Stewards open inquiry into the integrity of the Million Dollar Chase box draw

FRIDAY night’s final of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase has been thrown into a tailspin with an Inquiry being launched into the integrity of the box draw at Wentworth Park last Saturday night.

Greyhound racing resumes at Wentworth Park. Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

FRIDAY night’s final of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase has been thrown into a tailspin with an Inquiry being launched into the integrity of the box draw at Wentworth Park last Saturday night.

On Tuesday, Wade Birch, Chief Operating Officer of the Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (GWIC) declared that a formal Inquiry had been opened into the matter.

“There have been concerns raised with GWIC surrounding the integrity of the Million Dollar Chase box draw conducted at Wentworth Park on Saturday night,” Birch said.

“Having regard to the importance of such a process, Stewards have determined to open a formal investigation into the matter to ensure its integrity and fairness to all competitors.

What a treat we are in for next Friday when we'll see the 2024 @wentyparkgreys#MillionDollarChase run and won! 🤩

But we need you to tell us... who wins????#thedogs#greyhoundracing@tabcomau@sportsbetcomau@TopSport_com_au@NedsAus@PalmerbetAU@[e-mail]/ayuwM3H0Nv

— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) October 12, 2024

“We understand the importance of bringing this to a proper conclusion in a timely and transparent fashion.”

Since Saturday night’s box draw, whispers have intensified that the manner in which the box draw unfolded may have been compromised.

Like many feature events, the traditional banjo box draw was abandoned, with trainers selected randomly to come up and choose a box which contained numbers from one to eight inside the boxes.

But evidence supplied to GWIC suggested that at some juncture the contents of the boxes were visible to patrons prior to the draw.

It remains to be seen whether the fact boxes 1,2,3 and 8 were the first four boxes selected forms part of the inquiry.

More to follow …

Originally published as Stewards open inquiry into the integrity of the Million Dollar Chase box draw