A chief resigns, a board faces the sack and a new inquiry is announced into animal welfare standards - it's fair to say it's been a rocky couple of weeks at Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW).

The racing body's troubles began to publicly unfurl overnight on 4 July with media reports saying NSW Minster for Racing David Harris had issued the board of GRNSW a 'show cause' notice.

It meant that the board had until Friday 12 July to explain why it shouldn't be sacked over allegedly breaching rules on how it handles complaints. 

Minister Harris has not provided further detail on the alleged breaches or indicated a decision on the board since the deadline passed. 

Then a report by former GRNSW chief veterinary officer Dr Alex Brittan surfaced publicly on Tuesday July 9 claiming poor animal welfare standards persist within the industry.

"There are cases of extreme distress, deep claw marks gouged all over the inside of metal cages and recent pools of blood from toe nails that had been ripped off from clawing at the cage door in distress," the report said.

GRNSW CEO Rob Macaulay resigned later the same day, with Deputy CEO Wayne Billett stepping in while the organisation finds a replacement.

Two days later the NSW government confirmed an inquiry into GRNSW to look at track safety and animal welfare issues, although it stopped short of announcing a ban.

The inquiry will also cover issues around reporting, workplace culture, adoption and rehoming programs and management's response to complaints.

The government appointed Lea Drake as an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) to lead an inquiry, which will be able to refer serious misconduct allegations to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. 

The inquiry will report back to Minister Harris by 13 December 2024.

Coonamble Greyhound Club President Graham Pickering in front of a concerned local crowd the morning after GRNSW announced they would close the Coonamble track. IMAGE: COONAMBLE TIMES

Boon or bust for Coonamble track?

It was revealed on 30 May that GRNSW would close the Coonamble track in a shift in investment towards larger regional centres. 

Since then, state Barwon MP Roy Butler said he received a commitment from GRNSW to allow the October Carnival to go ahead and for Mr Macaulay to meet local club members in Coonamble. 

Mr Butler told The Coonamble Times Mr Billett rang him on Tuesday 15 July to confirm the commitments remain unchanged.

"They're probably in a bit of a stage of reorganising themselves, but the commitments that were put on the table remain in place," Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler said he doesn't want to see the track forgotten while the headlines are on GRNSW's recent woes. 

"The commitment at this stage enables the door to still be open for Coonamble to be maintained as a GRNSW track. How that looks in the future will probably be guided by the discussions that they have with the community and the club," Mr Butler said. 

Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club President Graham Pickering welcomed Mr Macaulay's resignation.

"Rob was never going to come out here. He couldn't even ring," Mr Pickering said. "Wayne Billet was the only one that rang us and he's the new interim CEO. 

"I think that it's good that Rob is gone, because now we have got a chance at staying open. Now we've got someone in there that actually wants to listen to you.

"I'm hopeful that we can get something turned around."