Harrah's asks to end subsidies to greyhound racing

By MIKE GLOVER

DES MOINES, Iowa

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. on Wednesday offered to pay Iowa $7 million a year to end the requirement that casinos with greyhound tracks subsidize the purses, in effect ending the racing but not the money.

"Dog racing generates little consumer support. It does little for Iowa's economy," said Dan Real, an executive with Harrah's.

Harrah's, which operates more than 50 casinos around the world, owns two casinos in Council Bluffs, including Horseshoe Council Bluffs, which has a dog track.

Mystique Greyhound Park & Casino in Dubuque also has greyhound racing.

The casinos have been required to subsidize purses at the dog tracks for 15 years, propping up an industry that can't stand on its own, Real said.

The subsidies cost $10 million a year, he said. Forty-two percent of the purses are paid to out-of-state kennels and breeders, with half going to just 20 kennels, he added.

Real said only a few people benefit from greyhound racing in Iowa, while Harrah's proposal would help the whole state.

"These dollars are better spent on education, health care and other compelling and other public issues faced by the state," he said.

Jim Carney, a Des Moines attorney who resents Harrah's, said the dog racing industry is wilting nationwide. Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, Wisconsin and Massachusetts have shut down dog tracks in recent years, he said.

"The gaming industry has evolved. It is simply subsidization of something that is dead," Carney said.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, held out little hope for the effort, at least this year because a series of revisions of the state's gambling laws has lost momentum.

Lawmakers are struggling to put together a $5.3 billion state budget and end this year's session, possibly as soon as next week.

Harrah's included a series of provisions to sweeten the offer, including making the $7 million annual payment to the cash-strapped state permanent, Carney said.

The package also includes $4 million to $10 million for Iowa dog breeders who want to get out of the business, in essence providing a "soft landing" for the industry.

Breeders would have the option of staying in the business and racing dogs in states that continue to offer the sport, Carney said.

No breeders or others involved in greyhound racing spoke against the proposal Wednesday.

A study commissioned by Harrah's and done by Christian Capitol Advisors, a New York consulting firm, found there was little betting on greyhound races in Iowa, but purses were still relatively large because casinos subsidized them.