By Danielle Ring
Each May, for more than 70 years now, Multnomah Greyhound Park has opened its doors for greyhound racing, but this spring, the track will resemble a ghost town. The thundering sound of hundreds of pounds of muscle in pursuit of a lure will be only a memory. Perhaps the track itself will be only a memory.
Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of numerous horse tracks across the country, decided in December not to renew its lease at Multnomah, located outside Portland. A five-year contract prevents any other group from racing dogs at the facility. And because Multnomah was the only live racing track in Oregon (both California and Washington have banned greyhound racing), animal advocates are cheering. Greyhound racing appears to have rounded the final bend on the West Coast.
Magna, of course, did not decide to cease operations at Multnomah because the company had a sudden flash of compassion for its canine charges. Magna closed its sole greyhound operation because people prefer to gamble on slot machines, video lottery terminals, and in casinos.
"The good news here is that in spite of why Magna chose to shut down Multnomah, dozens of dogs were saved from a miserable existence," says Kelly Connolly, issues specialist for companion animals at The HSUS. "This is an important victory in the national battle to end greyhound racing, and continues a trend in America. With the closing of Multnomah Greyhound Park, we hope the parimutuel racing industry will realize that greyhound racing is not the public's preferred method of entertainment. If we look at it in terms the industry will understand, greyhound racing is actually costing them millions of dollars in lost business."
A Natural Death for Greyhound Racing?
As animal advocates have frequently noted, greyhound racing is on a downward economic spiral. GREY2K USA, a group seeking to end dog racing, reports on its web site that "The U.S. dog racing industry now holds less than a 1% share of the $54.3 billion U.S. gambling market, according to figures in International Gaming and Wagering Business." What's more, in the past 14 years, more than 18 tracks have closed or ended live dog racing as a result of economic decline, according to the Greyhound Protection League.
This is welcome news as the racing industry breeds approximately 34,000 greyhounds each year, only half of whom are adopted by the public. The other half are either retained for breeding, killed, or simply disappear from the records.
But despite the decline in attendance and smaller purses, 45 greyhound tracks still operate in the United States, 15 in Florida alone. The racing industry—which lobbies for government subsidies and tax cuts—has proven adept at throwing cash at its economic problems. For example, in Florida in November, racing advocates poured a reported $15 million into a successful campaign to allow slot machines at pari-mutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward counties if voters in those areas pass a referendum.
Greyhounds Still a Long Way from Home
Because Oregon does not allow healthy, adoptable greyhounds to be euthanized, those canines deemed not fast enough to race were transferred to Multnomah's adoption kennel. When Magna announced its decision to stop operations at the track, some 50 dogs still awaited homes at the kennel. Magna has publicly pledged to keep the kennel open for as long as it takes local adoption groups to find homes for the remaining dogs.
While this situation does not concern Carey Theil, president of GREY2K USA, another one does. "Breeding farms currently have 300-500 greyhounds originally bound for Multnomah. It is unclear what will become of these dogs. Because the dogs are considered private property, there is no way for us to know whether there is a problem or whether we should intervene," says Theil.
No one can say whether Multnomah's closing will negatively affect greyhound breeding over the long term. Breeding farms typically sent some greyhounds to Multnomah, but many dogs went to tracks in other states such as Texas and Florida.
The Oregon Greyhound Association is clearly one group not happy about Multnomah's demise. The association describes itself as a "not-for-profit integrated system of kennel owners, trainers, helpers, and greyhound owners. Our mission is to provide our greyhounds with good care and loving homes from birth through old age." Which sounds great, except that association president Dick Gage has threatened to sue Magna over its decision to abandon dog racing at Multnomah.
Gage's group represents many people who have made profits from greyhound racing and who would like to see it continue. Gage has apparently hatched a plan to keep association members happy: to expand another nearby racetrack which is currently not regulation size. Theil believes Gage's plan is unrealistic, but adds, "It would be an absolute disaster if the association succeeded in opening a low-grade track. When there is little to no money, conditions for the dogs are horrible."
The Oregon legislature may render Gage's plan moot. Animal advocates expect the current session to favorably consider proposed legislation to ban racing in the state (34 states have already banned greyhound racing).
Theil hopes that tracks elsewhere will follow Multnomah's lead. He believes that the closing is "testament to the hard work that the Humane Society of the United States, Oregon Defenders of Greyhounds, GREY2K USA and other groups have done so far."
Danielle Ring is a freelance writer based in the Washington D.C. area.
