A greyhound at the Birmingham Alabama Race Course tested positive for cocaine last fall, and the dog’s handler was fined and suspended for 60 days. (BFD)

According to the article, it’s not the first time that racing greyhounds in Alabama have been associated with improper drug use.

In 2007, 13 regular patrons at Mobile Greyhound Park were arrested for what authorities described as a scheme to fix races using so-called male enhancement products. Prosecutors said at the time that a pill commonly available at health food stores — and marketed as a sex aid — was given to dogs that were favored to win. Those behind the plan hoped the drugs would raise the dogs’ heart rate to the point that they became exhausted before the race and would lose, prosecutors said at the time. The conspirators bet on non-drugged dogs that offered longer odds and a better payout, authorities said.

Of the 13 men arrested, three were charged with tampering with racing. All of the tampering-with-racing charges eventually were dropped…and herein lies the problem. Charges were dropped. (And what were patrons doing behind the scenes with access to the dogs and drugging the dogs? So much for purported regulation)

Contact Alabama Governor Bob Riley and asked him to investigate dog cruelty associated with Alabama greyhound racing.

In Florida, in 2007, the death of three greyhounds in the Daytona Beach Kennel Club were found to have tested positive for traces of cocaine in their system.

(Always the pro-racing contingent can find an excuse to justify the drug incident and mistreatment. Always.)

This is not the first time that racing greyhounds have tested positive for cocaine in Florida. In 2004, the Tampa Tribune reported that over 100 dogs had tested positive for cocaine over the previous three years! It’s unclear exactly why trainers give cocaine to dogs.

And Greyhound Network News reported in 2004, “ the Tampa Tribune reported on May 3 that 119 racing dogs tested positive for traces of cocaine over a three-year period at the state’s racetracks, an average of 40 per year. The reporting period covered June 1, 2000 through May 30, 2003. Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering officials said the positive tests, which represented one-tenth of 1 percent of the 104,000 urine samples tested, are most likely the result of incidental contact, rather than an attempt to fix races.” (Always an excuse – is that like second hand smoke?)

Across the pond in 2007, Northern Ireland greyhounds were doped with cocaine, amphetamines, and herbal ecstasy. A greyhound enthusiast said the figures represented “a tiny minority” of those involved in greyhound racing.

Even if everyone involved with greyhound racing was a solid upstanding citizen saint which is a far cry from reality, greyhound racing unto itself is cruel and inhumane.

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