In 2023, West Virginia will be the only state left with greyhound racing. Industry opponents say a new legislative makeup could end the sport here. Proponents say it’s stronger than ever.
In 2023, West Virginia will be the only state left with Greyhound racing. Industry opponents say a new legislative makeup could end the sport here. Proponents say it’s stronger than ever.
Grey2KUSA is a non-profit dedicated to ending Greyhound racing in the United States. Executive Director Carey Thiel said after Tuesday’s vote, West Virginia anti-Greyhound racing legislators now make up a majority, and will likely reintroduce a bill to eliminate the sport.
“I would say to lawmakers who are looking at this, we believe the votes are likely there in both chambers at this point,” Theil said.
Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, is a long-standing Greyhound racing supporter. He calls Theil’s group a “propaganda machine” and has doubts about any proposed Greyhound elimination bill.
“Nobody has an idea of what the appetite would be for such legislation,” Fluharty said. “People have seen beyond his lies and misinformation and realize that this industry is thriving. It produces thousands of jobs and millions in revenue.”
Theil said the facts are not on Fluharty’s side. He said dog racing profits are down and most realized revenues go to out-of-state internet gambling outfits.
“I think the legislature should ask itself, ‘do we really want to be the last state to allow an industry that is resulting in a large number of dogs being hurt?’” Theil said.
Fluharty argued that greyhound racing profits are better than ever for a sport that he said is both humane and beneficial.
“You’ve got to look at this industry and see how many dogs who retire from racing become adopted,” Fluharty said. “It’s better than your local shelters.”
West Virginia is bound by law to support the Greyhound racing operations at two casinos, Wheeling Island in Ohio County and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Kanawha County. Theil hopes to end an annual state subsidy of about $17 million that the Greyhound racing industry has received each year for many years.
Fluharty said the industry payments are not a subsidy. He explained that the funds come from other casino profits and are filtered by the state back to Greyhound breeders and racing operatives — with no taxpayer money involved.
The Delaware North corporation owns both West Virginia’s Greyhound tracks. Back in May, a spokesperson said patrons and profits continued on a five-year decline and the company would support legislation to run its casinos without greyhound racing.
Since 2007, West Virginia law has said state sanctioned casinos cannot operate without having horse or dog racing. A 2017 bill to eliminate the state’s role in greyhound racing was passed by the West Virginia Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Since 2007, West Virginia law has said state sanctioned casinos cannot operate without having horse or dog racing. A 2017 bill to eliminate the state’s role in greyhound racing was passed by the West Virginia Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Today, many legislators, like Del. Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, believes greyhound racing in West Virginia is on a quick path to extinction.
“The only thing that’s really keeping it going in the two tracks in West Virginia is the requirement that they have racing in order to have the casinos and the entertainment venues that they have,” Rohrbach said. “Given their druthers, I suspect that they would get rid of those.”
Randy Yohe
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
State law says West Virginia casinos cannot operate table games like roulette without horse or dog racing at the venue.
A company called Delaware North owns both Wheeling Island in Ohio County and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Kanawha County, the two West Virginia venues with greyhound racing. In a statement, spokesperson Glen White cited declining revenues and patrons, and he said the corporation favors decoupling state government and dog racing, including West Virginia.
“We would support it if legislation passed that would allow us to operate the casinos without operating racing,” White said.
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, has fought to retain greyhound racing. He said it’s a humane sport with economic benefits.
“The city of wheeling benefits directly from revenue generated here at the casino,” Weld said. “I represent the track, I represent the casino. I represent a lot of people who work at the track who work in the greyhound industry.”
Del. Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, said even though the Mardi Gras Casino is in her backyard, West Virginia, like the rest of the states, does not belong in the dog racing business.
“What upsets me is that the government continues to get in between a business and how it runs itself. I don’t like that,” Graves said. “I think the state should be willing to turn loose of that and let casinos and the people who go there decide what the fate of casinos is going to be.”
Delaware North said it makes very little profit on live greyhound racing.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Casino owners say the high cost of operation means very little profit for live greyhound racing.
In a statement, the corporation said, “Delaware North employs and pays about 70 employees who operate greyhound racing at the two casinos. Delaware North makes very little profit on live greyhound racing due to the high costs of its operation and limited wagering. With simulcasting, the company does make a moderate profit.”
The statewide greyhound racing and breeding industry, employing more than 1,500 people directly and indirectly, is sustained by state government intervention. A legally mandated greyhound development breeding fund pulls about $15 million a year from casino gaming profits to subsidize kennel and breeding operations.
Greyhound breeder Steve Sarras is president of the West Virginia Kennel Owners Association. He said if his dogs don’t win at the track, he doesn’t get paid, so the subsidy insures survival.
“Even though you had to feed the dogs, pay for your staff, pay for the heat, the electric, the veterinary care, all of that stuff, you just would not get any income,” Sarras said. “So the way it’s set up, there are built in safeguards to ensure that the dogs get the highest level of care.”
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Casino owners say the high cost of operation means very little profit for live greyhound racing.
The racing grandstands at Mardi Gras are nearly empty on a Wednesday evening with 30 bettors at most. Delaware North said in its statement that while losing money at the track, it does make a moderate profit from the international simulcasting of West Virginia races.
Weld said that’s where the money is.
“I think that the over the wire play is the larger part of that growth. It’s very significant growth,” he said.
Carey Theil is the Executive Director of Grey2KUSA, a national nonprofit greyhound protection organization. Theil said the corporate profit percentage from simulcasting is only 3 percent and greyhound breeders get nothing from simulcasting.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Most of the profits from simulcast greyhound racing go to out-of-state interests, according to greyhound protection organization GREY2KUSA.
“All of those revenues stay with out-of-state gambling companies,” Theil said. “Ironically, the state subsidy program for greyhound racing in the final death throes of the industry has really become a state subsidy program that benefits these out of state enter gambling companies.”
Rohrbach said if and when the state cuts ties with the sport, it needs to be sensitive to the dogs left behind – and the jobs lost.
“I also hope that we’ll just look at a fair mechanism to decouple,” Rohrbach said. “It would probably have a timeline and some phase out. And I believe that’s exactly what happened in the other states.”
In December, the West Memphis, Arkansas greyhound racing track, also owned by Delaware North, will be the last track in America to close, other than the two in West Virginia.
The corporation worked with Arkansas kennel owners for a three-year phaseout of racing after shutting down its Florida dog tracks.
“In recent years, racing ended at Delaware North’s Daytona Beach Racing & Card Club after Florida voters approved an amendment to prohibit racing at the 11 remaining greyhound racetracks across the state,” Delaware North said in a statement. In Arkansas, we worked with kennel owners at our Southland Casino Hotel for a three-year phaseout of racing that will be completed this December. Both Delaware North and the kennel association in Arkansas wanted certainty and clarity for the future by ending live racing via an orderly process and on our own terms.”
Many live patrons at Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras, like Joe Jackfert, see the writing on the wall. Jackfert has been playing the dogs in Wheeling since the 1970’s and said he hopes to keep playing in the future.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Some live racing patrons hope West Virginia keeps the only two greyhound racing tracks left in America, come 2023.
“If you look up greyhound in a dictionary, it says racing,” Jackfert said. That’s what these dogs are made for is racing. This is one of the finest attractions around. I can’t believe that we’re gonna be the only state to have the only two tracks left.”
Many state legislators in West Virginia believe another decoupling bill will be presented in the 2023 regular legislative session.
The state is now seeing an incredible influx of greyhounds. In the fourth and final part of our radio series, Chris Schulz goes inside the national greyhound adoption industry, with West Virginia at the epicenter of it all.
Opponents of dog racing accuse the industry of abusive treatment, but those working within don't see it that way.
Just off the first turn of the dog track at the Wheeling Island Casino stands a concrete-block building, the racetrack’s paddock. Inside, greyhounds are prepared for the day’s races.
Dogs are weighed, fitted with racing bibs and checked by the state veterinarian on-site. Before and after their race, the dogs are held in crates, one stacked on top of the other.
Long spans of crating is just one of many issues opponents of dog racing point to as abusive treatment.
Chris Schulz
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The holding crates inside the paddock at Wheeling Island Casino, where dogs are kept before and after races.
Carey Thiel is the president of Grey2KUSA, a non-profit dedicated to ending greyhound racing in the U.S. In the racing system, Thiel said, dogs are disposable.
“Just last year, 627 greyhound injuries were reported to the state racing commission in West Virginia, including 189 dogs that suffered broken bones and 10 dogs that died,” Thiel said.
In an industry that calls its dogs “athletes,” Thiel said the death rate is unacceptable.
“If 10 high school football athletes died in West Virginia last year, I think that would be the number one story being discussed in the state,” Thiel said.
Thiel has advocated for laws banning greyhound racing in states like Florida and Massachusetts. For him and similar-minded activists, there is no point in prolonging a doomed industry.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that greyhound racing is going to end in West Virginia, as it has ended elsewhere,” Thiel said. “I think the question is, how long is it going to take? How many millions in state funds are going to be wasted? And how many dogs are going to suffer in the meantime?”
Dr. Lori Bohenko, the state veterinarian at Wheeling Island, takes issue with that position.
“It’s my data,” Bohenko said. “I’ve been here 18, 19 years. And they just twist it to their benefit.”
Chris Schulz
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Dr. Lori Bohenko stands in her office at the Wheeling Island Casino racetrack. As the state veterinarian on-site, Dr. Bohenko is responsible for treating and reporting all dog injuries at the track.
In her role as the racetrack’s state veterinarian, Bohenko reports every injury.
“Whether it’s a toenail that was torn off or a broken leg,” Bohenko said. “Are there catastrophic things that happen? Absolutely. But they’re minimal. They’re not as frequent as they like to portray.”
Bohenko concedes that in the past, the racing industry did treat dogs as disposable, but insists that attitudes have changed. She points towards the Four Legs 4 Hounds program she founded with funds from greyhound breeders.
It sends dogs with broken legs to the veterinary hospital at Ohio State University in Columbus. In the past, these dogs would have been euthanized, but Bohenko estimates that since its creation, the Four Legs program has reduced the number of euthanized dogs by 80 or 90 percent.
“I would say there might be anywhere from three to six dogs a year that might be euthanized here,” Bohenko said. “I’m sure veterinary practices, small animal practices euthanize a lot more dogs than this racetrack does in a year.”
For people involved in and employed by the greyhound racing industry in West Virginia, accusations of cruelty are puzzling.
“For these dogs to have an opportunity to get on a racetrack and do what they instinctively do, I just think is a joy for them,” Bohenko said. “You see these dogs and they love going out and running. I think because it is a regulated sport, the surface is kept as safe as you can.”
Chris Schulz
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A view across the dog runs at the Sarras farm in Wellsburg shows some of the 75 dogs at the farm.
Steve Sarras is the president of the West Virginia Kennel Owners Association. He is a second generation greyhound breeder, and currently has about 75 dogs on his farm in Wellsburg, north of Wheeling.
“These dogs are brought up, they expect you to dote on them, they expect that love and affection,” Sarras said. “They come running up to you with their tails wagging. Which is, you know, if you stop and think if a dog was abused, they’re not going to do that, they’re going to cower away.”
When visitors first arrive on the Sarras property, they look down onto the dogs’ living quarters, some two dozen concrete block shelters attached to fenced-in runs. The blocks are spartan, but the runs are maintained and dogs can run whenever they like.
Chris Schulz
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Greyhound breeder Steve Sarras interacts with some of his dogs on his farm in Wellsburg.
Sarras says his dogs are well taken care of because otherwise, they don’t win races.
“You’re giving them the best food, the best vitamins, best vaccination protocols, the best worming protocols,” Sarras said. “In order for you to be competitive, and in order for you to win, and in order for you to get reimbursed, you have to do all of that stuff.”
Sarras believes that activists, while well-intentioned, are ultimately misinformed about what actually goes on at the track and on farms like his.
He encourages concerned citizens to go to a racetrack or a breeder’s farm, see things for themselves, and make up their own mind. Seeing the industry up close seems to have been enough for the state’s lawmakers.
Listen to West Virginia Morning on Tuesday next week for part three of “Greyhound Racing In W.Va. – Last Of A Dying Breed.” In our next story, statehouse reporter Randy Yohe explores the relationship between the legislature and the dog track.
Next year, West Virginia will have the last two greyhound racing tracks in the United States. The state government is bound by law to support the greyhound racing operations at two casinos – in Wheeling and Cross Lanes.
Next year, West Virginia will have the last two greyhound racing tracks in the United States. The state government is bound by law to support the greyhound racing operations at two casinos — in Wheeling and Cross Lanes.
In this four-part radio series, West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) goes inside West Virginia’s dog racing world and examines the economic, humane and legal elements that make this sport unique and controversial.
Part one takes us to the track, where wagering patrons and a staff of greyhound handlers keep the tote boards lit up and the dogs running.
The Country’s Last Two Dog Tracks
It’s 1:30 on a Wednesday afternoon at the Wheeling Island Casino and Track in Ohio County. Long-time greyhound racing fan Michael Palmer is one of about 50 patrons watching today’s races.
“We’re mostly retired,” Palmer said. “This is all we’ve got to do is come here and watch the races and make a little bit of money. Hopefully we win.”
Across the country, greyhound racing is on a rapid decline. By 2023, this track, along with one other in West Virginia, will be the last two remaining greyhound racing tracks in the nation.
Some want the sport to continue in West Virginia. But a future for greyhound racing in the state is not guaranteed. To understand why, you have to understand its relationship to casinos.
The Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Cross Lanes, Kanawha County hosts West Virginia’s other greyhound track. That’s where you’ll find Greg Conliffe betting on the dogs. He watches the races, not trackside, but on a big screen monitor near the slot machines and the cashier’s window.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Greg Conliffe is a greyhound betting regular at Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Cross Lanes.
“It’s just like an athlete,” Conliffe said. “You find out who the best athletes are out there and that’s the one that you stay with all the time.”
Some, like Mardi Gras racing bettors Matt and Judy Blowers, hope West Virginia becomes the focal point for greyhound enthusiasts around the country. Judy said it’s too bad that states like Florida, Iowa and Arkansas have lost out on the sport.
“I think it’s a shame because, especially since COVID, people need a way to relax and have fun,” Judy Blowers said. “My mortgage is already paid. I’m not here to pay my mortgage off. We needed a couple of days off just to relax.”
Down on the track, eight more dogs have come from the kennel and are heading to the starting block for the fifth of the day’s 15 races.
Dogs have raced at Mardi Gras since 1985. Wheeling Island transitioned from horse to greyhound racing in 1976. There’s a reason why the sport persists today. In 2007, state legislation established exclusive rights and requirements that all state casino table games and video lottery machines can only operate where there is also horse and dog racing.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
West Virginia casinos can’t have games like these without dog or horse racing on-site.
“Racing, either thoroughbred or greyhound, is integrally tied to their license to operate, and they have to continue live racing in order to keep the casinos going,” Del. Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, said.
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, supports the state’s greyhound industry. The owner of an adopted greyhound, he said it’s a humane sport that provides hundreds of jobs and makes the state a profit.
“Greyhound racing is a pretty lucrative financial benefit to the state,” Weld said. “And so that is important to me. Because if we’re going to have it, it has to be able to generate revenue, and we must have it for a reason.”
But not everyone is in favor of racing in West Virginia, including the owner of the state’s two tracks.
Delaware North owns and operates casinos around the country including both the Cross Lanes and Wheeling facilities.
In a statement, Delaware North spokesperson Glen White said greyhound racing is losing money and public interest. White said the industry is seeing, “fewer patrons, an older customer base and declining revenue overall.”
Over the past five years, he said the number of patrons at Wheeling Island has dropped by 60 percent, and by 40percent at Mardi Gras.
Delaware North supports the national trend to uncouple state government and greyhound racing. White said, “We would support it if West Virginia legislation passed that would allow us to operate the casinos without operating racing.”
But not everyone wants to see the uncoupling of racing and casinos.
Greyhound breeder Steve Sarras is president of the West Virginia Kennel Owners Association. Sarras said live dog racing fuels casino table games and video lottery activity. He said the state should double up when the two West Virginia tracks become America’s dog racing mecca.
“If we went as a group to the track, some people might say, ‘hey, I’m gonna play blackjack, I’m gonna go play poker. I’m gonna go play the dogs, I’m gonna go play horses,’” Sarras said. “So usually, when they race live, casino play goes up. And all of that stuff, it benefits the state, the state gets extra money. When Arkansas and Iowa close, it’s only gonna go up from there.”
Delaware North said its top priority in operating racing is doing so to the highest standards for the safety and well-being of the greyhounds.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
All greyhounds are weighed before every race.
Last year, West Virginia records for the two tracks showed more than 600 greyhounds were injured, nearly 200 suffered broken bones and ten dogs died.
Dr. Mark Webster, Mardi Gras track veterinarian since 2002, said challenges in pandemic staffing contributed to the medical problems.
“They had to streamline all the employees and everything just to make things go,” Webster said. “We weren’t able to retain some of the more experienced people that can solve some of these problems.”
Webster also said these greyhounds are athletes, born and bred to run.
Listen to West Virginia Morning for part two of “Greyhound Racing In W.Va. – Last Of A Dying Breed.” In our next story, Morgantown reporter Chris Schulz will talk with greyhound breeders, greyhound protection activists, lawmakers and dog track staff.
Most recently, the state chopped racing subsidies for the current budget year by 10 percent.
Mardi Gras racetrack in Charleston showed purses for greyhound racing dropped from $98,000 for the first week of Sept. 2010 to $61,700 this year. The weekly share going to greyhound owners dropped from $34,700 in 2010 to $18,200 this year.
West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association President Sam Burdette said three of 17 kennels at Mardi Gras made enough to cover expenses last week.
Thoroughbred breeders expressed similar financial concerns.
