Commentary: Dog Tracks Horse Tracks Should Report Injuries: By Fighting It, What Do The Tracks Have To Hide?

Good commentary. Brings up many useful points about a very sketchy industry.

For more information on greyhound racing visit http://www.grey2kusa.org/Racing/cruelty.html

For more information on greyhound racing, but also on horse racing visit: http://www.idausa.org/facts/racing.html


Article:

Racing Industry

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/
editorial/sfl-editnbtracksjul10,0,6243672.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Posted July 10 2006


ISSUE: Should dog tracks report injuries?

What do the dog tracks have to hide? That's the question screaming above the noise over whether greyhound race tracks should have to report to the state every time one of their animals is injured or dies.

The proposal includes Florida's four horse tracks, too, but the real target is greyhound racing, with tens of thousands of dogs racing at 15 tracks each year.

That's a lot of paws pounding the dirt at breakneck speeds, and lots of potential for accidents. But Florida is one of just five of the 14 states with dog tracks that don't require reporting. That means a state that makes plenty of gambling tax money off the business of racing doesn't know whether it comes at too great a cost to the animals pressed into service.

You don't have to be an animal lover, or an animal rights activist, to find that troubling.

When fending off the push for reporting, industry lobbyists cite a contradictory argument, saying the measure is unnecessary because injuries are few but also a costly "waste of time."

How, exactly, would it be cost-prohibitive to fill out a one-page report if injuries are so rare?

The same arguments surfaced in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which mandated reporting anyway and found no cost problems since.

You'd think that, even without a mandate, dog tracks would keep close records as to how many accidents take place for safety and product protection. And at least six tracks do, but more don't. Not exactly the kind of sound business model that engenders an abundance of confidence.

State Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, a big booster of the pari-mutuels, wants a reporting requirement, because he believes it would deflate critics and give the industry more credibility. But he couldn't even get his measure heard last session.

If injuries aren't a problem, then reporting them shouldn't be either. If they are, the state needs to improve its oversight of the racing business. And that may be just what the industry fears.

BOTTOM LINE: The reports should be required, to boost credibility, or oversight.