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Greyhound Racing Ends in Oregon

Friday, December 24, 2004

Magna Entertainment Corp., the operator of the last remaining greyhound racing venue issued a statement that it will won't renew its lease of the Multnomah Greyound Park in Portland, Oregon, when it expires on Dec 31, 2004. In its press release dated Dec 23, 2004, MEC says that competition in other gambling venues have taken away much of its greyhound racing business:

In 2003, the Oregon legislature authorized a 20% increase in the number of video lottery terminals operated in restaurants and taverns throughout the state; and it appears that further expansion of the state lottery will take place in the upcoming 2005 legislative session, via the conversion of the state lottery's current video poker machines into slot machines.

Indian casinos in Oregon have continued to grow and significantly cut into the market share of the pari-mutuel industry. Recent announcements regarding new Indian casinos, both within Oregon and just north of the Oregon-Washington border, highlight the fact that the competition from Indian casinos will only grow more fierce in the coming years.

Oregon's off-track betting network has suffered significant declines in business, primarily due to account wagering providers who take wagers on greyhound and horse races from Oregon residents over the telephone and Internet.
Chris Dragone, general manager of Multnomah stated, "We are disappointed to shut down Multnomah Greyhound Park, but have no alternative given the competitive pressure we face from the state lottery, Indian casinos, and other forms of wagering available to Oregon residents. We are committed, however, to acting in a responsible manner as we phase out greyhound racing. We will continue to work with the Oregon Greyhound Association to keep their adoption kennel open until all of the currently retired Oregon greyhounds have found a home."

7 Comments:

  • We visited Multnomah Greyhound Park every other year. What a great place for great entertainment. The infield was one of the most beautiful infields in racing. The building was equally a treasure relic. I remember some great times we had there. Hopefully racing will resume when the proper financing is found. It would be a shame for a landmark such as Multnomah Greyhound Park to disappear.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:34 PM, June 19, 2005  

  • I took my dad to Multnomah Greyhound Park every other Friday. He looked forward to the daughter/father time together and I, the competition of trying to win more than he did (I never beat him)
    He used to tell me stories of how his dad used to race dogs back in England and how one particularily fast dog acctually caught the rabbit. My dad passed away in January and I will miss our time toghether. It is sad that the track has to close so others will never have stories to tell about what they did.

    By Blogger chris, at 10:44 AM, July 22, 2005  

  • I am very saddened by the closing of MGP. I remember the 'glory' years, where you could enjoy a nice meal (cheap downstairs, moderate on the third floor with tables, and, for special occasions, fine dining on the 4th floor). The people were very nice, the action was fast and had elegance and tradition. It was Oregon's most popular spectator sport, outdrawing everything, including the Trailblazers. It was fun when the greyhounds were brought up for the clientele to see and pet. It is a great disaapointment to see how slot machines and the lottery (mindless numbers games) have replaced a type of betting where both skillful calculations and hunches provided the motivation to place your wager.

    Animal rights people may be thrilled at the demise, but those greyhounds lived to race and compete. This was their joy and they knew if they won or lost. It's a sad chapter in Oregon that a classy venue has closed in favor of smokey bar brainless slots.

    Don

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:20 AM, August 24, 2005  

  • Know your facts about the cruelty of greyhound racing. Animal rights activists are aware of documented cruelty to greyhounds that occurs on a daily basis in many racetracks. MEC's Multanomah racetrack was no different, all greyhound racetracks disregard animal welfare for profits.

    Maybe people just didn't want to pay money to watch dogs on performance enhancing drugs, painkillers, etc.. running in circles for corporate profit. Visit www.greyhounds.org for details on animal cruelty at greyhound racetracks;

    http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/exploit.html

    By Blogger grandpa wolf, at 2:45 PM, September 07, 2006  

  • I miss visiting Multnomah Greyhound Park. I'll bet the people of Portland are starved for some exciting greyhound racing. Does anyone know if the park is still open for simulcasting. Also, any word of a re-opening of the park? I keep hoping for the return of greyhound racing to Multnomah Park.

    By Blogger TONUTOM, at 6:09 PM, April 14, 2007  

  • I spent many days and nights at MKC since 1968 and miss the greyhound racing very much. I watch and wager on tracks when in Nevada but there are none that can ever replace historic MKC. Being from Idaho I am sure that those fans in the Portland area miss it even more. What great entertainment Murray Kemp provided the patrons each race day. He and George Dewey truly provided a great place to go. If there is anyone out there who would like to see greyhound racing again in the Portland area, please contact me and I would be happy to be a major investor in reviving greyhound racing in Oregon. Please contact me at investments45@aol.com if you are interested.

    By Blogger andrewfan, at 12:54 PM, May 23, 2007  

  • Don said, "Animal rights people may be thrilled at the demise, but those greyhounds lived to race and compete. This was their joy and they knew if they won or lost."

    Greyhounds like all other breeds were bred by humans to be greyhounds. Years ago the hounds were used to track down food…rabbits/small game in the Middle East. Families depended on these hounds for survival and were taken care of well. We, humans, distorted this function by making them run around a track so Grandpa Jo can get his jollies. So they could get out of there 3’x 4’ crate for 10 min to race and relieve themselves twice a day. Not only do you fail to learn about facts on animal cruelty you also fail to actually study the breed. These are majestic animals...too majestic for the pathetic folks that seek entertainment from them. Pretty sad, the adoption rate on hounds is only 30% the other ADOPTABLE hounds are euthanized or illegally disposed. This is NOT like horse racing, greyhounds are over bred; hence the problems the industry creates. What most uneducated folks don’t know that for most hounds that were trained to race and fail, never even compete, are disposed. One year/two years old. Just because they are too slow or are maybe too stubborn/ smart to do what is demanded of them. Maybe if everyone that gambled on hounds should own one/two, instead of a lab or retriever. This would keep your industry alive. Maybe we should dispose of other breeds for no reason at all and see how Don likes it. Don, I think you should sit in a crate that is just big enough for you to barely stand up and lie down in for 23.5 hours a day. Yep that is what greyhounds lived to do race and compete and oh yea be crated up for 23 hours a day. I'm for outing greyhound racing. Yea...another successful closure.
    --Laura

    Want to gamble, stick a quarter in it! :p

    By Blogger Espy, at 3:49 PM, July 23, 2007  

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