End Of Simulcasts Good For Idaho

Thu., Jan. 28, 1999

D.F. Oliveria For The Editorial

State Rep. Jim Stoicheff was a nice guy in 1996 when he allowed the Idaho racing industry to phase out greyhound simulcasts over three years. The Sandpoint Democrat had the votes to kill dog racing and simulcasts outright. But jobs were at stake. So, he gave the Greyhound Park and other tracks time to get their houses in order.

Today, Stoicheff knows he wasn’t dealing with honest people. The racing industry simply was buying time when it persuaded Stoicheff to amend his bill to provide a transition period. That was apparent last year when two local lawmakers lobbied unsuccessfully to remove the phaseout deadline, July 1, 1999. Now, another attempt is being made to save the greyhound simulcasts.

It deserves to fail, too.

The Idaho Racing Commission, race tracks and tourism promoters have had ample time to prepare for the phaseout. They should be ashamed for trying to welsh on their agreement to end all traces of this blood sport. Greyhound racing has dragged down Idaho long enough.

This sad tale began during the 1986 Legislature when businessman Duane Hagadone and other North Idahoans won approval for dog racing. Stoicheff and other wary lawmakers were dazzled by promises of jobs and new tax revenue. Also, they were assured the racers would be treated well.

That myth was exposed when dog carcasses began appearing at area landfills shortly after the Greyhound Park opened nearly a dozen years ago. Tales of animal cruelty hounded the track until December 1995 when it suspended live racing. At the time, the track was losing $3 million annually and had one of the worst reputations in the industry.

The Idaho Racing Commission and others who are trying to save the greyhound simulcasts want us to ignore the industry’s dismal track record. Idaho’s principled decision to phase out the simulcasts won’t have any effect on the industry in other states, they complain. But they’re missing the point. The simulcasts should go because dog racing is nothing more than glamorized animal cruelty.

For that reason, the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe voluntarily should end dog-racing simulcasts at its bingo casino, too. At present, a grandfather clause protects the tribe from the phaseout.

Greyhound Park has survived and prospered somewhat, thanks to Stoicheff’s transition period. Revenues have risen 40 percent since Playfair Race Course closed last year. Also, the park anticipated the ban by diversifying its revenue sources, renting space for conventions and other events.

Idaho survived for years without dog racing. It can get along without it now.

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