Listen Now: Morning News

Dog racing heads to the finish(ed) line

West Virginia’s greyhound racing industry may be on its last legs.

The state Senate will be taking up a bill by Senator Chris Walters (R-Putnam) to take away the subsidies that are distributed to greyhound breeders and race purses.

“Right now in the fiscal situation we’re in, that’s not a great appropriation of funds,” Walters told me on Talkline Thursday at the Capitol.  “It’s not some priority that we, as a Legislature, want to set.”

If approved by the Legislature, more than $15 million projected to go to greyhound racing next fiscal year would instead go into the General Fund.

That would be a devastating blow to the state’s two greyhound tracks, one in Cross Lanes and the other in Wheeling. They have been struggling for years with declining interest and wagering.

A report issued last year by Spectrum Gaming Group concluded that operating the two tracks “does not appear to be in the best interest of West Virginia taxpayers.” The report cited a drop in betting from $35 million in 2004 to just $16 million in 2013.  Spectrum also said some days as few as 50 people show up to watch and wager.

Additionally, Spectrum said, subsidies from other forms of gambling at the tracks account for 95 percent of the purses and account for about $5 million annually to a handful of breeders.

Last year, lawmakers talked about phasing out the subsidies, but took no action. This year Senator Walters just wants to cut the losses.  “Enough is enough,” Walters told me. “It’s time to go on ahead and cut the money and tell them they have four legs and they can stand on their own.”

It’s likely they cannot, and Walters knows that. The few remaining dog racing loyalists don’t have much political clout–the Cross Lanes track is in Walters own district!–and the Senator maintains the casino operators are on board with the subsidy cut.

The greyhound industry will argue that one of the reasons the state expanded gambling to include shot machines at the state’s four tracks over 20 years ago was to prop up dog and horse racing. They’re correct, but things have changed.

Dog racing has fallen out of favor–just six states have active tracks–but perhaps more importantly, the state needs the money.

 

 





More Hoppy's Commentary

Commentary
Manchin v. Blankenship? Possible, but not probable
March 19, 2024 - 12:55 am
Commentary
West Virginia and the Irish
March 18, 2024 - 12:43 am
Commentary
Coach Josh Eilert--A True Mountaineer
March 14, 2024 - 12:19 am
Commentary
No-show Jefferson County Commissioners face the consequences
March 13, 2024 - 12:31 am


Your Comments