For almost a century, the park locals refer to affectionately as “Wenty” has been known for one thing: greyhound racing.
But Friday night will see that era end, as the last race meeting is held at Sydney’s Wentworth Park before the track is razed.
For Geoff Rose, closure is a sign of the times - the land in the inner-west suburb of Glebe is worth a fortune in a city whose growth will not slow down.
But the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association chair remains sad to see the park go.
“It is quite heartbreaking to a lot of people,” he told AAP.
Wentworth Park was heaped into life between 1876 and 1880 using silt dredged from Sydney’s Harbour.
Greyhound racing began in the park in 1932 and by the 1970s, the sport was attracting large crowds.
Ron Arnold, who was born into a family that raised greyhounds in their backyard, got his first job at the park in 1975 with the now-defunct National Coursing Association.
He has gone on to work in the industry for 50 years, most recently as the track's master of ceremonies.
With the park’s closure also came the end of greyhound racing’s associated brand in NSW, he said.
“Everybody knew where Wentworth Park was,” Mr Arnold told AAP.
“Those major tracks have got a brand, like the Sydney Cricket Ground or the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they mean something even to people that don't follow the respective sports.”
All buildings on the site are slated for demolition after October 2027, and the site is planned to be returned to parkland under the auspices of City of Sydney Council.
Greyhound Racing NSW, the state’s regulator for the sport, announced this week it had chosen the existing Richmond Race Club - around an hour northwest of central Sydney - as the replacement site for the industry.
Mr Rose said his association was also exploring another option, which could see it establishing race meeting at a site near Appin, southwest of Sydney.
Either way, Racing Minister David Harris has previously promised $10 million in government funding to help the industry find a new home - a move criticised by those calling for the industry to be shut down altogether.
“The government right now is letting (the industry) collapse to a slow death, but we think an assisted phase-out is actually going to be better for everyone,” NSW Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst told AAP.
But she welcomed the end of racing at Wentworth Park, saying the track’s closure brought an end to “nearly a century of misery and death”.
“This was one of Australia's deadliest tracks,” she said.
“The early closure of it will save lives and will save many dogs from extreme injuries.”
