According to an anti-greyhound racing group, last year, hundreds of injuries were suffered at the Greyhound dogs racing on West Virginia tracks, though the number of injuries is on the decline.

A Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to outlawing greyhound racing nationwide, Grey2K USA studied state records to find 855 injuries to greyhounds occurred at the state’s two tracks in 2011. According to the analysis, out of these 855 injuries, 335 injuries occurred at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and 520 at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Nitro. According to Grey2K, nearly 230 suffered injuries that ended their use in racing and 40 greyhounds died or they were euthanized. By comparison, in 2010, 935 injuries were reported, out of which 415 at Wheeling and 520 at Mardi Gras.

State Director of Racing Jon Amores attributed the decline at Wheeling to a new track surface there. The number of fatalities there was higher, while the number of injuries was lower at Wheeling. In 2011, 15 greyhounds died or they were euthanized at Mardi Gras. There were 25 such fatalities at Wheeling. Grey2K Executive Director Carey Theil noted the number at Mardi Gras was unchanged, although he called the overall decline at Wheeling “good news”. A photo of a dog named Iruska IC Beauty from a race was provided by the group. The dog had a spinal injury. The group also points to veterinarian reports that after the dogs suffered leg injuries, they were being killed.

Lately, racing injuries have drawn a lot of attention. a series about injuries to horses was published to the New York Times. There are also questions about industry practices aside from day-to-day injuries to the animals while they race. Last week, a California man was sentenced to six months in prison for threatening to release tapes last fall that he said would have injured Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s reputation. The man, Harry Marshall Rae believes dogs are being trained to chase live rabbits and there are inhumane mass killings of greyhounds.

Racing director, Amores do not agree with Theil’s calls to end racing. An analysis by his company found that in 2011, dogs started 43,253 races. As per Adkins’ measurement, dogs get injured only 1.2 percent of the time they race. Adkins claims it to be the best way to measure the injury rate, while Theil dismissed that measurement. As per Theil, the injury figures show fewer than 12,000 dogs were registered to race nationwide.

Greyhound dog racing has been cancelled for the rest of the week at a Galveston-area greyhound track because of an outbreak of canine flu. According to the official website, racing is scheduled to resume Sunday afternoon at the Gulf Greyhound Park in LaMarque.

Veterinarians believe that the kennels at the Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, Texas were swept by canine influenza, also known as dog flu. Racing at the park was canceled so the dogs can rest.

The track’s general manager, Sally Briggs said that they have canceled live racing for the rest of the week. At the end of the week, they will make a decision and will make sure a relapse does not occur in such a scenario. Briggs added that more than 80 dogs got sick with what is believed to be the dog flu during the past few weeks.

Briggs further added that there was throwing up, coughing, some had a high fever and some had a fever. Briggs said that they have 10 kennels and in each kennel, there are between 60 to 68 greyhounds, which is quite a lot. More than 80 dogs were suffering the flu, although they have recuperated very quickly. Six of the youngest greyhounds, who had low resistance were not so lucky and succumb to this contagious disease. The rest of the dogs at Gulf Greyhound Park now are doing well and on Sunday, they could be back on the track.

The Humane Society of Houston is now issued a warning for pet owners to look for symptoms in their own dogs. Monica Schmidt said that the symptoms are just like those with the human flu.

Schmidt said that you want to worry when it is multiple symptoms together, like if you have an exhausted animal that is not eating or drinking, as well as maybe a cough, you should to be concerned. She added that this flu could be transferred through coughing, sneezing, playing with a toy, direct nose-to-nose (contact) and by drinking out of same water bowl. The only protection is the dog flu vaccine.

Dog owners were warned to take their dog to a vet immediately for antibiotics and the vaccine, if they noticed any flu-like symptoms in their dog and they are advised not to take their dog to the park or doggie daycare.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that canine flu was detected in dogs eight years ago and this virus had originally afflicted horses. 80 percent of the cases are mild, while it is potentially fatal. The virus does not affect people.

On Wednesday, the stadium will be staging sale of greyhounds. Around 60 Irish bred dogs are anticipated to be present at the stadium, which will undergo trials prior to being sold. With the sale starting at around 1pm, the trials are expected to begin at 11am.

Quality dogs like the Oaks and St Leger winners, Greyhound Derby finalists are often generated from these sales; therefore, you can expect high quality bred dogs in this sale too. For the most part, the dogs on this sale are youngsters, which are bought on the day and are placed with trainers at Crawford to race here.

On the racing front, having won in top grade A1 last Friday night, Liskees Joy has a tradition of winning a couple of races in rapid succession, therefore it will exciting to watch out for her on the race card. Winning an A1 again is going to be a tough ask of her. However, she may well replicate, if she cracks off in front. She is quite a proficient of repeating her win. Last Friday night, Liskees Joy was 7/1 and it will be an unwise thing to put off by the price.

Here at the weekend, Head Iton Paul made it two wins from six starts. Before joining Crayford trainer Barry O’Sullivan’s kennels in the early 2009, he certainly had an appealing career.  The dog has been an Open race dog so he has had race familiarity at several different tracks. At Monmore, the dog had a few races in the top two grades. Given the background for this experienced dog, a top grade A1 win could well be on the cards.

Victory Land Greyhound Park has announced that live Greyhound racing will be suspended from June 1. According to a Victory Land release, there will still be Juvenile Futurity races on May 18, 21, 25 and 30, as well as simulcast pari-mutuel wagering on greyhound and thoroughbred racing every day excluding Tuesdays.

Since the facility opened in 1984, live greyhound racing has been offered continuously at Macon County Greyhound Track in Shorter.

Track spokesperson Bill Cunningham said, the Juvenile Futurity races were races scheduled prior to the decision to end greyhound racing at Victory Land, and are for young greyhounds racing to qualify for other races. The announcement of the decision to suspend greyhound racing at Victory Land ends a nearly 27- year run at the shorter casino that featured electronic gaming.

Officials say without the profits from electronic bingo, they can no longer afford to offer live greyhound racing. The end of live racing means that 200 more employees will lose their jobs.

Chief Operating Officer Lewis Benefield complained about former Gov. Bob Riley’s campaign to end electronic bingo, which Riley considered to be illegal slot machines. Benefield said the 6,000 electronic bingo machines were a big moneymaker at the park, and supported the high costs of running live dogs.

The Legislature considers bills that would allow greyhound sites to stop live racing in Florida and to focus on card rooms. Current law requires tracks to run a certain amount of races in order to operate poker games. If bills moving through the state Legislature receive final approval, there may be a lot fewer greyhounds running in the nation’s dog racing capital.

With 16 facilities, Florida has been the nation’s top dog racing state. However the total “handle,” or amount wagered on greyhounds statewide, has decreased from $633 million in 1999-2000 to $292 million in 2009-2010.

As the track owners are sparsely attended money losers they have wanted to shed their books of live races. Starting in 2012, the bill also provides tracks an estimated $1.4 million annual tax reduction.

Since there would be a greatly reduced demand for their product, kennel owners argued that the move would put them out of business. There is no provision in the bill to deal with the hoards of unemployed greyhounds that would need to be adopted, what others argued.

Track spokesman Michael Munz said, Jacksonville Greyhound, which owns the dog track in Orange Park, has not taken a position on the bill. It won’t affect operations there if the legislation does pass, though.

D – Delray, Sen. Maria Sachs, said that her bill would do nothing to prevent tracks from having live races, and that the market, under her bill, could help dictate which tracks want to have them.

The bill passed 6-2 out of the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax. It now heads to the Senate floor. A House companion bill has one remaining committee stop.

Decoupling is about whether the state should force a business to conduct one activity so that it may offer another. To host live greyhound racing, SB 1594 and HB 1145 would eliminate the requirement for dog track owners, but would still permit them to offer other forms of gambling.

The total number of mandatory live greyhound races in Florida has remained the same from 1990 to 2010, according to Florida DBPR. Although the amount gambled on dog races has decreased 69 percent, and the amount of taxes collected by the state for live greyhound racing has declined by more than 96 percent, from more than $75 million in 1990 to less than $2.7 million in 2010.

To taxpayers and track operators those figures represent a significant cost, and they confirm the increasing public opposition to greyhound racing due to humane concerns such as confinement and injuries.

Racetrack owners should be permitted to discontinue a portion of their business that is no longer viable as dogs play an important role in our lives and deserve to be protected.

While track owners complain of dwindling proceeds from the racing, animal rights activists have been stepping up their drumbeat for doing away with what they see as cruelty. However, track owners say they have to keep the racing going in order to meet the terms with state law that requires it if they want to diversify into other kinds of gambling.

To help organizations pet out greyhounds, the National Greyhound Association spends thousands of dollars a year. As with any athlete yes, there are a few serious injuries. To help these injured animals everything possible is done.

The face of gambling in Florida could alter by the two bills that lawmakers are weighing currently. According to the first bill, without having to run live dog races, the bill would permit dog track owners to keep their cards and slot machines. The other bill would authorize internet poker.

On Wednesday, both bills were endorsed by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. In the House, the same bills have been introduced, but have not been taken up.

In an effort to keep the tracks buoyant, the bill (SB 1594), sponsored by Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, would do away with the 15-year-old live-racing requirement, as their revenues and attendance declines.

Allowing dog tracks to complete their conversion to either card rooms or slot machine venues, the racetrack bill would remove one of the last remnants of Florida’s pari-mutuel tradition as the reputation of dog racing declines. Florida is home to 16 greyhound tracks.

Representatives of Palm Beach Kennel Club support Sachs’ proposal because they believe it would clean up the industry, sweeten the track’s fate with increased profits from simulcast racing, and said that it would persist to run live races.

Between 2002 and 2010, by more than half, gambling on the live races plunged and the purses paid on the races declined by 69 percent. According to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation data, the decline has caused the taxes and fees paid to the state by its 13 greyhound tracks to tumble 96 percent.

A lobbyist for the Florida Greyhound Association, Jack Cory said that the bill would gutt the $50 million-a-year industry and closing down hundreds of dog breeders and owners and would prompt track operators to get rid of dog races completely.

Prevailing in the McDonald’s Country Challenge was a great accomplishment for greyhound trainer Charles Northfield with dog Kingsbrae Sam. As the dogs covered the 520 meters, a big crowd was on hand to witness the race in the premier race in the Armidale Greyhound Cup Carnival. Kingsbrae Sam led all the way to beat Pindari Bale by soaring out of box one. Pindari Bale finished second. Third place was secured for Northfield’s Pretty Norris.

On the GRNSW Country Challenge series, Casino-based Charlie Northfield came out on top at Armidale to land back-to-back legs. Instead, in the overall series Charlie Northfield has supported the claims of another kennel star to be his top chance. Kingsbrae Sam sizzled in an anxious win from the well-travelled Pindari Bale in 30.32s.

After winning the prior leg at Wauchope with Proper Lucy, the result handed Northfield consecutive victories on the GRNSW Country Challenge circuit. Proper Lucy in the almost yearlong series, rates as his finest chance of claiming overall honors. In the Northfield camp, there was even more reason for celebration as Pretty Norris finished third, while Proper Lucy surged to the top of the overall GRNSW Country leader board courtesy of a fourth-placed finish. Northfield has given his seal of support to Proper Lucy, despite Kinsgbrae Sam’s win to lead his three-pronged assault on overall honors and the $12,500 bonus.

Having won the early series with Kinsgbrae Di in 2006/07, Northfield is familiar to the GRNSW Country Challenge circuit. That year, Kinsgbrae Di ironically finished fourth as being the mother of Kingsbrae Sam. While supporting the GRNSW Country Challenge concept as a superb learning tool for juvenile greyhounds, to imitate the feats of Kinsgbrae Di, Northfield admits his highly rated trio still has some work to do.

With Potts Park hosting their final, the GRNSW Country Challenge series will carry on in two very diverse places while Temora begins their leg with heats. On the 21-track tour, they will be the ninth and 10th stops respectively. With connections taking home a $12,500 bonus, the top point scorer at the finish of the 2010/11 series will be crowned Country Challenge Champion.

In a bid to support potential buyer Bob Morton’s plans to re-establish greyhound dog racing at the site, Spacelab has revealed substitute proposals for Walthamstow Stadium.

With its listed dog kennels and front façade, the firms’ proposals would see the retention of dog racing at the stadium. To make space for 140 residential unit one stand would be demolished. The designs are set to rival Conran & Partners’ controversial proposals drawn up for site owner L&Q, which involve demolishing the stadium to make way for 320 new homes.

Often viewed as a London landmark, English Heritage champions and protects historic places and Walthamstow Stadium, built in the 1930s, with its greyhounds and neon facade used in films, television advertisements and, memorably, on the front cover of Blur’s multimillion selling Park Life album.

While housing association L&Q wrestles with local opposition to its plans to build 300 homes on the site, Walthamstow’s famous greyhound track has been mothballed for three years. The two sides seem as far apart as ever after a crunch meeting last week.

With the intention of building 490 homes on it, housing association London & Quadrant bought the site for £18m three years ago. The difficulties they had let themselves in for, little did they know about it. First of all the market tanked, cutting the value of the land by half. London & Quadrant shelved the scheme until last year, when it unveiled its Conran & Partners-designed redevelopment plans for the track to a storm of criticism.

The Adelaide greyhound runners, with the main course being Angle Park, which opened in 1972, are increasing with popularity with every meet. In recent years, Adelaide greyhound racing has the ability to expand to internet broadcasting and betting and in this kind of racing, the sky is the limit.

Within the Adelaide limits, there are several tracks including the track at Port Augusta, which offers the only grass track, while Club Gawler, Angle Park, Mount Gambier offer sand tracks. By Greyhound Racing SA Limited, the Adelaide greyhound events are all monitored.

At Angle Park this week, the 2011 version of the Group 1 Tattsbett.com Adelaide Cup will kick off. Last year, over a quality field that included Mr. Metz, Strictly Mambo, High Earner and Springvale Dash, Victorian sprinter Dyna Lachlan won the prize. This year it is no different, as to tackle the $96,000 final, a very talented pool of interstate greyhounds have come across, which is the climax to a three week series.

In a unique format, with all other nominations competing in the first round of heats (to be held Thursday night), the Adelaide Cup sees 16 nominated greyhounds to automatically progress to the semi finals. To compete in four semi finals, from those eight heats, the first two placegetters will join the 16 seeded dogs.

The Advertiser Interstate Challenge is also incorporated into the GRSA summer chasing carnival. It is a special event where four of the best South Australia meets four invited interstate greyhounds can offer.

For Yambuk greyhound owners Tom and Ann Sinnott, for a spot in the $96,000 Adelaide Cup, one happy ending isn’t enough. The two will be in a tonight race Up and Away. Including victory in the Laurels Classic (515m) at Sandown a fortnight ago, Up And Away boasts an exceptional record of 11 wins from 15 starts.

In this month’s 2011 Adelaide Cup, the bitch, trained by Lara’s Graeme Bate, is being targeted at another group 1 race. The greyhound’s meteoric rise was described by Tom Sinnott as a fairytale.

Sinnott explained that when it was reared at Yambuk, the chaser was bursting with energy, where she would sleep at the back door. She said that he didn’t follow all the rules and they were unable to keep her in the yard. She added that they decided on Up And Away because she would scale a 10-foot high fence. Last Thursday, Sinnott rated his greyhound a strong chance in the Classic at Sandown.