Greyhounds run final races in Massachusetts, as ban on dog racing nears

[DainBramaged]

Mike Sergio and his buddies, Bob Foley and Jimmy Gorham, have been going to the greyhound race track here for decades. Now retired, they come a couple of times a week, and not just to gamble.

"It's kind of a social thing with us," Sergio says. "We shoot the breeze, we throw money in and bet, we eat, then we divide up whatever money is left."

"When we have money left to divide up," Foley interjects with a laugh.

"It's entertainment," he adds, his voice trailing off slightly.

Greyhound racing has been a form of entertainment in Massachusetts for 75 years, but not for much longer. The last card at Raynham Park is expected to be Dec. 26, and the state's other dog track, Wonderland in Revere, stopped racing earlier in the fall.

It may, in fact, be the last time greyhounds run anywhere in New England.

Activists who alleged mistreatment of dogs led an effort that resulted in Massachusetts voters banning dog racing on Jan. 1, 2010. Vermont and Maine have also outlawed racing. Twin River, Rhode Island's only dog track, is seeking to end racing as part of bankruptcy reorganization. New Hampshire's two tracks ended live racing earlier this year for financial reasons and Connecticut's last greyhound track closed in 2006.

Nationally, a total of seven tracks dropped racing in 2009 and only 23 continue to run nationwide.

http://www.newser.com/article/d9cj5vko0/end-of-an-era-greyhounds-run-final-races-in-massachusetts-as-ban-on-dog-racing-nears.html

[saltpoint]

1. Ain't never been to a dog track.

Ain't ever gonna neither.

I like greyhounds.

"...and she had the step of a queen!"

[saltpoint]

10. to add:

"...and she had the walk of a queen!"*

---

* Patrick: "Will Delia remembner, do you think, to bring the greyhound pup she promised me when she would be coming to the house?
Michael: "She will surely."

--CATHLEEN NI HOULIHAN, William Butler Yeats

[elleng]

2. 'Retired' greyhounds need homes.

Keep an eye out, folks.

[Greyhound]

9. Thank you. These are great, gentle, lazy dogs that are already well trained

and just want a biscuit and a couch to hold down.

Anybody that has any questions about them, I'm happy to tell you the whole story.

[Greyhound]

3. I'm always torn on this issue.

I've no interest in dog racing but love the breed and without the racing the breed will be ruined or lost all together. The AKC has already begun their process of destroying the breed and they will most likely end up with a grocery list of congenital defects in a few generations.

Phoenix Greyhound Park runs it's last races New Year's Eve.

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/">Make a fast friend, adopt a Greyhound

[pipoman]

6. Yep

the AKC has so bastardized, so many breeds that they should be shut down for animal cruelty, IMHO.

[Greyhound]

7. 101%

:thumbsup:

[rwheeler31]

4. I am glad this is not state sanctioned, it will go on underground ,

for a few years then it is done.

[pipoman]

5. Dogs are less predictable than horses

I seldom bet the dogs because of this...seen too many dogs who should win get distracted. I still only bet races for entertainment as with all gambling, it's fun every now and again. As for the cruelty..maybe, maybe not the dogs do love to run.

[Greyhound]

8. There are horrible examples of cruelty, but it's not the tracks, it's some of the kennel owners.

And there are a lot of good one's as well.

There are several alternatives to shutting down the tracks from the animal welfare perspective, but as always, it is the money that screws it up.

The races themselves are the best 30 seconds in a Greyhounds life for they do love nothing better than to run.

[Quantess]

13. Oh, I bet the dogs love the races themselves.

But the professional race dogs aren't known to have loving or loyal owners. They don't often get to retire in style, either, unless someone adopts them.

[pipoman]

14. This is true of most working dogs

breeders/trainers often euthanize worn out and other dogs which aren't what they are breeding/training for...not saying it's good or right, just reality

[OnyxCollie]

11. My friends adopted two former racing greyhounds.

Coach and Prada are wonderfully well-behaved dogs.

[saltpoint]

12. Recommended.

[Raine]

15. Good! nt

:thumbsup:

[comtec]

16. My dog is half Golgo (greyhound breed)

and he's the sweetest thing.
He's also the fastest dog in the field LOL

Literally the only thing faster then he is, is a pure blood golgo/greyhound.

Sadly his tail is rather short, as his first owners (spanish gypsies) hacked off part of his tail.

Took me over a year to get him to relax about having his tail touched (it was quite healed by the time got him at 6 months old)

if I continue it'll only degenerate into a anti-spanish rant about how they mistreat their animals.

so I'll stop.

[KharmaTrain]

17. Other Tracks Have Closed Too

There was on in Wisconsin that had been operating for about 25 years that closed recently. Part of the reason was blamed on the economy...people supposedly not going out to the track. They also blamed the horse racing industry and government for allowing OTB for horses and not dogs. But I suspect there was more to it. For years the track had been exposed for their cruelty to their dogs and methinks the years of bad PR along with the novelty wearing off was just as much a factor.

[Greyhound]

18. Daylight kick. n/t

[saltpoint]

19. Kick.

I still like greyhounds.