Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club honours Brother Fox

The fastest dogs from across Australia are expected to race in Dubbo during what’s shaping up to be a massive weekend of sport in the city.

A new event with a record prize haul on offer is set to see the best greyhounds from across the country descend on Dubbo for a massive weekend of sport.

The Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club has announced the Ladbrokes Brother Fox Carnival will take place at Dawson Park in May, with a total prize pool of $47,500 on offer.

Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club secretary Courtney Norbury. Picture: Ryan Young

The winner of the main race will take home a whopping $40,000 — an increase of $15,000 on the top prize offered at the former annual Dubbo Cup event the new carnival has replaced.

Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club secretary Courtney Norbury said the new event was named after a Dubbo dog whose 15 wins from 23 starts made him a legend of the sport.

“It got bought to the committee as an idea and being that Brother Fox was such an influential dog, we all just jumped on it and said ‘yep let’s go for it’,” she said.

“He was a very prominent dog here in the 1980s, Steve Kavanagh owned him and trained him and he did very well as a stud dog.

“We wanted to recognise local talent and how good that talent was.”

Brother Fox after winning at Wentworth Park. Picture: Greyhound Racing Victoria

Ms Norbury said the club hoped the event and increased prize pool would help attract the best dogs and trainers from around Australia.

It’s also hoped the Brother Fox Carnival will build on work the club has done to maintain a trend of rising crowd numbers and support from families.

“We want it to be a family friendly club and for people to be able to come out, have a good night, know that they’re kids are having fun and get it to grow that way,” Ms Norbury said.

“We’re in the process of building a sandpit for kids to play in, we have a jumping castle on order, new grassed area under construction and more.

“We had a slip n slide on Australia Day and Easter we’ll have an egg hunt.”

Ann Barnes, a Dubbo trainer and daughter of Peg Miller who has a support event named in her honour, with champion greyhound Nangar Silk. Picture: Supplied

Ms Norbury said live music was also helping attract a growing number of spectators to the sport.

“It’s started to attract the public a lot more,” she said.

Brother Fox’s Dubbo trainer Steve Kavanagh said he was honoured to have an event named after his “best mate”.

“Brother Fox was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013 and this is as big of an honour as that night,” he said.

The Brother Fox Carnival heats will take place on May 22, the same weekend an NRL match will be played in Dubbo.

“It’s going to be a big weekend on the sporting calendar,” Ms Norbury said.

The final race will take place on May 28, alongside the Bill and Peg Miller Cup which offers a $10,000 top prize.