![\"Thoroughbred](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-03-29_20-59-45-693-e1743307236542.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 CAERPHILLY,\u00a0 Wales;\u00a0 LITTLE ROCK,\u00a0 Arkansas;\u00a0 PLEASANTON,\u00a0 California;\u00a0 SARATOGA,\u00a0 New York\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Greyhound racing is to end in Wales perhaps as soon as May 2026,\u00a0 and is now banned in Arkansas,\u00a0 where the last remaining track,\u00a0 in West Memphis,\u00a0 closed in 2022.<\/p>\n Horse racing ended in northern California with the February 2025 failure of a racing schedule at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton,\u00a0 meant to replace the much more ambitious schedule offered for 83 years at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley.<\/p>\n Horse racing would likely end in New York state,\u00a0 as well,\u00a0 but for what Wired <\/em>contributing editor Noah Shachtman calls \u201ca bizarre inverted pyramid of vice: \u00a0The state is using one particularly corrosive form of gambling [casinos] to keep another marginalized form [horse racing] alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Between humane opposition and waning bettor interest,\u00a0 animal racing of any sort appears to be stumbling to a finish.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gamblers are throwing away more money than ever on cards,\u00a0 craps,\u00a0 roulette,\u00a0 slot machines,\u00a0 and lotteries,\u00a0 but betting on animals is distinctly out of style,\u00a0 whether because animal races are perceived as more easily fixed,\u00a0 are more costly to stage,\u00a0 or in the case of horse racing in particular,\u00a0 no longer of interest to generations raised where horses are no longer a familiar presence.<\/p>\n \u201cGreyhound racing will disappear in Wales,\u201d\u00a0 reported Will Humphries for The Times of London<\/em> on March 28 2025, \u00a0after the Welsh Labour Party passed a budget bill 29-28 by winning an abstention from Jane Dodds with a pledge to pass a proposed greyhound racing ban.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dodds,\u00a0 the lone Liberal Democratic member of the Welsh Parliament,\u00a0 \u201cdedicated the ban to Arthur, \u00a0her late greyhound,\u00a0 who she claims was \u2018traumatized\u2019 by his time racing,\u201d\u00a0 Humphries wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s great,\u201d\u00a0 Dodds told Humphries,\u00a0 \u201cthat I live in a country in which ordinary people and charities can see that something is cruel, \u00a0take a stand against that cruelty, \u00a0and then work with politicians from across the political spectrum to deliver the change they want.<\/p>\n \u201cHuw Irranca-Davies, \u00a0the deputy first minister,\u201d\u00a0 Humphries specified,\u00a0 \u201csaid he wanted the [greyhound racing] ban to \u2018come into force as soon as practicably possible,\u2019 \u00a0which could mean legislation coming before the next Welsh parliamentary election in May 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n RSPCA logo dog.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Applauding the likelihood of Wales passing greyhound racing ban,\u00a0 Humphries said,\u00a0 was \u201cthe Cut the Chase coalition, \u00a0which includes the Royal SPCA, \u00a0Dogs Trust,\u00a0 and Greyhound Rescue Wales, \u00a0who said England, \u00a0Scotland, \u00a0and Northern Ireland should follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n In England,\u00a0 Labour Party culture minister Lisa Nandy \u201ctold the House of Commons there are \u2018absolutely no plans\u2019 to extend a greyhound racing ban to the rest of the U.K.,\u201d\u00a0 Humphries \u00a0mentioned, \u00a0\u201cbecause \u2018we appreciate the joy that it brings to many, \u00a0many people in our country and the economic contribution that it makes.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage) <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The British greyhound industry argues that the 109 dogs who died racing at the 20 U.K. racetracks in 2023 were half as many as died in 2018,\u00a0 when new safety rules came into effect,\u00a0 but not clear is whether the same number of greyhound races involving the same approximate number of dogs were run in 2023.<\/p>\n Also unclear is how the number of dogs used in racing compares to the number of horses.<\/p>\n The greyhound industry contends further that the British government would have to pay track owners and trainers \u201cupwards of \u00a320 million\u201d in compensation for a shutdown,\u00a0 or about four times more than was the cost of buying out the last 10 British mink farmers in 2003.<\/p>\n Cheech & Chong in \u201cA Day at the Races.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> The U.S. organization Grey2K USA meanwhile pronounced itself \u201cthrilled to report that Arkansas has now become the 44th American state to outlaw dog racing\u201d with a bill,\u00a0 HB 1721,\u00a0 which \u201cprohibits both live racing and simulcast wagering on dogs,\u201d\u00a0 effective by 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cGreyhound simulcasting has been outlawed in the six states of Arizona, \u00a0Arkansas, \u00a0Colorado, \u00a0Kansas, \u00a0Massachusetts, and New Hampshire since 2022,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Grey2K USA said.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBills to end betting on greyhound racing are pending in North Dakota, \u00a0Oregon, and Texas.<\/p>\n House Bill 1721 also phases out remote gambling on dog races, known as simulcasting, by 2028.<\/p>\n Greyhound racing continues in the U.S. only at two tracks in West Virginia.<\/p>\n \u201cA bill to prohibit gambling on greyhound racing nationwide was introduced in the 118th Congress,\u201d\u00a0 Grey2K said, \u00a0\u201cand earned the support of 80 cosponsors and more than 250 humane groups, \u00a0anti-gambling organizations, \u00a0and local animal shelters,\u201d\u00a0 but unclear as yet is whether any of that momentum will carry over into the 119th Congress.<\/p>\n Golden Gate Fields, Berkeley 1941.<\/strong><\/em> The California Authority of Racing Fairs canceled \u201call 2025 horse racing in Northern California,\u201d\u00a0 reported J.R. Stone for KGO on February 25, \u00a02025.<\/p>\n \u201cInitially, \u00a0there was a belief that racing would go on until June,\u201d\u00a0 Stone reported, \u00a0\u201cbut after lackluster, lower-than-expected wagering last year, the decision was made.\u00a0 Wagering dollars during that time were 50% lower than expected, \u00a0according to officials.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked Shachtman in a February 28,\u00a0 2025 op-ed column for The New York Times<\/em>,\u00a0 \u201cDead athletes.\u00a0 Empty stands.\u00a0 Why are we paying billions to keep this sport alive?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lonely time to be a racing fan,\u201d\u00a0 Schachtman wrote. \u00a0\u201cFor those who own the horses,Only massive subsidies keep any form of animal racing lucrative\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThrowing away money<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI think it\u2019s great\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThe Cut to the Chase Coalition\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nCasualties<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(Merritt Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nArkansas bans greyhound racing & simulcasting<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWill current Congress take an interest?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nAll 2025 horse racing canceled in Norcal<\/h2>\n
though, \u00a0things aren\u2019t so bad. Payouts for winners \u2014 the purses \u2014 are tremendous.<\/p>\n