In West Virginia, Senate Bill 285, which would eliminate the state’s Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, recently was laid over on its second reading and will be picked up again on February 25. Currently greyhound racing takes place at Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Kanawha County and Wheeling Island in Ohio County.
State Senator Rollan Roberts said he supports the bill, sponsored by Senate President Mitch Carmichael. “I would support the elimination of the taxpayer funded greyhound racing. Fundamentally, I’m against gambling anyhow. The state should not be giving them and supporting them and propping them up if that is an industry that is dying anyhow. That $17.4 million could be used a whole lot of other places,” Roberts said. Under the bill, that money would be transferred to the state Excess Lottery Revenue Fund.
Opposing the measure is state Senator Bill Ihlenfeld, who said, “The lobbyists who have pushed to kill this industry have done a good job of spreading misinformation. I’m totally against it. It would be devastating to the city of Wheeling and to Ohio County. It would also be harmful to Kanawha County, where there’s also a track. Live betting is down, but the overall handle is up. More people are betting on dog races via simulcast than ever before,” Ihlenfeld said.
West Virginia Kennel Owners Association. President Steve Sarras also opposes the measure. “The bill is very detrimental. It’s crippling. It disenfranchises voters who voted in counties to allow these casinos to come into the state of West Virginia,” he said.
The greyhound racing industry supports an estimated 1,700 jobs in West Virginia.
