WHEN Rex Nairn took over as president of the Hastings River Greyhound Racing Club in 1998 he only wanted to achieve one thing in his time there.
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More than two decades later, he has achieved that goal after the track at Wauchope received news that races held at the venue would be TAB-sanctioned.
It remains a waiting game until they can hold their first official meeting while the COVID-19 pandemic plays out, but Nairn said it had been a long time coming.
"Heading into the new financial year Wauchope will have 18 TAB meetings," he said.
"All we need is a semaphore board, two TAB boxes and then we could race tomorrow, so we haven't got much to do."
Nairn said there was some uncertainty surrounding the future of the Dapto dogs and he was hopeful the Hastings could replace the Wollongong track in popularity over time.
"I'm not sure if Dapto will keep going, so Wauchope could take over from them," he said.
"Everyone knows about Dapto dogs, so we're hoping everyone will know about the Wauchope dogs the same as Dapto dogs.
"We all know they'll call them the War-choppy dogs."
Former greyhound commentator and well-known dog tragic Paul Ambrosoli enjoyed calling races at Wauchope before his retirement in 2014.
"He once said the Wauchope track is the best track in Australia, not just New South Wales," Nairn said.
One of the major differences from holding non-TAB to TAB meetings is an increase in prizemoney which Nairn felt would benefit the community.
It would also mean better fields would come to the Mid-North Coast to race.
"I don't officially own any dogs, but it gives people in this area the opportunity to run for $1500 per win per race," Nairn said.
"You also get $350 for third whereas in a non-TAB race, it is only 300 for a win."
The news comes on the back of the club hosting a race meeting with the highest prize pool in the club's history on January 11.
A colossal $30,000 prize purse was on offer for the Tweed Heads Border Park Wauchope Challenge.
The event recorded a staggering first prize reward of $20,000 with second place collecting $5000, third receiving $2500 and every unplaced dog delivering $500.
Having large amounts of prizemoney on offer will become the norm for the club, with Nairn hopeful they could hold their first meeting in June or July.
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