The West Virginia legislature is considering two measures that could seriously impact the state’s greyhound racing industry—especially Wheeling Island Casino and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Charleston– while helping to plug the budget gap.
House Bill 4625, which passed the House in a 61-36 vote, would remove up to $17 million in annual subsidies to breeders. It still would require racetracks to continue to provide dog racing in order to keep offering video lottery games and table games.
Senate Bill 641, also called the decoupling bill, passed the Senate in a 29-5 vote. It also would take money from breeders but offer racetracks the option to continue dog racing or not, and continue to offer gambling either way.
Out of West Virginia’s four dog racetracks, only two actually offer racing–Mardi Gras Casino and Resort near Charleston and Wheeling Island Casino. Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie said, “In a perfect world, neither bill would move forward.” He’s worried Wheeling Island will shut down if it’s forced to continue to offer racing, as required by the House bill. Without the subsidies, he said, breeders will lose money and dog racing will become a financial drain on the racetrack. McKenzie said he favors the Senate version which states funding will be removed but the tracks can stop offering racing due to the losses. He added if Wheeling Casino does stop running dog races, the city would lose vital revenue used to fund police and fire pensions.
