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STATE-BY-STATE NEWS UPDATE: Winter 2002/03 ARIZONA Wood's racing license was temporarily suspended Oct. 11, after racing department investigators concluded a four-month surveillance operation of Wood's 15-acre farm. Investigators discovered approximately 180 rabbits on Wood's property, raising suspicions that live-lure training had been going on for some time. After the department's investigation was made public in October, Phoenix Greyhound Park general manager Dan Luciano banned Wood from racing his dogs at the Phoenix track, regardless of the outcome of the stewards hearing or departmental action. During the four-hour hearing, Wood contended that the rabbit spotted by state racing investigators was dead when he attached it to a whirligig, a training device. Wood said one of his employees had snapped the rabbit's neck. Investigator John Parkey, who was part of the surveillance team, testified that he saw the rabbit kicking as the whirligig spun around. The stewards imposed a 60-day suspension and recommended that his racing license be revoked. The case was referred to Wade Turner, director of the Arizona Department of Racing. Turner referred the case to an administrative law judge, who will hear the case Jan. 22, 2003. In other state news, The Arizona Republic reported Nov. 28 that the Arizona Department of Racing failed to make quarterly breeders award payments due Oct. 31. The monetary awards, intended to encourage breeding, goes to breeders of Arizona-bred dogs and horses that win races. "In 20 years, this is the first time they've ever gone over their deadline," said Bill Rice, a greyhound breeder and spokesman for the 100-member Arizona Greyhound Breeders Association. Department director Turner said he hopes to make the payments in the next few weeks for awards earned in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. "I'm sure they're unhappy that we're in this situation," Turner said. "Under the circumstances, it's been unavoidable that resources had to go to more critical functions," he said. Turner placed the blame on budget and staffing shortages, including the loss of most of his accounting staff last summer. It's questionable how current awards can be calculated in order to be paid. The department also faces a 10 percent cut as part of the state's budget deficit, further straining operations, he said. According to Turner, the department paid $850,000 in breeders awards in 2001, but he questions whether those payments were consistent with state regulations under a complicated distribution formula. Without an accounting staff to check, Turner doesn't know if breeders were overpaid, underpaid, or paid correctly. Source: The Arizona Republic: Mary Jo Pitzl, John Stearns FLORIDA William Hutchinson, Flagler's general manager, who apparently became angry when Silvana Cortella arrived late for an adoption event, ended the long-standing arrangement. Sergio Cortella said they would continue to rescue and place dogs. Source: Miami Herald: Elinor J. Brecher IOWA State lawyers have appealed the Iowa Supreme Court's decision in Polk County District Court. Assistant Iowa Attorney General Jeffrey Farrell argued before District Judge Scott Rosenberg Dec. 23 that Iowa taxpayers do not owe any money to racetracks in Dubuque, Council Bluffs, and Altoona, because the tracks could have challenged the tax before it was collected. Rosenberg took the refund issue under consideration and on Jan. 9 ordered the state to repay $112 million in taxes and interest to the racetracks. Iowa House Speaker Christopher Rants, who said he was stunned by the ruling, said, "Iowans ought to be outraged by this." Source: The Des Moines Register: William Petroski KANSAS During its lengthy investigation of the alleged purchasing scam, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission found evidence that phony receipts had covered up at least $180,376 in track funds that had been stolen over a two-year period. The two men also face revocation of their state gaming licenses and more than $85,000 in fines levied by the racing commission. Masciotra is a former state racing regulator in Nevada and Colorado. Source: The Kansas City Star: Rick Alm Wichita: Richard J. Boushka, one of the two original developers and owners of The Woodlands dog and horse track in Kansas City, Kansas, appeared in federal court Dec. 2 and pleaded guilty to defrauding the American Bank (now Hillcrest Bank) of $19 million in 1998. Boushka, 68, entered guilty pleas to two counts of bank fraud, one count of making a false statement to obtain a loan, and one count of omission of material information in the sale of a security. Boushka's attorney, Steve Joseph, said his client has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. In exchange for the information, prosecutors agreed to recommend sentences at the lower end of the federal guidelines, which call for at least five years imprisonment and $10,000 in fines. The final decision will rest with U.S. District Court Judge Wesley Brown when he sentences Boushka on March 3. Boushka owned 40 percent of the Kansas City racetrack from 1989 until 1994. Sources: The Wichita Eagle Thoroughbred Times MASSACHUSETTS Carey Theil, president of GREY2K USA, a national greyhound advocacy group formed in May 2001, called the legislative provision "clearly discriminatory." Theil said, "Discriminating against the state's largest and most respected greyhound protection institution is not in the best interests of the dogs." The trust fund is administered by a panel of industry experts, including racing officials, the state Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Hopkinton-based Greyhound Friends, which was founded in 1983 by Louise Coleman, was the only group denied money. "It's definitely a frustrating situation," Coleman said. Coleman said her agency expected to receive $75,000 of the $400,000 that was set aside for the trust fund. "We should be judged on how we care for the dogs and not on politics." Several lawmakers agreed and filed a bill in early December that would eliminate the discriminatory clause in the trust fund language. State Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, who co-sponsored the bill, said the provision appears to be "a payback" orchestrated by the greyhound racing industry and directed against Greyhound Friends. "The reality," Linsky said, "is that many of the people who are actively involved in the adoption process are people who feel very strongly about the need to end greyhound racing." Linsky said "one can only assume" that the greyhound racing industry was behind the provision. State Rep. Reed Hillman, R-Sturbridge, who co-sponsored Linsky's bill, said it shouldn't matter who sponsored the provision. "I'm only interested in the animals' welfare," he said. "We need to put the money where it does the most good." Source: The MetroWest Daily News: Michael Kunzelman NEW HAMPSHIRE Hopfenbeck, who provides veterinary services for the Greyhound Rescue League of New England, said she had received a call at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, from a worker at the Hinsdale track who told her Willie's gums were white, and he seemed lethargic. Arrangements were made to transport Willie immediately to Hopfenbeck's clinic, but Willie died en route. "It disturbs me greatly that this dog was deemed fit for racing by Dr. Nelson less than 24 hours before he died. Based on the necropsy findings and the fact that the dog was unable to run the length of the stretch after breaking from the starting box, it is my opinion that this dog must have been actively bleeding into his chest" and would have had difficulty breathing "at the time he was deemed fit to race by Dr. Nelson." Hopfenbeck, who performed the necropsy on Willie, found collapsed lungs, 3.5 liters of free blood in his chest, evidence of chronic, massive bleeding, and a large fibrous mass on his diaphragm. Hopfenbeck concluded that Willie died from a massive thoracic hemorrhage. In her formal complaint, Hopfenbeck noted that Nelson, as a state racing commission veterinarian, should have inspected Willie at least four times: at weigh-in, during the post parade, at the starting box before the race, and after the race. "I believe that the fact that Dr. Nelson did not notice the grave condition of Sav's Wilson Lee, either before or immediately after the dog raced, demonstrates a level of incompetence that brings into question his ability to perform his duties as track veterinarian," Hopfenbeck wrote. "At the very least, he should have done something after the race," she stated. Willie's body was sent to Idexx Veterinary Services in North Grafton, Mass., for analysis. The pathology report confirmed Hopfenbeck's necropsy findings. Track officials learned the details of the complaint on Nov. 8. "We're shocked," said David S. Calef, director of information services for the track. "None of us had any knowledge of this. We should have been informed," Calef said. "Our official position is that Dr. Nelson is a competent veterinarian, and we trust his judgment." Sources: Union Leader: Stephen Seitz Dr. Jill Hopfenbeck's Necropsy Report RHODE ISLAND Newly elected Gov. Don Carcieri asked the commission to put off a vote to allow his new administration to be involved in the process. "We're sending all the wrong messages to the citizens of the state by rushing a decision on this issue," Carcieri said. "It's incumbent on all of us to make sure the taxpayers are getting the best deal." A percentage of the revenue from the machines is used to supplement purses for 15 kennel operators, most of whom live out of state. In 2001, those kennel owners split $13.5 million in supplemented purses. Lottery officials estimated the purses would grow to $17.5 million if the additional 1,825 machines were approved. The Lincoln track is slated to receive 1,300 machines. Carcieri recently said he does not oppose increasing the number of video slot machines, but believes taxpayers should get a better split of the profits. However, during his gubernatorial campaign, Carcieri ran ads stating his opposition to the purse supplements and the additional machine allotments. Defenders of Animals, a Rhode Island-based animal rights group, opposes the expansion of video slot machines. "A vote to expand video slot gaming will seal the deadly fate of greyhounds that race in Rhode Island," said Dennis Tabella, director of the group. "The Lottery Commission and legislators have totally ignored the plight of greyhounds for over 10 years." he said. Sources: Providence
Journal: Timothy C. Barmann; SOUTH DAKOTA The Black Hills track opened in 1949 and operated seasonally from May through September for more than 40 years before falling attendance and wagering handles forced its closure in 1991. Source: Rapid City Journal VERMONT The track opened for horse racing in 1963, but declining revenue forced its sale to the Rooney family of Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1972, which operated greyhound racing at the site from 1977 to Dececember 1992. Just weeks before the Rooneys announced the track's pending closure, the state racing commission threatened to pull its operating license if steps were not immediately taken to halt the mistreatment of greyhounds housed in decrepit, flea- and tick-infested kennels. Through the efforts of Scotti Devens, founder of Save the Greyhound Dogs! (STGD), legislation to outlaw greyhound racing was enacted and signed into law by Gov. Howard Dean on April 5, 1995. Vermont was the third state to ban dog racing, following Maine (1993) and Virginia (1995), but the first state to rescind its existing pari-mutuel greyhound racing statutes. Devens, who fears that live and/or simulcast dog racing might return to the track, has mounted a campaign to prevent its reopening. "Once that track is open it's too easy for greyhound racing to be brought back," Devens said. John Donahue, a former jockey who rode at Green Mountain, is looking for investors to buy the defunct track. Donahue lives in Hallandale, Fla., which is home to Hollywood Greyhound Track. Action Alert: For information, Vermont residents may contact STGD at: www.savethegreyhounddogs.org Sources: The
Burlington Free Press: Anne Wallace Allen;
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