Anger, confusion, hurt, betrayal - emotions at Sydney's home of greyhound racing, Wentworth Park, were running high on Wednesday night.
The first race meet at the track since Premier Mike Baird announced plans to ban the sport last Thursday was far from business as usual.
Among the regulars the form guide seemed to take second place to discussion - and dissection - of the government's decision.
Many said the decision was hasty, ill-informed and unfair - and it had cut deep.
"When he (Mr Baird) first announced it I was in shock for two days," dog owner and avid punter John Finney told AAP.
"This is all I want to do until I die, there's nothing else."
A single pensioner, 69-year-old Mr Finney said he owns two dogs and spends eight hours a day studying the form so he can bet on races.
He said it's a great way to pass the time.
"I walk onto a greyhound track, I'm a young man. I don't know that I'm 69," he said.
"It's a buzz."
He said he'd "go crazy" if there was no more greyhound racing.
"I won't have a clue how to pass my time."
Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers Association operations manager Ellen Harris reassured the approximately 150-strong crowd at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night that her organisation was working with clubs to fight the government's decision.
She urged those in attendance to lobby their local members, collect signatures for a petition and provide data on "wastage" (the number of greyhounds destroyed) in an attempt to prevent the sport from being banned.
"I understand some of you are depressed...I get that," she said.
"You need to stay strong, we need to support each other, and you need to fight as hard as you can."
Mention of the Special Commission of Inquiry report that led to the government's decision touches a raw nerve among those in the industry.
Many feel they're being punished for the unethical practices of a few, and that the report's figure of 48,000-68,000 greyhounds killed in the last 12 years for being "uncompetitive" is vastly overinflated.
"(That figure includes) dogs that've been exported overseas, dogs that are sitting on the lounges, dogs that have been killed by snakebites (for example) or dogs that have died in accidents," hobby trainer Dean Maniaci told AAP.
"Our regulatory body (Greyhound Racing NSW) has never looked after us. It was placed there by the government and they've never taken any statistics."
Professional trainer Michael Clayton, of Sutton Forest, is resigned to unemployment if the ban on greyhound racing goes ahead, despite having a family to support.
He feels he and others are being "tarred with the same brush" as rogue trainers who use live animals as bait.
"You hear people say all the time saying, you've had many chances to reform and you haven't.
"What chances have I had to reform?
"I don't have to reform, I don't do anything wrong. And that's the same for many people in this sport."
