Dog Racing Ended At Tampa Greyhound Park In 2007 But New Owners Plan On Preserving Site For Pari-Mutuel Wagering And Poker

Back In The Day - Circa 1990  Postcard Of Tampa Greyhound Park 

The Facility Looking North - Courtesy Of The Tampa Tribune

THE POLITICALLY CORRECT CROWD OF ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HAVE CAMPAIGNED TO GIVE FULL CIVIL RIGHTS TO RACING DOGS. THAT MEANS THE DOGS WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND BE ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS WHEN THEY RETIRE. YOU SEE, THESE LOUDMOUTH CRYBABIES CAN'T STAND TO SEE A BREED OF DOG OVER 3,000 YEARS OLD DO WHAT IT WAS BRED TO DO - CHASE ITS' PREY. AS SIGHT CHASERS, GREYHOUNDS ARE A PHENOMENAL ANIMAL MADE UP OF A HEART, LUNGS, MUSCLE AND SINEW THAT LIVE FOR ONE THING - THE THRILL OF THE CHASE. BUT THE ANIMAL RIGHTS NAZIS COULD NOT STAND THE FACT THAT THESE ANIMALS WERE BEING "EXPLOITED" AND "ABUSED" BY THEIR OWNERS AND TRAINERS. WELL, WITH FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE, I CAN TELL YOU THESE DOG ARE WORTH ABOUT $5,000 APIECE AND THEY COST ABOUT $120 TO FEED, HOUSE AND TRAIN EVERY MONTH AND THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE VET BILLS BEFORE THEY EVEN GET TO THE TRACK AND THAT TAKES 18 MONTHS! THESE GREYHOUNDS ARE TREATED A LOT BETTER THAN PEOPLE TREAT BUMS AND STREET PEOPLE. THEY ARE CARED FOR AND THEIR EVERY NEED IS MET.

WHAT THESE IDIOT ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTESTERS DID WAS FOCUS IN ON CASES WHERE THESE DOGS WERE NEGLECTED OR ABUSED [VERY RARE - BUT DID HAPPEN ON OCCASION] AND PAINTED ALL OWNERS AND TRAINERS AS ABUSERS. ALSO, THEY FOCUSED IN ON WHEN THE ANIMALS WERE CATASTROPHICALLY INURED AND HAD TO BE PUT DOWN. THE DANGERS OF AN ANIMAL BEING SERIOUSLY HURT OR DYING IS AND INHERENT RISK IN THE SPORT. THE OWNER WHO HAS THEIR MONEY AND HOPES INVESTED IN A DOG WHO IS INJURED OR KILLED SEES AT LEAST 2 YEARS OF WORK GO DOWN THE DRAIN. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO TOOK THE FINANCIAL RISK AND WHO LOST THEIR INVESTMENT WHEN INJURY OR WORSE CLAIMS A RACER.

SO THE REMAINING DOG TRACKS IN THE US ARE IN A FIGHT TO STAY OPEN, THE WORST IS PROBABLY OVER THOUGH. THOSE TRACKS THAT HAVE REMAINED OPEN WILL PROBABLY SURVIVE LONG TERM. THE ASSAULT ON THE SPORT IS FAR FROM OVER BUT THE MAJOR DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE AND THOSE FACILITIES THAT STILL HOST GREYHOUND RACING WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR A LONG TIME. IT'S A GREAT SPORT WITH GREAT PEOPLE RUNNING THESE ANIMALS. 

TAMPA GREYHOUND PARK CEASE GREYHOUND RACING IN 2007, HOWEVER THE FACILITY HAS REMAINED OPEN AS A PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING AND POKER ROOM GAMBLING HALL. THE OWNERS OF TAMPA BAY DOWNS HAVE PUT IN A BID TO BUT THE OLD GREYHOUND TRACK TO PRESERVE THE REVENUE IT RECEIVES RATHER THAN CLOSE THE PLACE AND SEE MILLIONS OF REVENUE TAKEN OUT OF CIRCULATION IF THE PLACE WAS TO BE SHUTTERED. HERE'S THE STORY.

HERE'S A VIDEO OF THE GREAT GREYHOUND "MO KICK" DOING HIS THING UP IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA BACK IN THE EARLY 90'S...,