Greyhound racing in West Virginia could be going to the dogs. The once-popular activity is losing favor among some state lawmakers, who have introduced a bill to strip away state funding that has helped support the races for years. The legislation has already made it to a discussion among Senate members, becoming the center of a hotly-contested debate over whether or not to keep the money rolling in.
West Virginia’s Senate Finance Committee reviewed Senate Bill 285 (SB 285) at the beginning of the week, legislation that would authorization the death of the Greyhound Breeder’s Development Fund (GBDF). The bill was first presented by Senate President Mitch Carmichael last month, and hopes to cancel the fund by July 1. An initial vote strongly favored approving the bill, and a second vote on Wednesday was just as supportive.
The state gives around $17 million each year to the GDBF, with the money coming from proceeds from gambling activity. However, some lawmakers believe that money would be better spent on education, arguing that greyhound racing is no longer profitable or popular. Others disagree.
Florida recently moved to eliminate greyhound races in the state, and this, according to the bill’s opposition, means West Virginia is in a great place to capitalize on that closure. Senator Mike Maroney asserts, “This is extremely concerning and disturbing, this whole bill. It’s embarrassing. I’m actually embarrassed to be part of the majority party when stuff like this comes up. If there was a dog track in the Eastern Panhandle, we wouldn’t be talking about this. I promise you that.”
West Virginia has two greyhound tracks – one at the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Cross Lanes and the other at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino Racetrack in Wheeling. The fact that Florida has controlled 11 tracks out of the 17 across the country, any closure in the Sunshine State could potentially lead to an increase at the two West Virginia tracks.
However, public support for the activity is waning, not only in the Mountaineer State, but across the entire country. Should SB 285 make it all the way through the legislative obstacle course, it would allow portions of the GBDF to be used to help with the transition away from the activity. Initially, $3 million would be allocated to train greyhound workers for other jobs and $1 million would be used to promote the adoption of the racing canines. As a perk to anyone who decides to adopt a greyhound, the bill also provides a $500 tax credit.
There is still a lot of concern that eliminating the racing will lead to substantial unemployment, an argument that has helped keep the industry alive until now. However, bill supporters point out that the idea isn’t necessarily to immediately cut off the activity. Instead, the legislation simply eliminates state funding, which would mean the greyhound community would have to pull together and figure out how to make the races sustain themselves.
