Is the End Finally in Sight for Florida Greyhound Racing?

This November, Floridians will have an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that has the potential to outlaw greyhound racing in the sunshine state.

Florida State Senator, Tom Lee (R), sponsored the amendment (P6012) which was recently passed by the Constitution Revision Commission in a vote of 27-10 on Monday, April 16th.    The proposed constitutional amendment now goes directly to Florida’s statewide ballot where 60% approval is needed to pass and forever change the landscape of the dog racing industry in Florida and in the nation.

If the amendment passes, greyhound racing will be phased out by June 30th, 2020 in Florida.

There are 19 dog operating racing tracks in the United States with 12 of them located in Florida.    Greyhound racing has seen a steep decline in audiences in recent years but Florida remains the nation’s largest dog racing state.

Greyhound racing started over 100 years ago in the United States.   The first race track in Florida was in 1922 and it became more popular when they started night racing in 1925.

According to state records,  448 dogs have died at Florida dog tracks since the state began tracking greyhound deaths in 2013.    It has been stated that a racing dog dies every three days in the state of Florida, on average.    I don’t have information back up this claim.      Greyhounds are also known to suffer from serious injuries according to some anti-greyhound racing associations.    According to these groups, most greyhounds live in crammed cages for most of their days unless they’re out practicing and/or running in a race.

In July 2017, 12 greyhounds were found to have tested positive for cocaine.    A Florida trainer, Charles McClellan, had his license suspended because all 12 dogs were in his care.     According to records obtained by 9NEWS sister-station First Coast News in Jacksonville, the dogs, all racers at Bestbet Orange Park, tested positive for Benzoylecgonine (BZE) – a metabolite of cocaine.     Florida requires the winner of each greyhound race, as well as another randomly chosen dog, to be drug tested after races.  The urine tests were conducted by the University of Florida College on Medicine Racing Laboratory.       

Grey2K USA, a national lobbying organization whose mission is to end greyhound racing in the United States,  claims this was the “largest greyhound drug case in American history.”

However, new revelations may prove this was not the case at all.    More about these recent developments in an upcoming article. 

Greyhound racing proponents deny claims of abuse toward their racing dogs with some working hard to convince the public that the dogs are treated quite well at the tracks, on and off the field.      Some have said that if there is abuse, that person is removed.

If the amendment gets that 60% approval, the end of greyhound racing in Florida will become a reality which greyhound racing opponents have been trying to accomplish for decades.

Senator Lee tweeted: “The voters will decide whether our state ends this archaic tradition.”

It all comes down to the people deciding the fate of greyhound race tracks.    Will they vote to outlaw it?

Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate.   Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals.    She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.”   She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him.    If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com.     Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com.

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