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STATE-BY-STATE
NEWS UPDATE: IOWA Iowa Assistant Attorney General Steve Reno said Koerner was prepared to testify against Haynes as recently as the day before the hearing. At least six witnesses agreed to testify against Haynes Kennels in the last six months, but all of them have backed out. Reno would not speculate on why the witnesses backed out. "The greyhound industry seems to be rife with abuse of the rules," Reno said. In 2002, Jason Haynes was ordered to pay $2.1 million in damages to Wisconsin-based National By-Products Inc. after a jury in a civil court ruled he knew that meat used for dog food in competitors' greyhound breeding kennels was being poisoned but didn't report it. Although Haynes was not found criminally liable for his conduct in the National By-Products case, the Board of Stewards of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission last February denied Jason Haynes' application for an occupational license and Lyn Haynes' application for a kennel license. The stewards ruling cited a
petition filed by National By-Products in Iowa District Court on Jan.
24, 2003 "alleging that the transfer of the Haynes Kennel and related
businesses from Mr. Haynes to Mrs. Haynes was a surreptitious, fraudulent
transfer." The ruling further stated that the transfer "was
done to avoid the application of the judgment and foreclosure against
the kennel operation." KANSAS John W. Hunt, a tribal attorney, said the tribe was looking at sites in other states, but the Kansas site is the tribe's first choice. "What we have here that we don't have anywhere else is public support," Hunt said. The casino project would require
approval from various state and federal officials, including the U.S.
Interior Department. MASSACHUSETTS Under its two-decades-long contract with the state, the track has been allowed to cash tickets up to $25,000. Last year, 12 people made half the claims over $600 at the track, claiming $2.6 million in prize money. Gary Temple, Raynham's assistant general manager, said professional ticket cashers, or "ten percenters"-so called because they charge legitimate winners 10 percent of the winnings so the real winners can avoid up to 30 percent in taxes-should be dealt with by the Department of Revenue. Lottery officials notified
track management Sept. 23 that they must comply with the $600 limit within
three weeks. WEST VIRGINIA Sixty greyhounds died at Ed Zeroski's kennel facility in Girty's Point, West Virginia on July 27, 2000, after an air-conditioning system in the converted single-wide trailer failed. The Krafts, who owned 14 of the dogs, which had been leased to Zeroski to race at the Wheeling track, filed a lawsuit against the kennel and the racetrack. The track was included in the suit because several of the Krafts' dogs at Zeroski's kennel should have been housed at the track's kennel compound. At a trial last November before Ohio County Circuit Judge James Mazzone, a jury found that ZEZ and the racetrack were to blame for the loss of the dogs and awarded the Krafts nearly $1 million in compensation. After the Appeals Court ruling, Tony Werner, the attorney who represented the Krafts throughout the process said, "The decision to file suit was a difficult one for the Krafts because the Kansas breeders were shunned by others in the industry for their actions." Werner said he hoped the outcome of the case would result in changes to ensure the safety of racing dogs. "These dogs didn't have a prayer. What happened was so easily avoidable," he said. Michael Kraft was killed in
a single-vehicle motorcycle accident in June. Wheeling: Second quarter profits for the Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center fell slightly as the racetrack and casino complex absorbed $1.1 million in costs to open a new 151-room hotel, two restaurants, and 30,000 square feet of additional gambling space. Earnings before interest, taxes,
and depreciation were $11.5 million for the quarter, about $500,000 or
4.2 percent less than the same period last year. The company also reported
$141 million in debt. WISCONSIN One rule change would allow only the dogs' owners to sell them for use in medical research. Patton said the new rule was prompted by the case of Daniel Shonka, a former kennel operator at the now-defunct St. Croix Meadows track in Hudson. Shonka, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of theft in St. Croix County Circuit Court on Feb. 6, 2003, for allegedly selling 935 greyhounds to a cardiac research lab in Minnesota. Prosecutors said owners thought their animals were racing for his kennel or being put up for adoption. [More than 975 greyhounds died in the lab; 108 still alive were rescued through the efforts of the Greyhound Protection League (GPL) and Rochester REGAP (Retired Greyhounds as Pets), among others. GPL paid $10,000 in legal fees to secure the dogs' release. See GNN Summer 2000 for details. - Ed.] GPL director Susan Netboy said the rule changes do not go far enough to protect the dogs. "Greyhound owners should be banned from selling greyhounds for medical research," she said. Netboy also noted that the rule changes largely ignore greyhound injuries, particularly at Dairyland. From 2001 to 2002, injuries increased 30 percent from 318 to 412, according to state records. Patton said injuries have tapered off during 2003, but Netboy said the state missed an opportunity to mandate corrective action. In other news, the state Supreme Court agreed Sept. 12 to hear two casino gambling lawsuits - one challenging Gov. Jim Doyle's authority to unilaterally negotiate terms of tribal gaming compacts for the state and another claiming casino gambling is unconstitutional. The court set a briefing schedule but no date for oral argument in either case. Republican legislative leaders in April filed a lawsuit against Doyle, a Democrat, claiming he overstepped his authority by signing compacts that expanded gambling in exchange for higher reveue from the tribes. In the second suit, Dairyland
Greyhound Park seeks to halt all gambling by the 11 tribes that operate
17 casinos in the state, claiming that a 1993 amendment to the state constitution
restricted gambling to lotteries, bingo, raffles, and pari-mutuel wagering
at the Kenosha and Delavan dog tracks. NEWS IN BRIEF CONNECTICUT: Autotote
Enterpri-ses, the company that runs the state's off-track betting system,
received permission from the state Gaming Policy Board Oct. 1 to broadcast
dog and horse races on cable channels in the state. Viewers would be able
to place bets over the phone, which is already legal and widely available.
The board denied the company's request to advertise their account wagering
service during race broadcasts. FLORIDA: A statewide
no-smoking law that went into effect July 8 is expected to have an impact
on attendance at the state's pari-mutuel facilities and further reduce
declining state revenues from those venues. Casino revenues declined 20
percent in Delaware when a no-smoking law went into effect last year.
Florida's pari-mutuels paid $37.1 million in taxes in 2002; a 20 percent
decrease would cost the state about $7.4 million. KANSAS: A powerful storm
July 9 blew off part of the roof of Wichita Greyhound Park, damaging 25
cars in the parking lot. Meteorologists said straight-line 80-mph winds
and large hailstones caused the severe damage, which was estimated at
$250,000. The track was closed for several weeks until repairs were completed. WEST VIRGINIA: An outbreak
of kennel cough swept through the Wheeling dog track in mid-August, sickening
about 40 percent of the 1,800 dogs in the kennel compound. Wheeling was
shut down by the state for two weeks, the longest suspension of racing
in its 27-year history. |