Seabrook and Belmont eliminate live dog racing

Greyhound racing may be a thing of the past in New Hampshire, a sport relegated to the archives of state history. The last two remaining tracks that held live races—Seabrook Greyhound Park and The Lodge at Belmont—have both permanently discontinued their live dog races. Another track in Hinsdale closed late last year.

A provision in the new biennial state budget recently approved by the N.H. Legislature enables tracks to cease live racing and still offer wagers on simulcast races from elsewhere. Shortly after the budget passed, the tracks in Seabrook and Belmont applied to drop live racing, and the N.H. Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission quickly approved their applications.

Animal rights groups lauded the development. “This is a victory for everyone in the state who cares about animals, and it ends a sad chapter in New Hampshire’s history,” said Carrey Theil, executive director of Grey2K USA.

But fans of greyhound racing, a gambling sport embedded on the Seacoast for several decades, were saddened by the news. “People who love the sport still love it and are very disappointed, as I am, in not being able to see the greyhound racing this year,” said Karen Keelan, president of Yankee Greyhound Racing in Seabrook. “It’s been very disappointing.” 

Both supporters and opponents of greyhound racing agree that the sport is declining across the nation. Keelan said the track in Seabrook, which last held a live race in October, has been losing money this year and could no longer afford the expenses associated with dog racing. She said the track would lay off about 15 seasonal employees who help care for the dogs.

“Anybody who knows the business throughout the country knows greyhound racing is in decline,” Keelan said. “We can’t continue to go on with the cost of live greyhound racing, which would add an additional $500,000 expense.”

There are currently only four greyhounds sheltered at the track in Seabrook. Those dogs will be available for adoption within the next couple of months. People interested in adopting should contact the track, Keelan said.

All other active racing greyhounds will continue shuffling between other tracks around the country. According to Carry Theil, most of the dogs that raced in New Hampshire were bred and raised outside the state and were brought here to race. Greyhounds typically spend only a couple of months at a particular location before being shipped to another track. Most tracks offer adoption programs for retiring dogs, she said.

But before racing dogs retire, they often spend years living in confinement for up to 20 hours a day. In 2005, Grey2K helped push through legislation that required tracks to report all racing injuries. Since then, tracks in New Hampshire have reported almost 1,200 injuries to dogs, Theil said.

“We believe that this industry is cruel and inhumane and we are relieved that no additional dogs will go through these racetracks,” she said. 

Beginning next year, only nine states will have active dog racing tracks. Maine banned dog racing in 1993, and Vermont followed in 1995. Massachusetts passed legislation prohibiting greyhound racing last year, and the law becomes effective in 2010, ending live races at Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Park.

The N.H. Legislature considered a bill this year that would have made greyhound racing illegal. That bill was retained in committee, meaning legislators will continue to study its potential impacts and bring it up for a vote next year.

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center recently conducted a poll on behalf of Grey2K to gauge public sentiment about dog racing. That survey showed that 65 percent of state residents would support a ban on dog racing for gambling purposes.

“Greyhound racing is no longer viable. It’s a dying industry,” Theil said.

Other new laws could damage the state’s gambling industry in general. The $11.6 billion state budget includes a new 10 percent tax on gambling winnings of more than $600. Keelan called the tax “onerous” and said it will negatively affect attendance at the track in Seabrook.

Keelan and other gambling advocates lobbied heavily for a law that would have expanded gambling in the state, but that measure was defeated. Seabrook Greyhound Park, which opened in July 1973, will continue to simulcast dog and horse races, while also holding charity poker events and games of chance. The Lodge at Belmont will also offer simulcast racing and table games. Rockingham Park in Salem will continue to host live harness racing, which involves horses pulling carts.

Grey2K has been fighting to end greyhound racing in New Hampshire for years, but this time around, the group found itself on the same side as the state’s gambling industry. Before the new budget passed, state law required tracks to host live races if they wished to also simulcast out-of-state horse and dog races. That rule created economic complications for tracks as the popularity of live greyhound racing declined.
 
“This year, it was sort of the first time that we found common ground. It was the first time that the two sides seemed to be on the same page,” Theil said.