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Racing CCTV: A Guide for Racecourses, Tracks and Integrity

Horse racing on a racecourse, where racing CCTV supports integrity and crowd safety

CCTV guide

CCTV for racing venues and integrity

Camera systems that stand up to a stewards’ inquiry as well as a race day crowd.

Racing CCTV is the camera network a racecourse or greyhound or harness track uses to protect the integrity of racing, secure stabling, kennel and swab areas, and keep race day crowds safe. In thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing, footage is often the evidence stewards and integrity bodies rely on, so the system has to be designed to prove who was where and when, not simply to record.

By Mark Bezzina, Managing Director and CEO of Agilient, who has more than 20 years’ experience running security and resilience companies and has led over 300 projects. Last updated 29/09/2026.

  • Racing rules give controlling bodies and stewards clear powers to photograph and film during inspections, and footage is regularly tendered in stewards’ inquiries.
  • The security of kennels, stabling and swab collection areas is a recurring integrity weak point identified by inquiries.
  • Major race meetings are crowded places, so venue security expectations apply on race days.
  • Many racing networks run older, mixed systems across several venues, which makes a common platform and standard a priority.
Integrity

Why does CCTV matter for racing integrity?

Integrity inquiries turn on evidence. The Greyhounds Australasia Rules allow a controlling body to make a photographic, video or other record during an inspection,1 and the Australian Harness Racing Rules let stewards photograph or film anything on premises they enter.2 In NSW, greyhound welfare and integrity inspectors may record evidence by photograph or video.3

Fixed CCTV at venues fills the gaps between inspections. Stewards’ reports show stable CCTV being tendered to test what happened to an animal on race morning,4 and the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into greyhound racing noted CCTV footage showing that swabbed dogs were not always under independent observation, describing it as the weakest point of the process.5 For animal welfare, Victoria’s code of practice for keeping racing greyhounds allows overnight monitoring of larger establishments to be done remotely, including by video camera.6

Good practice

What does good racing CCTV look like?

  • coverage of kennels, stabling, swab and sample collection areas, and the routes animals take between them;
  • image quality and camera positions set by an operational requirement, so people and animals can be identified;
  • accurate time synchronisation and a reliable, tamper-evident export for evidence;
  • access controls and audit trails so footage stands up in an inquiry;
  • crowd, gate and car park coverage for major race meetings, in line with crowded places guidance;7 and
  • a common platform and standard across all venues in a network, so stewards and security staff work the same way everywhere.
How we help

How Agilient supports racing CCTV

Agilient provides independent CCTV consulting for racing venues and controlling bodies: network-wide CCTV strategy and options reviews, operational requirements for integrity areas, specifications, tender support, trials and validation of installed systems. Agilient does not sell or install cameras, so its advice is independent of any integrator. The CCTV upgrade guide explains how to replace a mixed or ageing network in stages, and Agilient’s public venue and event security work covers race day crowds.

Other CCTV sector guides: childcare centres, schools, universities, aged care, hospitals, councils, stadiums and venues and critical infrastructure.

Reviewing CCTV across a racing network?

A short briefing will help you test integrity coverage, evidence quality and a staged path to a common platform.

Talk to AgilientIndependent CCTV advice
FAQs

Racing CCTV FAQs

Is CCTV required at racing venues?
No single national rule requires fixed CCTV at every racecourse or track. Racing rules give stewards and controlling bodies powers to photograph and film during inspections, and venues use CCTV to protect integrity areas and meet crowd safety expectations on race days.
Which areas of a racecourse need CCTV coverage?
Integrity areas come first: kennels, stabling, swab and sample collection areas and the routes between them. Race day coverage of gates, crowds and car parks follows, guided by a security risk assessment and crowded places guidance.
Can CCTV footage be used in a stewards’ inquiry?
Yes. Footage is regularly tendered in stewards’ inquiries, including footage from trainers’ own stables. To be useful it needs accurate time stamps, clear images of people and animals, and a reliable export and audit trail.
How should a racing network upgrade its CCTV?
Start with an independent options review across all venues, choose a common platform and standard early, then replace equipment in stages, with integrity areas first. The CCTV upgrade guide explains the approach in more detail.
References

  1. Greyhounds Australasia, Greyhounds Australasia Rules, galtd.org.au
  2. Harness Racing Australia, Australian Harness Racing Rules: stewards, harness.org.au
  3. Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission, Inspections, gwic.nsw.gov.au
  4. Racing NSW, Stewards’ report, 1 March 2022, racingnsw.com.au
  5. NSW Government, Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW, volume 3, nsw.gov.au
  6. Agriculture Victoria, Code of practice for the keeping of racing greyhounds, agriculture.vic.gov.au
  7. National Security, Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism, nationalsecurity.gov.au