Live greyhound racing will end at Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis, Arkansas by the end of 2022, said officials at Delaware North, owners of the track—the only one in the state. The Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association agreed to end the operations and the Arkansas Racing Commission approved a petition claiming the venue is not required to offer live racing to keep its casino license, approved by voters in a constitutional amendment last November.
Southland President David Wolf said the phase-out of greyhound racing will begin next year. He said it will take three years to end racing operations and find homes for the approximately 1,200 greyhounds that race at Southland.
Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association President Robert Thorne stated, “We want to avoid a disruptive and abrupt end to live racing to the benefit of all parties, including everyone who has a job at stake.”
Currently Southland offers 6,656 races; that will decrease to 4,992 in 2020, 3,994 in 2021 and to 2,662 in 2022. Wolf acknowledged greyhound racing “has seen a marked and steady decline” in the United States. Carey Theil, executive director of the anti-greyhound racing organization GREY2K USA, said at its peak, greyhound racing generated $3.5 billion in revenue at more than 70 tracks in 19 states. He said competition from other forms of gambling and an increased awareness of the dogs’ injuries and deaths resulted in several states reconsidering the sport.
Theil stated the end of racing at Southland “is a victory for everyone who cares about dogs. It’s now clear that greyhound racing will end completely in the United States.” GREY2K USA said 1,361 greyhound injuries have been reported at Southland in the last decade, according to Arkansas Racing Commission figures.
Southland opened in 1956. In its heyday from 1960 to 1980, officials said 20,000 people could be in attendance on a typical Saturday night. Betting revenue fell from $20.3 million in 2010 to $16.4 million in 2018, reflecting the national decline.
Delaware North recently invested $250 million in Southland after voters passed the amendment allowing live casino games and sports betting without the greyhound racing requirement. The expansion did not include upgrades to the track’s greyhound operations.
Theil stated, “In dog racing in Massachusetts, we included a 14-month phase-out. The Florida constitutional amendment included a 26-month phase-out. The Arkansas deal includes a 36-month phase out.” That leaves five U.S. greyhound racetracks nationwide, including two in West Virginia—GREY2K’s next effort.
During a recent radio show, Theil announced a coalition will be formed to get legislation passed to end greyhound racing currently offered at Mardi Gras Casino in Cross Lanes and Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling. “This is our top focus. 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,” he said.
West Virginia’s greyhound racing industry receives by $15 million in annual supplements from other forms of gambling. “Do you want $15 million a year to go to subsidize an industry that is not economically viable, that’s causing a greyhound to die every 10 days on a West Virginia racetrack? Or do want $15 million to repair roads?” Thiel asked.
He added although Governor Jim Justice vetoed a bill in April 2017 that would have removed the state’s role in greyhound racing, Theil believes Justice now would support ending it. “I think we’re going to have the votes in the Senate. I think we’re going to have the votes in the House. I think we can get the governor,” he said.
Votes in the Senate are a real possibility. Recently state Senate President Mitch Carmichael said, “This is an industry that has come and gone. It makes no sense for the taxpayers of this state to subsidize what amounts to, in my view, an inhumane activity.”
However, the House may be more difficult to convince. State Rep. Shawn Fluharty noted a West Virginia University study “provides an analysis on the economic impact of both greyhound and thoroughbred racing. You basically accuse me of making up numbers. So maybe grab a coffee, sit down, and actually read the report which states the greyhound industry is responsible for 1,700 jobs statewide, 1,100 of which are in Ohio County.”
Fluharty added, “If you’re going to ‘report’ on these industries at least get beyond the talking points of lobbyists and use actual facts so we all don’t have to scream ‘fake news’ at you.”
