What Matters Most?

I still remember my first home visit 27 years ago with regards to possibly adopting a greyhound. One of the reasons I got involved with greyhound adoption was my impression of how the home visit was conducted. Not once was my religion asked about, not once was my view regarding greyhound racing questioned. The adoption volunteer conducting the home visit was concerned with the environment that a potential greyhound would be living, if there were other pets, and most important if those living in the home would genuinely care for the greyhound and truly offer it a forever home.

Over the years I have traveled to attend greyhound events literally from sea-to-sea and have met thousands of greyhound adopters. I have met pro-racing adopters. I have met adopters who were against racing. I have met greyhound adopters with no opinion on racing and simply loved their greyhound.

All the greyhounds with regards to the three categories mentioned above had one thing in common – a loving home & family.

Today there is an obvious shift in greyhound adoption & racing industry to only send greyhounds to groups who publicly declare themselves as “pro-racing" (with extra bonus points to those that politically and financially back the movement to save greyhound racing) flooding the chosen groups with available dogs or holding greyhounds for a period of time while many greyhound adoption groups who have loving forever homes lined up and waiting are not sent any dogs nor are those families given the chance to adopt the, in my opinion, most wonderful dog in the world.

I sometimes wonder if (as the saying goes) "it's all about the dogs" or has it now become "it's all about the beliefs". A family is only worthy of the chance of adopting a greyhound if they are of the approved mindset?

I hope as Florida winds down the remaining tracks will put an enormous effort into quality of home vs. the group and homes racing views, and help those that believe in the importance of placing the greyhounds into loving forever homes takes precedence over the stance. Personally, I fear that the stance has become the priority and believe that will put a risk on the quality of homes available to the ex-racing greyhounds. Will adoption groups be forced to hold on to their adoptable greyhounds in fear that unless they adopt out as "instructed" they will forfeit access to any adoptable greyhounds going forward?

Is not a forever loving home for the ex-racing greyhounds the reason many of us got into this in the first place?

Play by your rules…

A few years ago when advising one of my clients with regards to dealing with their annual SOX audit, I advised the client never say they would do something when the facts showed they did not have the manpower to accomplish or the desire to actually follow through with the tasks. Auditors love to nail business units on items they say they will do but fail to.

For years we heard that the use of live lure training was a practice of days gone by and that in today’s greyhound racing community, anyone caught doing such would be "kicked out". Many believed that this was fact.  

During the Arizona Racing Commission meeting held August 18, 2020, the Chairman of the Arizona Racing Commission (me) made the following public statement:

“Those of you who may have been in attendance over 8 years ago when I was introduced as the new racing commissioner representing the greyhounds may remember I mentioned that I can be a quite person, but have the capability to speak up and maybe get long winded as I am the son of a Baptist minister.

At the end of July, a news story with videos circulated across the nation regarding live lure training of greyhounds. 

Most if not all of you with us today know that adopting ex-racing greyhounds as pets is something, I have done for 27 years. Not only do I love the greyhounds, I have supported the sport and have been an active voice for the adoption effort as well as a national leader for the mission of assisting ex-racing greyhounds being placed in loving homes. While those basics have not changed, many of you in the electronic conference room today have known that over the last 8 years as part of this commission, I’m a supporter of ensuring the safety of all participants in the sport of horse and greyhound racing. I am a firm believer and enforcer of playing by the rules.

While I do not personally believe greyhound racing will be able to overcome the accusations of the past few weeks, as I personally see this as a huge ethical problem for greyhound racing, I do believe those of you in horse racing can learn a lesson, I would like to take a few moments to share my thoughts.

While my fellow commissioners and I, as well as others here today,  have taken an oath to uphold the laws and ensure the protections of the public and all participants, each and every one of us in the sports has a duty to abide by the laws, statues, and house rules. Each one of us has a duty to uphold the sports with the greatest of loyalty and care, each one of us has a duty to treat each other with respect and treat the animals involved with the greatest of care. Doing such shows the public that while each of us is human and capable of sin, our duty of care and loyalty creates an environment that our actions and conduct are pure, professional and law abiding and as such, the public perception of our sport is greatly increased.

Personally, I am appalled at the evidence that has shown a number of greyhound racing participants actively involved in live lure bating with jackrabbits in what is also termed as “jacking”.  Many have asked me to speak up over the past couple of weeks however I have remained silent as I struggled to come up with words to express my feelings.  

My feelings do not matter. I can say I do not struggle with the enforcement of the rules, laws, statues, and house rules. While this body does not have any jurisdiction in the current situation, I do believe we have a right to question the signals imported into our state and demand that the greyhounds and racing participants abide by the rules so that those signals are fair. If we fail to address this issue are, we protecting the Arizona public as best we can regarding this situation?

As a commissioner, as someone who has been a leader in greyhound adoption, as a person who has supported responsible racing and as one who has had many adopted ex-racing greyhounds at home, I personally encourage the National Greyhound Association to stop sidestepping this infraction. I encourage them to take bold and rightful actions. I encourage those with authority to investigate and bring the facts to light.

Each of us of can be tempted by the serpent to cheat. Do not let yourselves be tempted. Uphold our sports with the upmost respect for not only yourselves but for your fellow owners, trainers, jockeys, other participants of the sports and perhaps most of all the horses and greyhounds who look to us for care, protection and love.

I hope you all know I respect you and I will support you. If you violate the rules, the respect and love for all living beings, the foundations that my father Reverend Goree taught me as a child will not cease, but as my mother often had to say to my young self - you have broken the rules of this house and you know the consequences.

 

Violating the rules leads to consequences. Cheating harms not just the cheater, it brings great harm to the collective sport, participants and animals involved and it harms the future. Cheating, violation of the rules, beating the system, call it what you like...in the end all it will do is bring about the demise of the sports you love.

 

Call it what you want, willfully violating the rules is not responsible racing.”

 

As I have yet to hear that the National Greyhound Association has taken a hard-liner stance on live lure training, publicly condemned any members caught doing so and permanently removing those members, today while I know it will not make a bit of difference, I returned my ballot for NGA board elections.

 

Be not afraid to abide by the rules, be not afraid to take a stand.