Read the BLOG

 
End Tucson Greyhound Racing

End Tucson Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing is a dying sport: Tens of thousands of greyhounds have died in Pima County during the past 60+ years because of greyhound racing. Greyhound racing is legal in only 13 states unfortunately Arizona is still one of them.

11 Reason to end greyhound racing in Tucson

  1. Arizona is facing a budget crisis and many vital services will be cut including three state universities’ budgets by $14.7 million; funding for additional student math and science programs are scrapped; building renewal funds for schools are reduced; and funding for a new state veterans’ home in Tucson has been postponed by a year; and the list goes on…  The saddest part is greyhound racing and most horse racing venues receive hardship tax credits. Do you?
  2. In 2005/2006, more than 140 greyhounds disappeared from the track and are presumed dead by the Arizona Department of Racing.
  3. On August 31, 2007, a 3-year-old greyhound broke her leg (a common injury) but finished the race. Although a local adoption group was on their way to pick up the dog; she was “ruthlessly” euthanized.
  4. Several greyhound racing statutes were ignored on August 31, 2007 including Arizona state regulation (Disposition of Greyhounds) R19-2-329 B. which states: "Every effort shall be made to adopt greyhounds not used for racing or breeding."
  5. Tucson Greyhound Park is a cheap end-of-the-line track. If dogs don’t make it here, they have nowhere to go but into adoption which creates a bottleneck of dogs needing to find adoptive homes. Just how many dogs pass through the track is unclear. The track can hold about 700 dogs at its kennels, but the actual number fluctuates almost daily...
  6. The Arizona Department of Racing doesn’t have enough money in its budget to properly drug test dogs as per the national standard. (The national standard is 9; AZ tests 2 or 3 dogs.) Read the Arizona Department of Racing Performance Audit & Sunset Review. It’s an eye-opener.
  7. In July 2005, eight Tucson dogs died from heatstroke when 35 dogs were stuffed into a hauling vehicle and transported to Juarez, Mexico.
  8. Tucson Greyhound Park last paid state pari-mutuel taxes in fiscal year 1995-96 in the amount of $55,284. Since 1996, TGP has paid no state pari-mutuel taxes at all, despite millions of dollars in gross revenues.
  9. Because Tucson Greyhound Park (and some other Arizona horse and dog racing venues) do not pay state pari-mutuel taxes, they do not support the Arizona Department of Racing. Who does? ADOR’s revenue, which used to come primarily from pari-mutuel taxes, now comes primarily from State Unclaimed Property Fund monies. The ADOR is supported by the general fund. In recent years, the amount of revenues being returned to the state of Arizona in the form of pari-mutuel taxes has declined significantly. For example, in fiscal year 1998, the State collected more than $2.9 million in pari-mutuel taxes compared to nearly $528,000 in fiscal year 2006. Some of this is due to the decline in live handle and the corresponding growth in simulcast handle. Unlike some other states, Arizona does not tax simulcast handle.
  10. Dog racing in Arizona has been subsidized by the state and the taxpayers for the last 10 years, since the passage of a mega-tax break bill for the failing dog tracks in 1994. Tucson Greyhound Park, the first track to benefit from the bill, has not paid any pari-mutuel taxes to the state since 1996. The Tucson track’s out-of-state-owners have reaped nearly $50 million in gross profits in the last ten years! Because the tax credits are carried over from year to year, TGP will never pay state pari-mutuel taxes again. When was the last time you got a tax credit like that? Isn’t it about time to tell our elected officials to make Tucson Greyhound Park pay its fair share?
  11. Lobbyist for Tucson Greyhound Park said his client would love to be “finally well off enough” to provide more tax money to the state…the dog-racing facility is barely scraping by!

 

Would you like to be contacted to receive alerts or calls to action?

 

 

Sources

  1. Arizona budget crisis and hardship tax credit
  2. More than 150 greyhounds disappeared…  Dogs Gone  …. Biting Back.

    Reporter Saxon Burns earned second place for Best Sustained Coverage or Series for his continuing coverage of greyhound issues, led by "Dogs Gone" (Nov. 9, 2006) for the Arizona Newspapers Association's 2007 Better Newspaper Contest.

  3. Why was the dog euthanized? Why is it considered ruthless? Here’s the AZ Department of Racing incident ruling. Here’s a letter to the Department of AZ Racing questioning the ruling of this incident. Here’s another article about the incident.
  4. Several greyhound racing statutes were ignored…  TITLE 19. ALCOHOL, HORSE AND DOG RACING, LOTTERY, AND GAMING CHAPTER 2. ARIZONA RACING COMMISSION
  5. There are so many dogs up for adoption all the time, the limited number of groups here can't handle them all. Each year hundreds if not thousands of greyhounds across the country are euthanized or can't be accounted for. 
  6. Conformity with Model Rules limited by internal budget pressure. In 2006, the Department faced significant budget constraints precipitated by unexpected expenses and mandates that resulted in the Department’s temporarily reducing drug testing as a last-resort. Canine Drug-Testing Rules—ARCI Model Rules for canine drug testing set forth guidelines for testing greyhounds. In contrast to the equine rules, these guidelines do not require every winning greyhound to be tested for drugs. Further, the Model Rules do not stipulate uniform drug classification guidelines or penalty recommendations for greyhounds as they do for racehorses. Department reduced drug testing in 2006 to avoid budget shortfall—According to department officials, it reduced both horse and greyhound drug testing in late fiscal year 2006 as a last-resort, cost-saving measure to avoid a potential agency budget shortfall caused by unexpected expenses and mandates. The Department had originally allocated $300,000 for animal drug testing in fiscal year 2006. However, the Department reported that, due to the need to meet other unexpected operational expenses late in the fiscal year, it allocated approximately $31,000 to other purposes.
    Finding 2– see page 25-35  (use page numbers at right or left side, not center).
  7. Tucson race dogs die in hauling vehicle… and Man suspended after greyhounds die on his watch
  8. Animal Defense League of Arizona: Time to reinstate pari-mutuel betting tax
  9. Arizona Department of Racing Performance Audit & Sunset Review –
    see page 4 and 5. (use page numbers at right or left side, not center).
  10. AZ House of Representative, District 28, Paula Aboud says: Dog racing in Arizona has been subsidized by the state and the taxpayers…page 3 and 4
  11. In response to the findings, Gonsher said extensive tax breaks given to dog and horse track owners have left his agency (ADOR) without sufficient funds to properly regulate the racing industry.  Lobbyist for Tucson Greyhound Park said his client would love to be “finally well off enough” to provide more tax money to the state…the dog-racing facility is barely scraping by! (read page 8)and “Track owners are earning millions of dollars a year in profits at least in part because more than two-thirds of the wagering that takes place off-track is not taxed.”