New Zealand Has Ended Greyhound Racing. Now It Has to Manage the Aftermath.

New Zealand Has Ended Greyhound Racing. Now It Has to Manage the Aftermath. - The New York Times

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New Zealand Has Ended Greyhound Racing. Now It Has to Manage the Aftermath.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/world/australia/new-zealand-greyhound-racing-ban.html

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New Zealand Has Ended Greyhound Racing. Now It Has to Manage the Aftermath.

As the country holds its final greyhound race, the government has committed to finding homes for dogs and supporting people whose livelihoods depended on racing.

*Dogs racing at Hatrick Raceway in Whanganui, New Zealand, on Friday. The event marked the final commercial greyhound race in the country’s history.*

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New Zealand Has Ended Greyhound Racing. Now It Has to Manage the Aftermath.

As the country holds its final greyhound race, the government has committed to finding homes for dogs and supporting people whose livelihoods depended on racing.

Dogs racing at Hatrick Raceway in Whanganui, New Zealand, on Friday. The event marked the final commercial greyhound race in the country’s history.

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By

Emanuel Stoakes

Visuals by

Tatsiana Chypsanava

Reporting from Whanganui, New Zealand

Aug. 4, 2026

Updated 2:36 a.m. ET

At a modest suburban track in the riverside city of Whanganui, hundreds gathered on Friday evening to witness the final night of one of New Zealand’s longest-running betting sports.

The occasion, held at the city’s Hatrick Raceway, marked the last commercial greyhound race in the country, ending a tradition that has roots stretching back over 150 years.

The setting was distinctly Kiwi: A field enclosed by the racing tracks doubles as a rugby pitch, its east edge fringed by Pōhutukawa trees, New Zealand’s native evergreen.

Intermittent downpours and gusts punctuated the proceedings, as did the slow revolutions of a small tractor, smoothing paw prints from the tracks between the night’s dozen scheduled races. Shortly before each sprint, the dogs were prepared for action, their sleek coats shining in the floodlights.

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!Owners lead dogs on leads on the race track

*Owners and trainers leading their greyhounds into the raceway.*

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!A man puts a yellow racing jersey onto a greyhound wearing a metal muzzle

*A 2-year-old greyhound, Fergies Girl, being prepared for the race.*

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