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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Dante Santoni |
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Gaming committee clears bill to ban greyhound racing simulcasts
HARRISBURG, June 8 – The state House Gaming Oversight Committee today approved legislation (S.B. 214) that would make it illegal to simulcast greyhound races in the commonwealth, according to Rep. Dante Santoni, D-Berks.
Santoni, who is chairmen of the committee, said the bill would make it illegal to transmit or receive an interstate or intrastate simulcast of a greyhound race for commercial purposes.
"New greyhounds are continually being bred to replace others due to injury, age, or poor performance," Santoni said. "And the industry continues to destroy an average of 9,000 dogs a year because they are not profitable to them, including 'retirees' that aren't rescued or puppies that don't make the grade. We outlawed greyhound racing in 2004 because of the poor treatment of these dogs. We now need to close the loopholes in the law so that we can continue to protect them."
In 2004 the General Assembly enacted legislation prohibiting greyhound racing in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 214 would prohibit simulcasting races from other states. Even though live greyhound racing is illegal in eight states, simulcasting is illegal in only five of them. Santoni said tracks with live racing profit from simulcasting their races to other tracks, casinos and off-track betting parlors around the nation.
Santoni said 22,924 greyhounds were born in 2007, and 20,227 were registered to race. Approximately 14,000 greyhounds are rescued by organizations that bear the cost of caring for these dogs, including the medical expenses from injuries suffered from racing.
States that host live racing include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
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