The government says its position on greyhound racing "remains unchanged", despite members of the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club suggesting Racing Minister Mick Gentleman had softened his stance during a meeting on Tuesday.
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The future of the greyhound industry in the ACT was cast into serious doubt following NSW's decision to ban racing last month.
NSW made the shock decision after an inquiry found "overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting".
Soon after, Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced greyhound racing also had "no future in the ACT".
The government has since said it would consider the findings of the NSW inquiry, review the industry and its formal agreement with the territory, and announce a process to "end the practice of greyhound racing in the ACT".
The vast majority of trainers and officials who practice in the ACT are from NSW, and the RSPCA alleges some of those coming to Canberra have links to live baiting practices.
Members of the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club and lobbyist Kel Watt took a number of alternative options to Mr Gentleman on Tuesday, attempting to convince him to keep the industry alive.
The options include adopting a 100 per cent re-homing and tracking policy to protect greyhounds, and transferring responsibility for regulation from Greyhound Racing NSW to Greyhound Racing Victoria.
The club says it has reached agreement with Victoria to bring greyhounds to the ACT, and for the state's racing body to administer and oversee Canberra racing.
It has also suggested constructing large-scale, centralised kennel, training and breeding facilities that would be subject to 24/7 video surveillance, giving the government confidence that animals are being treated properly, and that live baiting is not occurring.
After the meeting, a spokesman for Mr Gentleman said the government's position had not changed.
"Our position remains unchanged. However, we were glad to hear that the greyhound club will engage with the review process," he said.
The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club took a different message away from the meeting.
The club said they had been given assurances that a "ban" was not the government's formal policy.
"We were very pleased that [Mr Gentleman] said the ban was not the formal policy and that he would be waiting for the result of what happened in NSW, and respond to all the options that we presented in our document today," Mr Watt said.
He said it had been "very clear" that the government had moved away from the ban.
Asked about those comments, Mr Gentleman's office said:
"We are currently considering the Special Inquiry Report and the NSW program of reform alongside the review we will be undertaking into the Memorandum of Understanding with the ACT Racing Industry shortly."
"This work will guide a decision about the future of greyhound racing locally, noting that most participants actually reside in NSW."
