Cover Stories Winter 2000-01

Camptown Greyhound Park Closes After Only 13 Weeks of Operation

Frontenac, Kansas: Camptown Greyhound Park officials notified the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) via courier Nov. 14 that it would “cease operations at the track immediately.” A press release issued the same day stated the track’s handle had “fallen alarmingly in recent weeks to a level below half the projected level.”
According to Kip Keefer, Camptown’s executive manager, the track has been losing about $30,000 a week. Keefer is also the general manager of Wichita Greyhound Park. Both tracks are owned by Phil Ruffin, Sr., a multimillionaire who owns casinos in Las Vegas and the Bahamas.
Tracy Diel, acting executive director of the KRGC, said the closure wasn’t a complete surprise. A month earlier, Ruffin had briefed the commission about financial problems at both of his tracks. Ruffin told commissioners that in addition to tax breaks, the tracks need telephone account wagering and expanded gaming opportunities such as slot machines in order to survive.
Keefer said that Ruffin believed that prospects for slot machine approval seemed good when he bought Camptown in 1999. Proposals to legalize slot machines, however, have been defeated in the Legislature for eight consecutive years.
Mike Holton, Camptown’s general manager, said, “If there are no legislative moves [to allow slot machines], it appears that Camp-town, based on the handle we’ve seen, cannot survive on the revenue from pari-mutuel racing alone. That’s just point-blank fact.”
Greyhounds at Risk
There were 12 kennels of approximately 60 dogs each at Camptown when it closed. Eighty percent of the dogs were running in the lowest grades — C, D, E, and M (maiden). Keefer said there are “eight or 10 tracks comparable to this level” and that “there are a lot of dogs here that could be competitive a lot of places.” Kennel owner Marshall Rae disagreed and said most of the dogs would not be competitive elsewhere. “Most of those dogs have nowhere else to go,” Rae said.
Diel said one of the state’s concerns is making sure that the dogs are properly cared for at the track until they can be moved to other tracks, “returned to the farm,” or placed into adoption.
On Nov. 17 the racing commission issued “Final Orders,” a five-page document containing 32 provisions which included requirements that the track’s owner provide food, water, bedding, and an overflow kennel for greyhounds designated for adoption. Within weeks, 186 greyhounds had been moved into the adoption holding kennel.
Rescue Hauls Begin
Cynthia Cash, an independent adoption coordinator based in Louisiana, contacted the KGRC within days of the track’s closure and volunteered her services. Cash has been involved in numerous permanent and seasonal track closures nationwide.
Cash told GNN that although she was initially surprised by the commission’s demand for extensive paperwork from potential adoption groups, she later said, “This has been the most coordinated, well-orchestrated track closing I’ve ever been involved in.”
Groups receiving Camptown dogs told Cash that most of the dogs were in good condition and many were near pet weight. Health certificates, vaccination records and registration papers also were provided for each dog. “We never get paper,” Cash said.
By late December 113 greyhounds had been dispersed to adoption groups across the country and 73 dogs re-mained at Camp-town awaiting placement. The first interstate haul took place Friday, Dec. 8, carrying 67 greyhounds to Midwest and East Coast adoption groups. An ad-ditional 30 dogs went to three groups in St. Louis, Springfield, and Tulsa, six dogs went to San Diego, and ten dogs were adopted locally.
A second interstate haul is scheduled to take place in January

Sources: The Morning Sun: Jack Dimond