Community farewells Dapto Dogs after 90 years of greyhound racing

Organisers were stunned when about 5,000 people packed the Dapto Showground to witness the end of a greyhound racing era.

Live music, speeches and hours of back-to-back races made the final meeting at one of the nation's most famed greyhound racing tracks an occasion to remember.

For regulars at the track, which lies just south of Wollongong, life might never be quite the same.

"Besides the dogs, we don't have much else here,"

Dapto resident Zac Dodec said.

Ashley Peck and her three children travelled nearly 200 kilometres to attend the event.

"The Dapto Dogs have been around for a long time, so for it to be closing down is really sad," she said.

Many in the crowd shared that sentiment and were bitter about the venue owner's decision not to renew its lease with Greyhound Racing New