Robert Goren
04-24-2014, 02:21 PM
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140423/NEWS/140429421/1707#agreement-reached-to-end-dog-racing-at-bluffs-run-at-end-of-2015
The Iowa greyhound industry and the state's two casinos that operate dog tracks have reached an agreement that would end dog racing at Bluffs Run in Council Bluffs at the end of 2015.
A bill based on that agreement will be debated by an Iowa Senate subcommittee this morning at the State Capitol in Des Moines.
The bill would allow Horseshoe Casino to end dog racing at Bluffs Run on Dec. 31, 2015. Horseshoe's owners would pay the greyhound industry $65 million; the initial payment of nearly $9.3 million would be due Jan. 1, 2016.
The bill allows Mystique Casino in Dubuque, which operates Iowa's other dog track, to end racing on Oct. 31.
But it also would allow the Iowa Greyhound Association to lease the Dubuque track for a nominal fee and apply to state gambling officials to conduct live racing there. Mystique would pay a total of $7 million to the dog racing industry.
Of the total $72 million going to the industry, half would go to continue racing in Dubuque.
The other $36 million would be paid to breeders, kennel operators and others whose livelihoods depend on greyhound racing in Iowa, as well as no-kill greyhound adoption agencies, said State Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls.
This has been in the works for several years. It may serve as a model for casinos to disconnect from racing. I doubt that "new" dog track in eastern Iowa last very long, if it even gets off the ground to start with.
The Iowa greyhound industry and the state's two casinos that operate dog tracks have reached an agreement that would end dog racing at Bluffs Run in Council Bluffs at the end of 2015.
A bill based on that agreement will be debated by an Iowa Senate subcommittee this morning at the State Capitol in Des Moines.
The bill would allow Horseshoe Casino to end dog racing at Bluffs Run on Dec. 31, 2015. Horseshoe's owners would pay the greyhound industry $65 million; the initial payment of nearly $9.3 million would be due Jan. 1, 2016.
The bill allows Mystique Casino in Dubuque, which operates Iowa's other dog track, to end racing on Oct. 31.
But it also would allow the Iowa Greyhound Association to lease the Dubuque track for a nominal fee and apply to state gambling officials to conduct live racing there. Mystique would pay a total of $7 million to the dog racing industry.
Of the total $72 million going to the industry, half would go to continue racing in Dubuque.
The other $36 million would be paid to breeders, kennel operators and others whose livelihoods depend on greyhound racing in Iowa, as well as no-kill greyhound adoption agencies, said State Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls.
This has been in the works for several years. It may serve as a model for casinos to disconnect from racing. I doubt that "new" dog track in eastern Iowa last very long, if it even gets off the ground to start with.