DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A measure that would allow the state's two greyhound tracks to stop holding races is no sure bet in the state Senate, despite winning approval from a Senate panel on Wednesday.
The bill would allow Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs and Mystique Casino in Dubuque to pay the state a combined $70 million over seven years to end a requirement to run dog races.
Jim Carney, a lobbyist for the Horseshoe Casino, told lawmakers Wednesday that dog racing has disappeared all over the country and is costing the casino millions to prop up.
Neighboring Kansas closed its last two greyhound racing parks in 2008. And in Florida, which Carney referred to as the capital of greyhound racing, lawmakers are considering measures that would end racing there.
Carney said often there are more dogs than people at the 2,755 seat grandstand in Council Bluffs.
"You could literally shoot a bazooka off in that place and not hurt anyone," he said.
Carney said just 23 tracks in seven states still run races, and 27 tracks have closed over the last five years. He presented information showing wagering on live greyhound racing in Iowa has declined precipitously over the last two decades, from $120.6 million in 1991 to $6.2 million in 2011.
"The only thing that's sustaining it here is this purse supplement that we have to pay, of which over 40 percent is going to out-of-state dog owners," said Carney, referring to a 1994 law allowing slot machines at racetracks but requiring casinos beef up the race prizes at their own expense.
But Don Avenson with the Iowa Greyhound Association reminded lawmakers that dog and horse racing was approved in 1983 in the hopes of boosting the rural economy, which he said has been successful. There are 58 greyhound farms across the state, Avenson said, and he estimated the industry supports about 1,000 jobs.
"In 40 years ... I have been here, I've never seen a General Assembly set out purposely to kill 1,000 jobs," said Avenson, who's also a former legislator. "That's what this bill does, and this is supposed to be a session about creating jobs."
And Avenson said another part of the bill, which would provide money to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to disburse to greyhound owners and kennels if racing stops, wouldn't be enough to cover the investment people have made in the industry.
"If (Carney) gave us the $70 million that he's talking about, maybe you could buy out these kinds of investments that have been made in rural Iowa," Avenson said. "Maybe you could buy out those kinds of jobs that people depend on."
Sen. Rick Bertrand, a Sioux City Republican, said ending greyhound racing in the state makes sense. But he's concerned lawmakers would use the money for ongoing expenses, leaving the state with a budget hole to fill in the future when it runs out.
"I agree, I think the dogs are dead," said Bertrand, who signed on to move the measure forward to the Senate State Government Committee.
"What I don't like about this is I don't think the state is entitled to that kind of money. It feels like a shakedown to me."
Sen. Wally Horn, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, said he held the meeting to meet a legislative deadline and keep the issue alive this year. He believes lawmakers should give the issue a hard look.
"The statistics are clear that people are not going to these races," Horn said.
And Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Cedar Falls Democrat who authored the measure, said it's unclear where the bill will end up this year. A similar measure discussed last year did not reach the Senate floor, and lawmakers say they're unsure of this measure's prospects this year.
"There are both policy concerns from last year and obviously it's a gambling bill so there are other layers of concerns that people attach to that issue that people want to work through," said Danielson, who is chairman of the Senate State Government Committee. "I don't have a vote count or get a sense that anybody's changed from last year, so we'll see what they say and work through the issues they come up with."
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Council Bluffs Democrat, declined to comment on the bill.
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