love greyhounds. Trainer and kennel owner
John Farmer, a Klamath Tribe member from
Oregon, said he fell in love with the breed when
he was 11 and his mother let him watch races at
Multnomah Greyhound Park. Now 55, he carries
mementos of his winning dogs in an overflowing
Tupperware container.
Greyhounds are affectionate animals, not
particularly high-strung, said longtime vet-
erinarian Donald Beck. In his time at Derby
Lane, Beck said he was never bitten—but he
had been scratched by excited dogs jumping
on him.
When Winning recalls racing champions,
one stands out: Keefer, the dog that won
Derby Lane’s 1986 Distance Classic. That race
drew 12,779 people—the largest crowd in track
history. By 2020 Saturday races drew maybe
a thousand.
The money brought in by live greyhound rac-
ing in its final decade dropped from $117 million
a year to less than $40 million. At Derby Lane, it
fell from $12 million to $4.3 million.
The industry tried to adapt, winning legis-
lative approval in 1996 for poker rooms and
for simulcasting, which lets bettors wager on
races elsewhere. The poker rooms remained
packed. After dog racing ended, simulcast races
drew some fans. But they couldn’t save the
dog tracks.F
OR A DECADE, GREY2K tried to per-
suade Florida legislators to reform
greyhound racing, to no avail. Finally,
the group appealed to the state’s
Constitution Revision Commission,
which meets every two decades, and
persuaded commissioners to support
a proposal to end racing.
The organization and its allies spent three
million dollars advocating for Amendment
13, Theil says, mostly for TV ads showing mis-
treated racing dogs. Two groups opposing the
amendment spent just $534,000 in response.
One of the groups’ ads accused Grey2K of exag-
gerating the danger.
“The vast majority of the dogs are well trained,
well treated, and well loved,” said Jack Cory, of
the Florida Greyhound Association. He called
Grey2K “pathological liars.”
Yet the industry drew little support beyond
its fan base. Nearly 70 percent of the voters said
yes to the amendment.ADOPTING A GREYHOUND
There are about 300 greyhound
adoption agencies in the U.S.
The Greyhound Project (adopt-a-
greyhound.org/directory/list.cfm)
maintains a searchable directory.
If you adopt a greyhound racer,
remember it has been trained to run.
You may have to teach the dog some
basics. Also, it likely will be unfamiliar
with other dog breeds or pets, such
as cats, and will need time to get
used to them.134 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC