Brad and Stefan Devenie are grandsons of Clare and Leo Devenie, who left money in their estate to sponsor a greyhound race at their old stomping ground of Forbury Park.
Clare and Leo Devenie moved to Auckland at the end of the 1970s, but not before being founding members of the Otago Greyhound Racing Club in 1974.
Clare died in December 2010, while Leo died several years earlier, but they had fond memories of their time in Dunedin, particularly as their dog, Gold Viva, trained by Clare, was named Otago greyhound of the year in 1977. Stefan and partner Carley Anderson are based in Dunedin, and Brad and wife Kim made the trip south from Hamilton for the presentation to the winning dog, Threat. The Jean and Dave Fahey-trained dog by Made To Size jumped to the lead and was never headed, winning by five lengths to record his fourth win from six starts since arriving in New Zealand late last year.
''It was one of their last dying wishes to sponsor a race down here,'' Brad said.
''This is our first time [at the greyhounds]. I do a bit of betting on the horses maybe twice a year, so I had to ask if it's the same principles [of betting].''
The Devenies may have inherited some of their grandparents' greyhound knowledge unwittingly, as they selected the quinella between them, with Cawbourne Kim running second.
