Greyhound Racing NSW has apologised for an "inappropriate and offensive" form guide comment telling punters they could "Go Bananas" for a dog named Ezra Mam, on the same night the NRL Judiciary sat in relation to the Broncos player being called a "monkey".
On Monday night, GRNSW issued a statement apologising for an apparent reference to the controversy facing rugby league produced by the organisation and published to 'thedogs' tips and race-viewing website and betting partner sites.
It came as Roosters forward Spencer Leniu was handed an eight-week suspension for his mid-match comment directed at Mam.
"Go Bananas! Let's see IF we can get some positive Headlines, tonight?" the dog's notes read for its Maitland race, via AAP.
In their statement, GRNSW said the comment was immediately deleted once they were made aware of it, but the action did not carry through to their partner's sites.
"GRNSW is appalled by what was published, and apologises unreservedly for the comment, and the distress it has caused," it read.
"GRNSW also apologises unreservedly to its partners who were unwittingly and through no fault of their own, caught up in the incident.
"GRNSW will not tolerate this kind of behaviour and appropriate action has been taken."
According to reports, Sportsbet abandoned betting on the race two hours out from its scheduled start time after they were unable to alter the comment.
In their own statement, the wagering company said "We are extremely disappointed a highly offensive and inappropriate comments supplied by a third party were automatically published on our platforms".
"Sportsbet immediately removed the event and associated comments when we became aware," a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"Our partner Greyhound Racing NSW has confirmed that necessary action has been taken, and we have sought further reassurances that appropriate controls are in place.
"We do not tolerate hate speech, discrimination and racism in our organisation, on our platforms, or by our partners. We will continue to call it out and unreservedly apologise for the distress this has caused."
Sportsbet, an NRL partner, is understood to have been in contact with the league on the issue, and express they were not responsible for the comment.
