On Tuesday it was confirmed by NSW Minister for Racing Paul Toole that Kennerson Park will play host to one of the regional qualifiers for the inaugural Million Dollar Chase, a series boasting $1.7million in prize money.

Bathurst is one of 11 regional qualifying tracks selected and has the honour of being the opening race of the series on September.

Participating dogs have the opportunity to book a Million Dollar Chase semi-finals place with a top two finish.

First prize in the final, to be held on October 20, carries a purse of $1 million.

Kennerson Park racing manager Jason Lyne, who lives in Orange, was thrilled to learn Bathurst would be playing an important role in the run towards the final.

“It’s fantastic not only for Bathurst but for a lot of regional centres. Dubbo’s involved up north as well as Grafton and Lismore. It’s an amazing statewide thing,” he said.

“You hear of the Everest and Kosciusko for the horses and you think to yourself ‘Wow, I wish that was our industry’ and now this is the equivalent, having a million dollar race.”

It didn’t take long for news of the Million Dollar Chase to reach the ears of excited owners and trainers.

Lyne said he’d fielded several calls from interested parties shortly after the event was announcement.

“I’ve spoken to a couple of trainers in Melbourne already who have rung me up apart the race details,” he said.

“There will dogs coming from all over Australia for this. You’ll be getting the cream of the crop.

“Central West has provided many champions over the years so hopefully we have another one who can qualify for the final.

“It’s been a turbulent couple of years for the industry. We’ve gone from not even being around two years ago to having a million dollar race and things looking fantastic.”

All greyhounds in Australia are eligible to be nominated for the race, but a condition of entry is that all must be re-homed at the end of their racing career.

Million Dollar Chase will highlight GRNSW’s target to raise $1million in donations for the Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) program designed to re-home dogs after they have retired from racing.

“It is an exciting announcement and highlights our commitment to improve animal welfare at the same time as improving the greyhound industry, which is key to our future,” Greyhound Racing NSW CEO Tony Mestrov Mestrov said.

“We thank the Minister and his Government for their support of this unique series for NSW and also thank our corporate event sponsor Ladbrokes for helping to create the world’s richest greyhound event.”

The 11 Regional Qualifying Finals across Regional NSW will take place at Bathurst, Bulli, Dubbo, Grafton Ladbrokes Gardens (Newcastle), Lismore, Maitland, Nowra, Richmond, Temora and Wagga.

There will also be 14 City Qualifying Finals at Wentworth Park from September 22 to October 6, before the Semi-Finals (October 12) and Grand Final (October 20) are held on the same track.