Is Greyhound Racing Doomed in Florida?
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| C. Stiles |
In the past two weeks, two greyhound racing tracks have announced that they are either ending live racing or shutting down completely: one in Arizona and one in Texas. Both tracks had been in operation for more than 50 years.
With every track closing, opponents of racing look again to Florida, the heart of that industry in this country. And in Florida, groups like Grey2KUSA want
racing ended completely.
"As tracks fold one by one across the United States, it becomes less and less clear why the state of Florida continues to suffer the cruelty of dog racing," Grey2K's president, Christine Dorchak, told me. "Of the 24 remaining dog tracks nationwide, 13 are hosted by the state of Florida."
They argue that while society's profit from the industry continues to plummet, the number of races has gone up, losing even more money.
"Twenty years ago, 17 tracks produced nearly 100 million dollars in tax revenue," Dorchak says. "Since then, there has been a 93 percent decrease in tax revenue but a simultaneous 16 percent increase in live racing."
Since 2004, 19 tracks across the country have ended live racing.
"The question is, when will reason and good public policy prevail in the Sunshine State?"
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