Race to the finish

The bark over the ballot question to end dog racing

By JESSICA COLLIER

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Should the state outlaw dog racing? If the majority of voters answer "yes" to that query posed on the state ballot, an industry and the working-class jobs it provides will be demolished, but thousands of dogs could be saved from what many have deemed sub par living conditions. Of all the questions on this fall's ballot, Question 3, aka the Greyhound Protection Act, seems the most clear-cut. But like all legislative creatures, this one has a complicated underbelly of fuzzy numbers, economic woe and political patronage.

Massachusetts' two dog tracks are still formulating their game plan, but George Carney, owner of Raynham Park, vowed over the summer to spend millions to fight the referendum.

The Committee to Protect Dogs (CPD), an organization established to push the "yes" vote, has been building this fall's campaign for years. Their question was on the ballot in 2000, and just failed to pass: 51 percent to 49 percent. In 2006, CPD's co-chair Christine Dorchak once again tried to get a vote to end dog racing on the ballot, but it was struck down in court after Carney filed a lawsuit claiming it was too broad because it grouped dog-fighting penalties with the racing ban.

This year, CPD went through two rounds of signature-collecting to get on the ballot, and both times, an all-volunteer group exceeded the required figures (for round one, they turned in 100,000 for the requisite 66,593; in the second round, 11,099 were required and they culled 45,000). The ballot question faced a new lawsuit from Carney, alleging it shouldn't be a state referendum since it would only affect two towns in the Commonwealth. This time, the court ruled against Carney.

The committee has since kept busy accruing heaping piles of money and planning their attack. According to records filed in early September, the campaign raised $265,820.16, with $119,255.24 already in the bank (large sums coming from state and national animal rights groups) and $116,784.29 in non-monetary donations like meeting space and web hosting. That totals to about $33,000 more than the campaign to decriminalize marijuana and roughly $328,000 more than the committee trying to repeal state income tax. The only ballot question group out-raising the CPD was the Coalition for Our Communities, the opposition to repealing income tax, which is heavily supported by unions.

Still, Dorchak feels like the little guy. "This is our people against their money and muscle," she says. "This is a David and Goliath fight, but we think that David has a few friends this time around."

A committee to fight Question 3 has not yet formed, but Raynham Park manager Gary Temple says that one is in the works. "We will be starting a campaign very, very shortly," he says, claiming Carney will fight the question with "whatever it takes." They plan to get as far as they can with Carney's money before doing any fundraising, which could include going to the unions for funds.

Officials from Wonderland have announced they won't fight the ballot measure, most likely due to financial problems, Dorchak said. Wonderland president Richard Dalton declined to comment.

Raynham's management was in the process of putting together a budget in mid-September, so Temple couldn't yet comment on the amount Carney will spend or how much the campaign will cost, though he did state that it's unlikely that Raynham will spend as much as the CPD. "We can't match them dollar for dollar," Temple says. "They are zealots."

The "zealots" claim this is an animal rights issue, citing living conditions for dogs, as well as a high injury rate. According to a booklet given to new greyhound owners at the Greyhound Friends, Inc. adoption center in Hopkinton, a racing dog lives a harsh existence.

"What you have to remember during the adjustment period is that your greyhound has lived his entire life in a kennel," reads the booklet. "This means upwards of 23 hours [a day] in a 2x4 crate. He may never have been inside a home before ... Becoming a house pet involves a very dramatic change in routine for him."

The State Racing Commission requires dog crates to be 32 inches wide, 42 inches deep and 34 inches high. Most greyhounds stand between 27 and 30 inches tall. The required dimensions were suggested by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), says Temple, and if they thought the dogs needed more room, they should have suggested a bigger size. He claims dogs are never in their crates for 23 hours a day. "There is no mistreatment of dogs. I am a dog lover myself," he says, adding he wouldn't work anywhere dogs were abused.

The CPD's website boasts documented evidence: pixelated videos of dogs being injured that were recorded from Wonderland and Raynham's simulcast videos (which broadcast the races at other tracks for gamblers). They also released a thick booklet full of injury reports from the tracks.

Since 2002, the tracks have been required to document each greyhound injury, and the CPD collected all injury reports from the past six years.

Temple says that an "injury" can mean broken toenails, scratches or bruises. However, the records show that the vast majority of the 832 injuries reported between January 2, 2002, and June 29, 2008, are either fractures or dislocations. Most of the damages had a year or less of healing time, but at least 138 of the injuries were career ending, and at least 48 of them were fatal.

But Louise Coleman, who runs Greyhound Friends adoption center, warned that if dog racing is outlawed, the dogs won't be spared the life of a racer. Instead, they could be sent to one of the 15 states where dog racing is still legal. And if every state in the US outlaws dog racing, the dogs may be sent to other countries, like Spain, where dogs are treated worse. At least here, she says, we can control the conditions they are enduring. Massachusetts has strict regulations. The State Racing Commission tries to protect race dogs, requiring a veterinarian to be present for all races and mandating tracks and kennels are climate-controlled. A special police investigative unit is assigned to guard against any sort of shady dealings in the dog racing world. Dogs are tested for performance-enhancing drugs in a laboratory in Jamaica Plain.

While the CPD is concentrating on the conditions the dogs endure, their opponents are pointing to the human cost of banning the industry in Massachusetts.

State Rep. David Flynn, D-Bridgewater, whose district includes Raynham, says the track's employees are working-class people, a lot of them single mothers, and that if Raynham Park is closed, there won't be enough other jobs in the area. "I'm opposed to [outlawing greyhound racing] naturally, and the reason is simply: jobs, jobs, jobs," Flynn says. "These are blue-collar workers just trying to put their kids through college."

Dorchak's response? "Our economy should not be based on cruelty to dogs." She added that the track would have a one-year grace period that will give employees time to find new jobs.

No one argues that jobs won't be lost if Question 3 passes, but the number of jobs is hotly debated—mostly between Carney and himself. At different points, Carney's claimed that either hundreds or thousands of jobs will be lost. In a March Globe story, he says that 6,000 to 8,000 jobs would be lost. After pro-dog blogs and groups called him out, he adjusted his numbers. In June, Carney was quoted in the Globe saying that between the two tracks, around 650 jobs would be lost; a month later, he told the Taunton Daily Gazette he estimated that number between 800 and 1,000.

The 2002 Economic Census (the most recent available figures) lists racetracks in Bristol County, where Raynham resides, employing between 100 and 249 workers. The census number for dog tracks in the entire state also lists between 500 and 999 paid employees.

Carney explained his original figures included everyone who has a hand in the track, not just those paid directly by the track, including breeders, trainers and dog owners who may reside out of state.

Concern over these jobs has bred legislative stalemate on the issue, according to state Rep. Elizabeth Malia, D-Boston, who's endorsed the CPD. "It becomes a difficult issue because there are a number of legislators who have a lot of [constituents] who work for the tracks," she says.

Flynn has tried to pass legislation that would add slot machines to the tracks, and is currently pushing a bill that would give the tracks unlimited simulcast rights. If the ballot question passes, Flynn says the simulcast could save the tracks. "It will at least keep them going until we file a decision on slot machines and casinos," he says. And if they aren't granted slots, Flynn says it would be "impossible for them to stay open."

Carney supported the slot measure at a legislative hearing last December. "We're going to keep on running," Carney said. "But I'm telling you, there's no money left in the racing. If you want to keep us going, you've got to give us the slots."

Dog tracks have been raking in less and less, according to filings with the State Racing Commission. Between 2003 and 2006, Wonderland saw a 79 percent loss in revenues from live racing. In the same time span, Taunton and Massasoit, the two entities governing Raynham Park, saw live racing revenues down 40 percent and 39 percent, respectively. Wonderland, on the verge of foreclosure for owing the city of Revere two years of unpaid taxes and water and sewer bills totaling $806,673, was bought by neighboring horse track Suffolk Downs in August.

Yet, track owners continue to protect their interests, regularly donating to political campaigns and hiring lobbyists. Carney and his family give hundreds of dollars each year to local representatives like state Rep. David Sullivan, D-Fall River; state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton; and state Rep. Stephen Canessa, D-New Bedford. Five different Carneys each contributed $500 to Rep. Flynn in 2008.

Richard Dalton, who runs Wonderland, and James Dalton, the assistant general manager, have donated $1,800 over the last three years to Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein, D-Revere, and smaller amounts to various other political figures.

Carney's been a client of Delaney & Associates, Inc., a local lobbying firm, since at least 2005, but, according to public filings, has not given the firm any money. The Westwood Group, the company that runs Wonderland, has spent $73,500 in 2008 retaining four different lobbying firms. The Wonderland Greyhound Owners Association, led by William O'Donnell, who owns North Shore Kennel, has spent $7,500 on lobbyists this year.

Dorchak's also been playing the political game. Both she and her associate Carey Theil are registered as lobbyists through another greyhound group that they run, Grey2K USA, and Dorchak has been donating to several politicians a year since at least 2003. In 2008, Dorchak donated to state representatives Kay Khan, D-Newton; Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams; Carl Sciortino, D-Medford; and state Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville.

A Suffolk University poll taken in mid-August showed 50 percent of people supporting the ballot question, with 37 percent against it and 13 undecided.

Dorchak remains confident. "This will be the first time that citizens will stand up and vote down dog racing," she says.

But, Flynn suggests, not without a fight. "I think dog racing is like horse racing," he says. "It's as American as apple pie and ice cream."