By J.D. Wallace, KOLD News 13 Reporter

There were no dogs running at Tucson Greyhound Park on Wednesday night. A kennel operator tested positive for drugs on Tuesday night, thirty dogs were scratched, and racing was canceled Wednesday night because there weren't enough dogs to race.

"I'm not saying it hasn't gone in a good direction, but I think you can go overboard," said Tucson Greyhound Park CEO Tom Taylor.

Taylor said that he supports drug testing and keeping the industry honest, but he said that the Department of Racing wants to go way beyond the finish line with more drug testing for dogs and more audits of the betting.

"I don't think that's going to have any harm at all, as long as they don't make us pay for it," Taylor said.

"The industry should start supporting the regulation," said Geoffrey Gonsher, director of the Arizona Department of Racing.

The Department of Racing gets almost three million dollars for its enforcement budget from the Legislature. Its director, Geoffrey Gonsher, wants dog and horse racing to pick up the tab, and bring the system up to national standards. He said that Wednesday night's closure showed that recent improvements are working. Taylor agrees, but hopes that new efforts aren't excessive and expensive.

"And so, I think right now we need to settle back and let the industry regulate itself a little bit," Taylor said.

"That would be nice if they did, but historically they never have," Gonsher said.

Taylor said that racing should resume at Tucson Greyhound Park on Thursday.

I saw that on GG this morning. So what you are telling me is that there is AN employee in the racing industry that was abusing an illegal substance?? Wow, that is SO MUCH DIFFERENT than every other industry on earth.

You know they always have to make it a big deal in the gh industry. Something else for the AR's to talk about. Drugy employees.

I have to agree with you here. I don't see what the big deal is but I think it's more of an issue with with bettors than animal activists.

Jenna

OK, I'm confused. Please don't give me grief, just help me understand.
Why did they cancel races because the employee tested positive? Was it just a punishment? Did they think he gave the drugs to the dogs? Help!!!

Terilynb, I had the same question myself. Do they really think that someone that smokes pot or snorts coke is automatically giving the dogs steroids!? The two really have nothing to do with each other.

No, but the dogs could not race without their trainer there, so they had to be scratched.

Jenna

Duh, I wasn't thinking at 6:30 this morning!! And once that kennel's dogs were scratched, there weren't enough to fill the card.

If you bother to check with antone actually IN the business you'll see drug use among kennel help is a problem that puts the dogs at risk.

Wonder if there will be a sweep of all the AZ tracks or was just TGP singled out?

Kathy

Did this guy have 2 kennels? Thirty dogs in one night is half a kennel.

Half kennel/full kennel what constitutes each?
By the way FFR you might be suprised how many bank employees, hospital employees, grocery store employees ... oh wait there are drug users in all feilds of employment that you wouldn't even recognize or know about.
How does a drug users actions become a reason for an end to the racing industry ... that's a leap even for AR's. Sorry JMHO.
Tara

Tara you make a valid point. Substance abuse can be a problem nomatter what you do for a living or what side of the greyhound fence you are on. Many companies have drug rules but people are gonna do what they are gonna do. And I'm sure no one who's adopted a greyhound has ever had one too many, say during a greyhound event weekend, and then driven back to their hotel to take their pups out for late night walkies. (ok, flame away)

Kathy

Seriously, I think it's a bit overboard. You don't shut down a business because one of the employees tested positive. You fire that employee or suspend them and offer mandatory drug couseling or whatever. But you don't stop your business. I know I know, some people don't like to look at greyhound racing as a business. But it is. As long as they have a policy, make the employees sign that they agree to random drug testing and that they will lose their jobs if they test positive, I don't see how there is a problem?

If one of the dogs tested positive for having some drug in it's system to enhance it performance or something, that's when you close the track. But what do I know?

Five trainers' drug test results briefly close dog track here
By Josh Brodesky
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.09.2007

Five trainers at Tucson Greyhound Park tested positive for drugs this week, closing the track for two days and shortening its racing schedule for the weekend. Following a tip, officials with the Arizona Department of Racing tested trainers from 12 kennels Tuesday night, said Geoffrey Gonsher, the agency's director. Five people came up positive, and "as a result there were not enough people to maintain the dogs that would be racing," Gonsher said. The track, which is located in South Tucson, shut down for Wednesday and Thursday.

Tom Taylor, the track's general manager, declined to comment about the drug testing. But he did say the track was open for the weekend and that it would be running nine races instead of its usual 10. "We are on top of it," he said.

A widespread drug testing of all kennel trainers is a rare event in Arizona dog racing. In the past, Gonsher said, his department has done random sampling on trainers. "This is the first time in my tenure that we have conducted this type of enforcement action at a dog track, and for so many individuals to test positive is a rarity in Arizona," Gonsher said.

The positive tests are just the latest incident to affect Tucson Greyhound Park. Last summer the track became mired in a scandal after more than 140 retired greyhounds disappeared.

The track had contracted with a Colorado-based hauler to deliver the dogs to adoption groups, but only a few of the dogs were ever accounted for. The hauler was later fined and his licenses were revoked in both Arizona and Colorado.
"I would not say it affects the integrity of the sport," Gonsher said of the drug test results. "I can say it's another black eye to Tucson Greyhound Park."

Susan Netboy, who runs the California-based Greyhound Protection League, said she was concerned that the impairment of trainers would put the dogs at risk.
"If you've got somebody whose judgment is impaired, and they are caring for 60 or 70 dogs, that concerns me greatly," she said.

Hearings for the five people who tested positive are scheduled next week, Gonsher said.

● Contact reporter Josh Brodesky at 807-7789 or jbrodesky@azstarnet.com.

QUOTE (greytdog @ Jun 11 2007, 03:45 PM)

By the way FFR you might be suprised how many bank employees, hospital employees, grocery store employees ... oh wait there are drug users in all feilds of employment that you wouldn't even recognize or know about. How does a drug users actions become a reason for an end to the racing industry ... that's a leap even for AR's.  Sorry JMHO. Tara