Greyhound Racing
Greyhound Racing
Jacque Lynn Schultz, ASPCA Director, Special Projects
ASPCA Animal Watch, Winter 1996
Running on Empty
Is greyhound racing on its last legs?
What could Harlingen, TX; Frontenac, KS; Wisconsin Dells, WI; Coeur d’Alene, ID; Eutaw, AL, and Juarez, Mexico, possibly have in common? All are home to greyhound tracks that have closed permanently in the last two years. And the future doesn’t look bright for the tracks in Woodlands, KS, or Bridgeport, CT, both of which are currently operating under chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Approximately a half dozen more tracks will finish in the red this year.
Nor do non-racing states welcome the industry with open arms. Last March 18, Governor Phil Batt signed legislation banning greyhound racing in Idaho. The law also bans the training of dogs for racing and, as of July 1, 1999, it will be illegal to simulcast races altogether. Racing was outlawed in Washington as of March 29, as it already had been in Maine, Vermont and Virginia. The ASPCA currently is supporting similar legislation in New York; bills are pending in Michigan and Massachusetts as well. Is this the beginning of the end for the greyhound racing industry or merely a downsizing?
The impetus for the falling interest in racing appears to be twofold: ever-expanding gaming options and the public's awareness of animal welfare issues due to increased media attention. It wasn’t all that long ago when the only legal places to gamble were Las Vegas, Atlantic City and local dog and horse tracks. Today, however, gamblers have a growing number of options, including casinos, riverboat gambling and lotteries.
With increased competition for the consumer dollar, the racing industry finds itself in the awkward position of climbing into bed with the very industries that threaten its livelihood. As Roy Berger, executive vice president of Wichita, KS, and Dairyland, WI, Greyhound Parks, was quoted in the industry publication, Greyhound Review, March 1996, “Greyhound racing in Wisconsin and nationwide is dogging it and the only thing that can save the industry is a marriage to slot machines or casino games.” Couple that with increased media attention — most often negative — and the falling attendance makes sense.
Still, in a media age where only the most gory or “warm and fuzzy” stories are covered, the tremendous strides taken by people within the industry and those in the greyhound adoption movement go largely uncovered. In 1990, 3,500 retired greyhounds found homes; by 1995, the annual number had skyrocketed to 16,000 racers adopted through the efforts of 200 rescue groups. These dogs were bathed, vetted, neutered and placed in carefully screened homes. Only a shortage of funds, volunteers or responsible adopters will prevent the numbers from continuing to rise.
In the last four years, breedings and litter registrations have fallen 29 percent. Last year, 12,000 greyhounds were euthanized, 20 percent less than the year before. While this number is still too high, few animal control agencies could point to such success in as short a period of time.
Indeed, significant change is coming from within the industry. Track operators are increasing their support of local or on-track adoption groups, by sponsoring fundraisers and rescue dog parades. Many offer financial support to transport retired dogs to non-racing-state adoption groups at season’s end. The owners of racing dogs are also contributing to move the animals into adoptions — for now on a volunteer basis, probably as part of a dowry system in the near future.
Will the industry be extinct by the year 2000, as is the goal of Campaign 2000, an effort launched by Susan Netboy and the Greyhound Protection League? Or will it be downsized to include numerous simulcast betting parlors and a small number of financially secure tracks offering live racing?
The author is Director of ASPCA Companion Animal Services and administrator of the Greyhound Adoption Fund.
© 1996 ASPCA
Animal Watch - Winter 1996
Courtesy of
ASPCA
424 East 92nd St.
New York, NY 10128-6804
(212) 876-7700
www.aspca.org
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