By Mike Hill

IPSWICH Greyhound Club has introduced several new changes to its annual puppy auction in a bid to allow more buyers to enter the industry.

Organisers of the only puppy auction in Queensland made the changes in response to a growing concern that breeder \’buy-backs\’ were making it harder for potential owners to buy pups.

\”We have introduced two new classifications for this year\’s auction on Sunday, October 10,\” said club president Colin Fry.

\”One is for \’sale only\’ pups and the other is the \’breeder buy in\’ classification.\”

Pups nominated for the \’for sale only\’ category will be offered at the auction with a genuine reserve price specified by the nominator.

Fry said bidding would begin at $1500 and the auctioneer would  be advised when a pup has reached its reserve.

\”If a pup fails to reach its reserve price, the nominator will be able to negotiate with the final bidder on sale day,\” he said.

\”Each \’for sale only\’ pup must change ownership on sale day to be eligible for the auction series races.\”

He also said \’breeder buy in\’ pups were not required to be at the auction.

\”However, owners of these pups will be required to pay an $860 fee for each pup,\” Mr Fry said.

\”A fee of 12 per cent of the purchase price will apply to all \’for sale only\’ pups capped at $960.

\”We hope the changes will allow more people the opportunity to enter the sport.

\”At last year\’s auction only 20-30 pups changed hands from a catalogue of 112 lots.

\”The large majority were breeder buy-backs.\”

Fry said many potential buyers had become disillusioned with the process because of so many buy-backs.

The Ipswich boss said Racing Queensland  had indicated it was quite happy with the club\’s changes to the auction process.

\”We\’re trying to get more people involved in the sport by being able to buy a  pup,\” he said.

\”The buy-back process was defeating the concept of the auction – to allow new faces into the industry.\”

In a bid to encourage breeders to sell pups, the club has boosted the breeder bonus for \’sold at sale\’ pups from $2000 to $7000.

The breeder bonus for \’breeder buy in\’ pups will remain at $2000.

Fry said only time would tell if the club had made the right decision.

\”We\’re trying something new,\” he said.

\” If it doesn\’t work we\’re prepared to go back and re-jig it a bit.

\”Nominations for this year\’s auction close on Saturday, August 14, and there will be no extension.

\”We will then find out if all our hard work has paid off.\”

The auction is open to pups whelped between October 1, 2020, and June 1, 2021.

Pups sold at the auction will be eligible for a series of races, including the $40,000-to-the-winner Ipswich Puppy Auction feature over 520m and the $14,000-to-the-winner sprint (431m).