Run is over
Vote to end greyhound racing devastates tracks' workers and patrons
RAYNHAM - The greyhounds were being led to the starting line, but all the spectators could see was the finish.
Not even the bugle call sounding the cheerful "Call to Post" over the track's loudspeakers elicited excited chatter yesterday from spectators at the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park.
The track's patrons and employees were still stunned that voters had overwhelmingly decided to shut them down, banning greyhound racing in Massachusetts Tuesday by a decisive 56-44 percent vote on ballot Question 2.
Now, workers who complain they were unfairly labeled animal abusers by the referendum's proponents face looming unemployment amid an ailing economy.
"I'm 52 years old with a high school education," said Mike Curran, a trainer at the track for 30 years whose eyes welled with tears as he spoke. "This is a dream job: playing with dogs all day. That vote is a life-changing event for us."
Resigned to the end of dog racing, track owners and the lawmakers who support them said they will launch a renewed effort to legalize slot machines in dog and horse tracks in the hope of restoring the estimated 1,000 jobs and millions of dollars in gambling revenue that will be lost when live racing ends.
"We're going to push right away for the beginning of the year. The four tracks are all going to push for it," said Charles Sarkis, majority owner of the state's other dog track, Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere. He said the time is right for Massachusetts dog, horse, and harness tracks to persuade the administration to endorse slots because large-scale casinos may have trouble with financing in the current economy and the state is in dire need of revenue.
"Every day we don't have slots there, the Commonwealth is losing $1 million, along with licensing fees," said state Representative David L. Flynn, a Bridgewater Democrat whose district includes the Raynham track. He called on the governor to back slots, which could generate $500 million a year in licensing fees and gambling taxes.
But yesterday, neither the governor nor the House speaker expressed a willingness to endorse slots. And the state's two dog tracks, in Raynham and Revere, began long goodbyes to the already flagging sport of greyhound racing, which the ballot question called for ending in January 2010. It will mark the end of an era for many spectators whose social lives have been shaped by the tracks near their hometowns.
"I've been coming here for more than 30 years," Arthur Rocha, 80, said at Raynham. "This is a great place for old-timers."
Wonderland started during the Great Depression and flourished over time. The biggest year in its history was 1991, Sarkis said. But that was the heyday. Later in the decade, the tracks could not compete with the casinos built in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and the Lottery was nibbling at gamblers' available dollars. Dog racing was losing patrons and losing interest from the young.
Now, many afternoons at Wonderland, fewer than 50 people gather in the spacious, dreary building that smells of stale cigarettes. Most are retired men watching simulcast races on small television sets. One man was there yesterday just to watch the weather forecast.
"It's like Black Tuesday, is what we're calling it," said Wonderland's assistant labor foreman Paul DeFilippo, who walked through the building yesterday with his two adopted retired greyhounds. "I've been here 31 years. I have two kids in college, and I have a mortgage in my home. Where am I going to find work in this economy?"
Governor Deval Patrick pledged to provide job training for displaced workers. But kennel and track employees are bitter about the way they were portrayed by the Committee to Protect Dogs, which contended in advertisements that greyhounds are kept in confined cages for up to 20 hours a day. The group also used data from the State Racing Commission to show that more than 800 greyhounds have been injured since 2002. Though track workers countered that they take care of the dogs, give them plenty of exercise, and keep a veterinarian on site, voters decided to act.
Ray Spector, 61, a betting clerk at Wonderland for 40 years, expressed bitterness.
"No private organization should have the right to put anyone out of work because they just don't like you," he said.
Added John O'Donnell, a trainer at a Lynn kennel: "I've lived here all my life, worked, paid taxes, and you wake up and find out the state of Massachusetts don't want you. It's a little more than just getting fired."
Matt Viser and Katheleen Conti of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com. 