It’s last call for greyhound racing in Florida. Last November, voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 13 to the state constitution, which will put an end to the controversial industry by 2021.
Under the provisions of the amendment, “All dog racing in connection with any wager for money or any other thing of value (will be) prohibited” when the measure takes effect.
Like horseracing, greyhound racing is widely viewed as a sport whose time has passed. State figures show that, between 1992 and 2007, revenues derived from dog races toppled from $1.5 billion to $200 million. Even so, the greyhounds continued to run because of a 1997 state law that required facilities that run poker rooms to also operate parimutuel betting.
In recent years, however, the industry has come under fire for supposed animal abuse. In 2017, state Senator Tom Lee proposed the amendment due to “growing recognition that many of these animals live in inhumane conditions, a reality that is out of line with the moral standard of Floridians.”
Lee said the Florida legislature fought to end greyhound racing “for over a decade … but special interests derailed the issue every year. Now is our opportunity to finally end the mistreatment of greyhounds, reduce the amount of gambling in our state and restore community values.”
Fighting Back
Those in the field hotly deny allegations of mistreatment. According to the Florida Greyhound Association (FGA), “all racing greyhounds in Florida are well-trained and well-treated. … Greyhound owners ensure that their greyhounds receive the best treatment. Everything from the size of the crate, the quantity and quality of food, veterinary care to the amount of walking, exercises and play time is closely monitored for optimum athletic performance.”
The FGA adds that the state routinely inspects greyhound kennels at all tracks, and declared that it and the National Greyhound Association have a “zero tolerance policy” for animal abuse.
According to the FGA website, Amendment 13 will eliminate 3,000 Florida jobs and require more than 8,000 greyhounds to be relocated.
In an interview with GGB News, FGA lobbyist Jack Cory said it’s “unrealistic” for the greyhound industry to expect the new law to be rolled back. Now, he said, the name of the game is compensation. A lawsuit against the state seeks $250 million in compensation for greyhound owners, trainers and farmers—roughly the equivalent of the $26 million per year the races generated over the last 10 years.
‘Campaign of Misinformation’
It’s about the best the industry can hope for, Cory said. “The loss of the industry is horrible for the animals and horrible for the people,” said Cory. “It was done by out-of-state animal rights who are spreading misleading information about the care and treatment of racing dogs and have no agenda other than to raise money.”
He pointed to Grey2K as the chief offender, along with the Humane Society of the United States and the SPCA.
“They take care of no greyhounds. The Humane Society and the SPCA are very similar—they do nothing for animals, they adopt no animals. All they are is political action committees.”
Asked how he responds to those who believe the dogs are mistreated, Cory shot back, “If you spent $3 million in New Jersey media saying Global Gaming Business is a horrible organization, you would probably convince a whole bunch of people. I personally volunteer three Saturdays a month at a mixed-breed pet adoption group. I wouldn’t be talking to you, I wouldn’t be representing this organization is the allegations were true.”
In fact, Cory described a sort of charmed life for the working dogs: 12 months running loose as littermates, then a good three-year to four-year career as track dogs until they are adopted to good homes. He said the dogs love to run.
“They’re athletes. They run one-quarter of a mile every three days, and the rest of the day they’re playing. They’re walked four to five times a day. Please come to Florida to see it for yourself. All this stuff about the dogs being in kennel 24 hours a day—it’s crazy.”
However, according to a 2018 report in the Washington Post, Florida records showed that 483 greyhounds had died on the track or in kennel properties since 2013, “with most deaths directly related to racing.
“Causes of death included broken necks, heart attacks or electrocution from the high-voltage lures that lead the dogs around the tracks,” the Post reported. “The industry also has been marred by doping allegations, although trainers typically have disputed such accusations.”
‘A Hail Mary’
Grey2K Executive Director Carey Theil told GGB he’s not losing any sleep over efforts to overturn 13. “It’s a long shot, a Hail Mary, a desperate attempt. I’m not a lawyer, but my personal belief is the lawsuit is has a one in 100 chance of success. But courts do strange things all the time.”
He said Grey2K has offered to help find homes for out-of-work racing dogs, but the industry has refused.
“We just want to adopt dogs, but the issue became politicized during the Amendment 13 campaign. All (greyhound adoption) groups that opposed racing were blacklisted, and no longer get dogs.” He added that Grey2K was instrumental in rehoming 500 greyhounds abandoned when the Macau Canidome racetrack closed in 2018. After languishing in kennels at the track for months, “all those dogs found loving homes,” said Theil—many in Italy, as well as other parts of Europe and the U.S.
Theil said he understands the distress of racetrack workers who will lose their jobs next year. “I have empathy for people in the industry. Many of them have done this their entire lives. Their parents and grandparents did it. Being a trainer an incredibly difficult job with long hours. The people in the industry are not only watching (their livelihood) go away, but they’re watching society call it cruel and inhumane.” He supports efforts to fund retraining for those workers, he said, and called it a “moral responsibility.”
“At the same time,” he added, “our economy should not be built on cruelty to dogs.
Race to the Finish
Grey2K’s next stop is West Virginia, where it will mount a similar campaign with the goal of ending all greyhound racing in the next five years.”
Theil recently told West Virginia’s MetroNews Talkline that a coalition will be formed to urge the legislature to support the elimination of greyhound racing currently at Mardi Gras Casino in Cross Lanes and Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling.
“This is our top focus,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of groups on the ground, local groups, on the left and on the right who are going to fight for this and support it.”
