Greyhound Racing - A Sure Death To The Dogs.

Racing Industry Status:

September 2007: There are currently 35 dog tracks conducting live racing in 13 states; 8 tracks operate seasonally, 27 year-round.

Racing States and the number of racetracks in each are: Alabama (3), Arizona (2), Arkansas (1), Colorado (1), Florida (13), Iowa (2), Kansas (1), Massachusetts (2), New Hampshire (3), Rhode Island (1), Texas (3), West Virginia (2) and Wisconsin (1). The Wichita, Kansas track is scheduled to close October 6, 2007.

Eight states have banned live and/or simulcast dog racing since 1993. The states and the date the laws were enacted are: Maine 1993, Virginia 1995, Vermont 1995, Idaho 1996, Washington 1996, Nevada 1997, North Carolina 1998, and Pennsylvania 2004.

Dramatic declines in attendance and wagering handles have forced 27 tracks to cease live racing since 1991. Eight of the 27 no longer exist; ten remain open for simulcasting. The nine remaining racetracks are either up for sale, in varying states of disrepair, or awaiting state approval of “enhanced gambling options.”

Legislation passed since the 1990s allowed six greyhound tracks in four states to operate video lottery terminals (electronic slot machines) or coin-drop slot machines. Wagering handles on live greyhound racing at those tracks — Mardi Gras Greyhound Track [Florida]; Bluffs Run and Dubuque [Iowa]; Lincoln Park [Rhode Island]; Tri-State and Wheeling [West Virginia]; and Southland Park [Arkansas] — continue to plummet. However, because these tracks are licensed as pari-mutual racing venues they are bound by statute to continue offering live racing. As a result, thousands of greyhounds are being bred to supply these tracks with a live “product” that is of little interest to the wagering public.

Recent changes in state racing statutes are expected to hasten the demise of live greyhound racing in Florida. Melbourne Greyhound Park ceased live racing on July 1, the same day legislation allowing racetrack card rooms to operate without live racing went into effect. Tampa Greyhound Park suspended live racing five weeks later. Wagering on live greyhound racing has declined dramatically in recent years, while card room revenues have exploded.

A comparison of the published numbers against the combined number of greyhounds estimated to be racing: 28,000; alive on breeding and training farms: 28,000; and greyhounds that have been adopted: 179,000, indicates that more than 600,000 greyhounds have died in the 21-year period from 1986-2006. Recent Statistics: In 200 24,567 greyhounds were born. Of those, 22,951 entered the racing system. Approximately 14,800 graded-off grey-hounds were rescued and adopted. An estimated 8,567 greyhounds were killed. This number includes 1,616 farm culls and 6,951 “retirees” who were not rescued.

source: Greyhound Network News and the Greyhound Protection League