reviewed. The volume of submissions provided valuable insights and has assisted Racing Queensland in refining the proposed Grading Procedure changes.
Participant feedback reinforced several key themes, including the need to improve progression opportunities throughout the grading system and address the number of greyhounds in the Grade 5 baseline.
Analysis of race programming shows an increase in Grade 5 events following this feedback. Comparing FY24 and FY26:
- Grade 5 races increased by 16.5 %.
- Masters Grade 5 races increased by 28.1%.
- Pathways Grade 5 races increased by 36.5%.
Collectively, these three race types accounted for ~48% of all races conducted in Queensland for FY26, an increase from FY24 of ~20%, supporting the need to create stronger progression pathways across the grading system.
Outcomes Following Consultation
Following final consultation on the Grading Procedure and Programming Review, Racing Queensland confirms several aspects of the proposed reforms, including:
- Reduce Straight and Provincial Grade 5 win concessions from 4 to 2.
- Increase Straight and Provincial Grade 4 win concessions from 1 to 2.
- Country and City wins remain unchanged.
- Increase age-restricted events at Country venues.
- Introduce time standards for The Q and update other venues based on historical average competitive times for each track and distance.
- Pathways events to be phased out by the introduction of Time grading events.
- When the changes commence, the grades of all greyhounds will be reassessed using their previous race performances and the updated grading criteria.
The below table details the wins for each class (Grade 5 & Grade 4):
Next Steps
Racing Queensland will now commence implementation of the revised Grading Procedures. The next phase will include:
- Commencing system development through Western Australian counterparts, OzChase.
- System testing to ensure the changes operate as intended.
- Finalisation and release of the updated grading procedures.
Racing Queensland appreciates the constructive engagement shown throughout the review process. The revised Grading Procedures have been shaped by industry feedback and are intended to provide a more responsive grading framework, clearer progression opportunities and improved race programming across Queensland.
Further updates will be provided as the implementation progresses.
