Harrah’s Entertainment is no longer going to the dogs — or won’t be, if it gets its way in Iowa. It’s offered to pay the Hawkeye State a tidy $70 million in exchange for being released from its greyhound-racing requirement at two racinos. Since those racino licenses were premised on the running of hundreds of races a year, yes, it’s a recalibration of the playing field in Harrah’s favor.
And yes, “If live dog racing were halted, Iowans would be thrown out of work and Harrah’s would ship profits to its Las Vegas headquarters instead of investing in Iowa, kennel operators told the [Des Moines] Register.” The financially strapped casino operator clearly has enlightened self-interest on its side.
However, if the dog-racing industry is so gosh-darned economically important, why does the State of Iowa need to prop it up by force of law? If Harrah’s offer is accepted and it pounds a couple more nails into greyhound racing, dog lovers will owe CEO Gary Loveman a vote of thanks, regardless of his motives.
How about this angle; Loveman and Phil Ruffin (who has 2 tracks in Kansas) should create a new system for the handling of the dogs. A set up that will become the standard for humane treatement and housing, and cradle to grave tracking of the dogs to ensure they aren’t killed if they can’t win races. I think the dogs like to run and it can be useful for them. But the overall structure of the industry is not set up to look out for the dogs best interests. The obvious problem to inplementing this is the cost, but if the States allowed some breaks on their tax cut and helped pattern the system, it could be a groundbreaking event for all dog related industries.