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Winconsin State Journal Online (4/5/2000): State and federal authorities are investigating allegations that instead of enjoying retirement in families' homes, some Wisconsin racing greyhounds illegally were diverted to research facilities.
Acting on a tip, the state Division of Gaming late last week began investigating Daniel Shonka, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa resident who operates a greyhound-adoption service and also holds a U.S. Department of Agriculture license to sell animals to research facilities.
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April 1, 2000 - On March 2, 2000, the Greyhound Protection League (GPL) filed a request with the State of Florida's Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering for a formal investigation into the injury and subsequent death of a racing greyhound during the Naples-Ft. Myers Greyhound Track's evening performance on February 23, 2000.
According to initial reports received by the GPL, during the last race of the evening program on February 23, dog number 2 (Tune Me In) was "bumped" by at least one other dog early in the race. This reportedly caused her to become disoriented and for her to become engaged with the pole that supports the mechanical lure chased by the dogs. The pole somehow sliced her shoulder blades and caused her to be thrown into the rail. The dog was obviously in severe pain and distress, as evidenced by her screams and cries, which according to witnesses went on for some time before any assistance from track personnel was offered to her.
Several track patrons reported the incident to WINK-TV News, the local CBS affiliate station. A reporter for WINK-TV investigated the incident, speaking to both eyewitnesses and track officials about what happened. The station's news report about the incident aired on Friday, February 25, 2000.
Sources informed the GPL that Tune Me In had basically bled to death by the time euthanasia was performed. It was also reported to the GPL that track officials attributed the delay in ending the dog's suffering to their fears for the safety of the remaining dogs and to their efforts to obtain authorization from the dog's owner to euthanize the severely injured greyhound.
On March 17, 2000, the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering released the findings of its investigation into the matter and held that there appeared to be no violation of Florida Statute or Pari-Mutuel Wagering Rules. According to the report, the only persons interviewed by the Division investigator included the track veterinarian, the dog's trainer, the track's executive manager, the racing secretary, and the lure operator - all dog track personnel.
On March 20, 2000, the GPL responded with a letter to the Division's director, Dr. Paul F. Kirsch, raising questions about a number of apparent omissions in the Division's investigation, including the failure to interview any of the track patrons who were eyewitnesses to the accident; the apparent failure to review the videotape of the actual race; the omission of any mention of a failure to perform a postmortem examination on the dog; and the apparent lack of any review of the track's specific policies and procedures regarding racing accidents.
The GPL also requested copies of all public records related to the death of Tune Me In, including a copy of the videotape of the race. A response to that request is pending as of this writing.
Naples Daily
News
Ft. Myers News-Press
May 14, 1999 - Bridgeport, CT- Greyhound advocates, animal welfare organization representatives, pet owners and concerned tristate area residents are gathering in front of the Shoreline Star Greyhound Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut this Saturday, May 15, 1999 from 11:30am to 2:30 pm to convey their outrage over the recent re-opening of the facility in light of the illnesses affecting racing greyhounds across the nation.
Explains GPL Connecticut spokesperson Melani Nardone, "More than 13 greyhounds have died so far at a track in New Hampshire of a devastating illness being referred to Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STTS), and greyhounds across the country in Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Texas, New York and Wisconsin have been reported to have be affected and/or died." The disease progresses rapidly as the dogs weaken, develop a high fever and then hemorrhage, with few recovering unless it is diagnosed and treated in the early stages. Nardone notes that quarantines throughout New England meant to quell state inquiries and reassure the public have not been shown to be very effective in preventing the spread of a recent epidemic of Kennel Cough and STTS, as evidenced by the cases of illness being reported across the country in spite of track self-imposed quarantines. Racing greyhounds travel interstate frequently and co-mingle at the track facilities and the farms making it nearly impossible to prevent illness from spreading to previously unaffected dogs. Though Kennel Cough alone is not lethal, states Nardone, it contributes to the myriad of health related insults these dogs must bear. "There are some dogs being raced every day in spite of their illnesses, which is incredibly inhumane. The public should be aware that these illnesses merely compound the suffering for these gentle dogs."
April 22, 1999 - Jackson, Mississippi. In Defense of Animals (IDA) and the National Greyhound Adoption Network (NGAN), sister organization of the Greyhound Protection League, regained legal footing in their quest to free 12 greyhounds used in hip replacement studies from Mississippi State University's School of Veterinary Medicine (MSU).
In a landmark decision, the Mississippi State Supreme Court and Court Of Appeals overturned a 1997 ruling in Oktibbeha County Chancery Court by Judge Robert Lancaster which exempted MSU from litigation under the state's sovereign immunity statute. The Supreme Court reinstated litigation by IDA and NGAN seeking custody of greyhounds MSU acquired from trainers at Greenetrack, a greyhound track in Eutaw, Alabama.
IDA and NGAN contended that the dogs were donated to MSU for medical research without the knowledge or consent of their legal registered owners. IDA and NGAN had obtained notarized affidavits from the registered owners, giving IDA/NGAN representative Doll Stanley-Branscum guardianship of the dogs. A complaint was filed in the Oktibbeha County Chancery Court seeking a temporary restraining order and a judgement for the possession of the greyhounds. Judge Lancaster denied the request and dismissed the case June 9, 1997.
The case was appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court Of Appeals which ruled that the lower court's dismissal of the case, based soley on sovereign immunity, was erroneous. "The judgement by the lower court erroneously extended the doctrine of sovereign immunity beyond its intended scope and restricted the rights of citizens to challenge allegedly improper acts of the state. For these reasons we reverse the Chancellor's order of dismissal and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."
Most of the greyhounds acquired by MSU were used in a terminal hip replacement study; one healthy hip was removed from the dogs and replaced with an experimental synthetic material. The research was funded by Howmedica, a division of the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.
For decades the lives of thousands of unwanted racing greyhounds have ended in research facilities, many having been donated without the legal owner's knowledge. Advocates expressed hope that this Supreme Court ruling will send a loud and clear message to research facilities across the country.
"[My] department monitors the financial aspects of greyhound racing, but the welfare of the animals is the responsibility of the owners and trainers…"
Doug Philips, Spokesperson Florida Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees Parimutuel wagering in Florida
Florida media sources report that six racing greyhounds at the Derby Lane track in St. Petersburg, Florida and two from the Daytona Kennel Club have died from an acute flu-like illness that caused high fever, bloody stools, hemorrhaging and rapid death. A necropsy performed on one of the dead greyhounds from Derby Lane by veterinarians at the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine cited the cause of death as "pneumonia caused by a viral infection, which precipitated an anti-coagulation problem." Necropsy results from the greyhounds which recently died at the Daytona track are pending.
Although it was initially speculated that an epidemic of kennel cough affecting dogs at tracks in several states including most tracks in Florida, might have been the cause of the deaths at Derby Lane, animal health care professionals soon dismissed that diagnosis based upon the difference and severity of the symptoms the dogs manifested before their deaths. Racing was suspended temporarily at several Florida tracks because of the numbers of ill dogs that had been scratched from racing. In spite of widespread illness, industry members and parimutuel spokespeople cited they felt "the worst was over" and that there "was nothing to panic about."
According to an update from the Florida Division of Parimutuel Wagering and various media reports, the following tracks have reported incidence of illness:
| Track | General Status | Quarantine |
|---|---|---|
| Naples/Ft. Myers (FL) | Reporting an average of 23 scratches per performance due as of 1/25/99 and fourteen more scratches on 1/27/99 due to kennel cough. Hundreds of dogs reported sick with kennel cough. Twelve dogs ill and three dogs destroyed due to "Alabama Rot," an unrelated condition caused by E. Coli toxicity in 4-D meat. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Daytona Beach Kennel Club (FL) | Two greyhounds dead from an another unknown illness on 1/26/99. Sixteen scratches on Friday evening 1/23/99 due to kennel cough. General Manager reportedly will cancel all performances from 1/24-1/28/99 so that the dogs may receive tetracycline. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Palm Beach Kennel Club (FL) | Eighteen scratches over the weekend of 1/23/99 and thirteen scratches on 1/25/99. Have canceled all future performances until further notice. | Self- imposed quarantine. |
| Pensacola Kennel Club (FL) | One kennel has reported kennel cough and is allegedly being kept isolated from the others. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club (FL) | Reporting an increased number of kennels experiencing kennel cough. Saturday 1/23/99 there was an average of eight scratches over two performances. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Sarasota Kennel Club (FL) | Mild kennel cough. Resumed racing on 1/21/99. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Melbourne (FL) | Forty greyhounds with mild kennel cough reported. Sixteen scratches on 1/20/99, thirteen on 1/21/99 and twelve on 1/27/99. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Derby Lane (St. Pete Kennel Club) (FL) | Six greyhounds die from a "mystery illness" in early January. Live racing was suspended, but has resumed. Derby Lane reports losses of over $400,000 due to its self imposed quarantine. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Washington County Kennel Club (Ebro) (FL) | As of 1/28/99, reporting kennel cough in three kennels. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Birmingham Race Course (Alabama) | Reported several hundred dogs with kennel cough. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Mobile (Alabama) | Reported several hundred dogs affected with kennel cough. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Witchita (KS) | Reported some dogs affected with kennel cough. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
| Woodlands (KS) | Reported some dogs affected with kennel cough. | Self-imposed quarantine. |
Upon hearing the news of illness in Derby Lane, tracks in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin and West Virginia, declared "self-imposed" quarantines and would not allow dogs to come in nor leave their facilities. Not all tracks in each state however, quarantined themselves. A day after the quarantine at Naples- Ft. Myers, 60 dogs were taken to the Pensacola track, another track with a self-imposed quarantine, but were allegedly "kept away from the other dogs."
According to Doug Philips, a spokesperson for the Florida Business and Professional Regulation which oversees parimutuel wagering in Florida, "tracks do not need to let the agency know when a dog dies, like with the deaths from Alabama Rot in the Bonita Springs' dogs." Philips told a reporter for the Bonita-Lee News that deaths from Alabama Rot periodically occur at state tracks.
Greyhound Protection League (GPL) cites the fact that that no state pari- mutuel regulatory agencies or dog racing industry officials have come forward to demand a mandatory quarantine as evidence that economics once again determine just how expendable racing greyhounds are. GPL has called for a mandatory quarantine of all greyhound tracks nationwide and a moratorium on racing which causes undue stress on animals already immunosupressed due to illness.
Sources:
St. Petersburg Times
Tampa Tribune
Bradenton.Com
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Division Of Parimutuel Wagering
Bonita-Lee News
Summer 1998
As part of an investigation into reports of a staggering number of euthanized greyhounds at the Colorado State University Veterinary School, Greyhound Network News has obtained more than 300 pages of documents covering a 39-month period detailing the intake of 2,652 greyhounds to CSU. For more information and a statistical summary of these documents, see the GNN website.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of animal welfare advocates, CSU students, and the local Colorado community have expressed concern over CSU's alliance with local greyhound breeders in receiving and euthanizing hundreds of greyhounds each year. The tragic situation was initially exposed by a brave CSU student and expanded upon by the Greyhound Protection League and Greyhound Network News who secured USDA documents and brought the story to the attention of local and national media A letter-writing and fax campaign generated responses around the world.
On June 20, the CSU Veterinary Training Hospital announced that it is considering a major shift in its use of greyhounds (Fort Collins Coloradoan - 6/21/98). The school claims to be working on a program that will use greyhounds to train students on spay/neuter and dental surgery, but then transfer the dogs to local adoption programs for placement. Dr. James Voss, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences also said that he expects fewer dogs to be donated since "the school would no longer be a source for free euthanasia of animals." Voss said that some dogs would still be killed because they were deemed unfit for adoption and because the school still requires some cadavers for training purposes. Voss said he hopes to have the new program ready by September. To date there has been no official announcement about the role the greyhound industry will play in supporting CSU efforts; however, rumors abound that plans are being developed for the industry to become more active in saving the lives of its racing greyhounds.
Spring 1998
On April 23 in a desolated area outside St. Louis, 45 greyhound bodies were found dumped. The dogs were believed to have been disposed of at the site in three separate batches over the past few months and were in various stages of decomposition. More than 30 of the dogs were puppies, some only 3 months of age. The ears of nine adult dogs were crudely cut off, apparently to hide identifying tattoo marks that allow a greyhound to be traced back to its owner. The bodies of three rabbits and one cat were also discovered at the site. According to Susan Netboy of the National Greyhound Adoption Network, rabbits and cats are used by some dog racing trainers to bait the dogs in a practice called live lure training. The Greyhound Protection League immediately posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual or individuals association with the dumping.
St. Charles Post, April 29, 1998
USA Today, May 5, 1998
Spring 1998
The Irish SPCA and the Royal SPCA issued a press release Dec. 15 calling for an end to the export of Irish greyhounds to Spain. The announcement came the day a report was made public which detailed the Findings of an undercover investigation into conditions at Spanish racetracks and kennels conducted by both organizations months earlier.
Ciaran O'Donovan, Chief Executive Officer of the ISPCA, said, "Many of the dogs seen at the racetracks were from Ireland and there is clearly a great deal of suffering caused to exported greyhounds. We and the RSPCA will use every means at our disposal to discourage and end this trade."
Chief Inspector Mike Butcher of the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit said, "We found appalling suffering because basic welfare steps are ignored. The dogs...are forced to race too many times in one week, some even have to run with injuries, wearing bandages."
In October 1997 a delegation made up of O'Donovan; Butcher; Marion Fitzgibbon, President of the ISPCA; Finbarr Heslin, MVB, Independent Consultant Veterinary Surgeon, and an interpreter spent five days investigating the racetracks and holding kennels in and around Barcelona and the island of Mallorca. The investigation was prompted by hundreds of complaints from independent sources, including visitors to the tracks from Ireland and England.
For seven years Anne Finch of Surrey, England, has been the primary source of first-hand information about the conditions under which the dogs are kenneled and raced. Since 1991 Finch has made 15 trips to Spain and has rescued scores of greyhounds, most of them in deplorable condition. In addition, she has single-handedly waged a campaign to bring public and industry attention to the desperate plight of these greyhounds.
The investigative team videotaped much of what they observed in Spain, including races. Finch, who viewed the tape, wrote in her November newsletter, "We, on the International Committee for Greyhound Welfare, saw this video in Dublin, which drove us to tears. We saw spectators laughing at a dog so injured it could hardly walk to the traps before it was due to race."
Heslin, the veterinarian accompanying the group, was commissioned by the ISPCA to write a report on their findings. Highlights of the 12-page document, as reported in Sunday World, a Dublin newspaper, on Jan 8, stated that greyhounds: are routinely given amphetamines, caffeine, corticosteroids, anabolic steroids and cocaine; are infested with parasites; spend 21 hours a day or longer in their cages with no exercise; receive no veterinary care: sleep on concrete with no bedding; and are kept in cages 15" to 18" wide.
In some cases, two dogs are crammed into the same small cage. Heslin wrote, "...it is impossible for the dogs to turn around or lie down comfortably. In some of the cages only one animal could lie down at a time ... the other dog had to stay standing or lean against the wall."
The Irish Racing Board, Bord na gCon, claims they are powerless to act against independent operators who transport dogs to Spanish tracks, despite the fact that regular shipments of greyhounds are loaded in Limerick, where Bord na gCon's offices are located. Other shipments originate in Cork and Waterford. "This is a slave trade." said Fitzgibbon, "with an enormous scope for abuse." For years Fitzgibbon has beleaguered Bord na gCon for help to no avail.
The barbaric killing of greyhounds by hanging them from their back legs with their forelegs barely touching the ground, reported last year in the Spanish magazine lnterviu, has recently been the subject of articles in two German magazines, Der Spiegel ("The Sprinter Slave Trade") and Bravo ("Cruel Murder of Greyhounds"). Reports from Fermin Perez Martin of Sociedad Protectura de Animales, Medina del Campo, were cited in both articles. It was Perez who photographed dozens of hanging greyhound carcasses in the area of Valladolid in May 1997 after he received calls from residents who reported hearing the wailing of hounds for days on end. Perez's photographs have been widely distributed to humane groups throughout Europe.
Reprinted with permission from Greyhound Network News
March 1998
According to the Saigon Times Daily (3/17/98), the country of Vietnam has approved plans for its first greyhound racing track. According to another news source, greyhounds will be shipped in from Ireland and are hoped to begin racing in 1999. This project marks the first effort to training racing dogs for entertainment in Vietnam.
A sports/entertainment joint venture project has been approved for Vung Tau city, a town approximately 75 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, which would have a racing dog training center, a series of tracks, and a super-car and motorcross racing center. The project is reportedly a $4.95 million joint venture between Hemlock Services, an Austrian company that is registered in the British Virgin Islands, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourism Company.
Editor's Note: Gambling is reportedly banned in Vietnam, so it is unclear whether these races will involve parimutuel betting. Look for future action updates on this news item.
February 1998
A bill which would have allowed betting on simulcast greyhound races (races broadcast from other states) in the state of Maine was reportedly withdrawn on February 19 before it reached a committee hearing. Maine law currently prohibits parimutuel live and simulcast dog racing. Maine holds the historic distinction of being the first state to ban this archaic form of entertainment. The proposed bill, sponsored by Rep. Marc Vigue (D-Winslow) would have allowed simulcast wagering at Maine's six off-track betting parlors. Congratulations to all the greyhound advocates in Maine who rallied quickly and generated a significant amount of press on this issue!
Here's what the editorial boards of Maine's two largest newspapers had to say:
"It takes a champion greyhound a shade more than 30 seconds to tear around the racetrack. It should take the Legislature not much longer to tear up a proposal allowing greyhound wagering at the state's off-track better parlors....
...For [an estimated $9,000 in state revenue], Maine would become an accomplice in an enterprise tht kills an estimated 23,000 greyhounds a year.... And that offensive number would be some 15,000 higher were it not for the nationwide network of greyhound adoption groups working in behalf of animals whose only crime is that they're not as fast as they used to be."
Bangor Daily News
February 19, 1998"Greyhound racing is one of the cruelest of legal sports, a continuous legal grind of abuse in which dogs just out of puppyhood race hard, often suffering injuries, for perhaps two to three years of their projected 10- and 12-year lifepsan....
...It doesn't matter one little bit that the races wouldn't take place in Maine. Any support for them, at any distance, is too much for compassionate Mainers to countenance. This bill deserves to disappear. For good."
Portland Press Herald
February 19, 1998
Both articles mentioned Greyhound Placement Service in Bridgton, Maine and its effort in placing approximately 200 discarded New Hampshire dogs each year.
January 1998
This was the response from the largest greyhound adoption group in the country,
National Greyhound Adoption Program, to greyhound racing's "Million
Dollar Night of Stars," held on November 14, 1997. (Reprinted
with permission of the author.)
The greyhound industry is touting its $1,000,000 "Greyhound Night of Stars," Friday, November 14, 1997 as a great impetus for greyhound adoptions, inferring that substantial amounts of money from this event will go to greyhound adoption programs.
Let's set the record straight: In an effort to support greyhound adoption, Hooters has donated $15,000.00 which will be divided among track adoption programs participating in the event. No independent, volunteer, non-track affiliated adoption groups will receive any donations. The million dollars referred to will go to the bettors, not adoption programs. The adoption programs that need the money the most are those independent programs that have no track subsidy. For approximately five years the industry contributed first $50,000 then $40,000 annually to support greyhound adoption through a fund distributed by the ASPCA in New York. The industry has eliminated that funding this year, and, since "taking over" distribution of funds for emergency transportation there has not been one rescue haul in the United States. Still, thousands of greyhounds from tracks like Monticello, Ebro, Pensacola, Mobile and Seminole will die each year. The greyhounds that are saved, are saved because of the extraordinary efforts of volunteers across the United States working tirelessly to rescue them.
This is not a night for greyhounds, it is a night for bettors. The purpose of this event is not to find homes for greyhounds, it’s to promote greyhound racing. Hooters has been taken in by the same malarkey that the industry has been pitching for over 60 years. If this event is so wonderful for greyhound adoption, then why would greyhound adoption programs be picketing? The answer is simply stated: They see through the sham. We wouldn't expect Hooters to be quite so naive next year to support a similar effort....
David G. Wolf
Executive Director,
National Greyhound Adoption Program
215-331-7918
November 1997
According to figures reported in International Gaming and Wagering Business
(IGWB) as shown in the charts below:
Source: International Gaming & Wagering Business, August issues 1995-1997
Based on data from Christiansen Cummings Associates, Inc.
*1995 data was revised in the 1997 C/C report.
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1993-96 %Change |
1995-96 %Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-Track | 2,872.60 | 2,361.60 | 1,989.80 | 1,522.80 | - 47% | - 23.5% |
| ITW* | 268.5 | 479.8 | 633.9 | 682.9 | 154.3% | 7.7% |
| OTB** | 94.7 | 102.7 | 106.2 | 105.3 | 11.2% | - 0.8% |
| TOTAL | 3,235.80 | 2,944.10 | 2,729.90 | 2,311.00 | - 28.6% | - 15.3% |
| * ITW - Inter-track Wagering ** OTB - Off-Track Wagering | ||||||
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1993-96 %Change |
1995-96 %Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-Track | 615.5 | 509.8 | 433.9 | 335.6 | - 45.5% | - 22.7% |
| ITW* | 57.8 | 102.9 | 136.2 | 146.8 | 154.0% | 7.8% |
| OTB** | 19.4 | 21.7 | 22.7 | 22.3 | 14.9% | - 1.8% |
| TOTAL | 692.7 | 634.4 | 592.8 | 504.7 | - 27.1% | - 14.9% |
| * ITW - Inter-track Wagering ** OTB - Off-Track Wagering | ||||||
Source: International Gaming & Wagering Business, August issues 1994-1997
Source: Christiansen Cummings Associates, Inc.
*1995 data was revised (shown here) in the 1997 C/C report.
November 1997
The American Greyhound Track Operators Association
(AGTOA) has hired Marsha Kelly, a consultant for Issue Strategies Group
out of Minnesota. According to the AGTOA newsletter Up to Speed,
the company has been used by the fur industry in the past to attempt to
re-cast its public image.
November 1997
On Friday, November 14th, ten greyhound tracks from around the country will
participate in a national simulcast event (televised races), called "The $1 Million Greyhound
Night of Stars", culminating in a $1 million pay-out. Each
track will be featured as one of the televised races. Billed as "Greyhound
Racing's Biggest Night," the event is designed to attract new patrons,
showcase the industry's "athletes," and promote greyhound adoption.
The ten participating tracks are: Plainfield (CT); Wonderland (MA); Jacksonville,
Palm Beach, Flagler, Tampa (all in FL); Birmingham (AL); Southland (AR);
Mile High (CO), and Phoenix (AZ).
September 1997
Dog racing was deemed a DYING SPORT by Sports Illustrated in its
Sept. 29 issue. In a column on "Endangered Species," the editors
noted that lotteries and casino gaming have contributed to the declining
interest in dog racing and noted that "young fans would rather toss
a Frissbee to Bowser than bet on him".
July 1997
Carson City, Nevada. Assembly
Bill AB538, a bill to ban greyhound racing, quietly passed at the end
of the legislative session and was delivered to Governor Bob Miller. Although
no greyhounds currently race in Nevada, there was nothing to prohibit such
races in the future. Although many people had called the governor asking
him to kill the measure, the bill was signed by the governor on July 17th.
April 1997
The Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut's two Greyhound
tracks, Plainfield Greyhound Park and Shoreline Star, will cost the state
$1.4 million and $170,000 respectively (this fiscal year). The report also
noted that revenue from on-track wagering didn't even offset the $700,000
the state spent last year on urine testing for the dogs.
In Massachusetts, HB3434, a bill to abolish live greyhound racing in a state with two operating racetracks, was introduced by Rep Shaun Kelly in January.
