Running on empty

Is greyhound racing running its course?

Money-losing tracks across the nation have shuttered over the last couple of decades as attendance has waned in adverse ratio to proliferation of other forms of gambling — lotteries and casinos, for instance.

In addition, the sport’s reputation has suffered after years of vocal denunciation from animal welfare groups over the treatment of dogs, while seven states have banned the sport altogether. Massachusetts was the last to do so, in 2008.

Cameron County isn’t immune from trends dogging the industry, judging from Valley Race Park officials’ August request to the Texas Racing Commission for permission to cancel the Harlingen facility’s 2009 and 2010 live racing seasons.

The commission granted the request at its Sept. 15 meeting, which means 15 race dates scheduled for Nov. 29 through Dec. 30 at the park won’t happen. Simulcast racing events will be held year round, though live racing isn’t scheduled to return to the park until the summer of 2011, when VRP and the Texas Greyhound Association plan to stage a five-day "Festival of Racing" event with live racing, entertainment and other attractions.

Pulling live races from VRP for the next two seasons is intended to "stabilize" greyhound racing in Texas and allow the state’s three dog racing facilities to operate and contribute purse money to the one Texas park that will continue to feature live racing: Gulf Greyhound Park, in La Marque just north of Galveston.

Andrea Young, the VRP’s president and chief operating officer, concedes that live races are expensive to stage, though VRP will hold them again in 2011. She says the plan to skip 2009-10 "provides short-term relief to the industry’s participants while allowing us to develop a marquee event to enhance the live racing experience for patrons."

Young says the Texas dog racing industry is up against heavy competition from states like Arkansas, Iowa and West Virginia, while the number of Texas-bred greyhounds has dwindled to about 2,000 a year from 6,000 a year eight years ago.

The issue is similar to horse racing, where breeders have moved their breeding operations to states that offer the highest purses. The states with the highest purses are the ones that have introduced other forms of gambling — such as slot machines — into their racetracks.

"Our steep decline and why Arkansas and other states are giving us so much competition is directly attributable to the additional forms of gaming that now exist in those states," Young says.

Race parks in several other states have turned to slot machines or video gaming terminals as an antidote to falling attendance and revenue, though they remain illegal in Texas. The state’s racing lobby has tried for years to persuade lawmakers to allow slot machine gambling, though efforts so far haven’t been successful. The 82nd Legislature, which kicks off in January 2011, will hear a round of similar pleas from Texas tracks.

"We’ll be working very hard to educate (lawmakers) on the state of the industry and the amount of money leaving the state and how we can help create jobs in Texas, which is important in these economic times and ultimately bring money and tax revenues back to Texas."

Mike Lavigne, spokesman for Win for Texas, a group of track owners and other interests that want the Legislature to allow slots at tracks, says doing so would again make Texas attractive from the breeder’s perspective.

"If we have slot machines at race tracks you’re going to augment those purses," he says. "We could have the largest purses in the nation. That’s not a stretch."

Lavigne notes that changing the law would require a constitutional amendment, which requires a statewide vote. Public opinion appears to support a change, which might have more support among lawmakers since state coffers have suffered during the recession, he says.

"If the stars were ever aligned, 2011 is the year," Lavigne says.

Young, noting the decline in dog track attendance, doesn’t think it’s because greyhound racing is less popular, but because there are so many more ways to gamble nowadays — like slots.

"It’s still a product that people enjoy and appreciate, but people now have more that offer more immediate gratification," she says.

The future of Harlingen’s dog track, meanwhile, may hinge on whether Texas follows the lead of several other states in expanding gaming opportunities and ratcheting up revenue, Young says.

"It’s about long-term survival for sure at this point," she says.