Games make gains, but dogs are fading

By Todd Ruger
Copyright © 2009 HeraldTribune.com
Monday, March 2, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Derby Lane has staged greyhound racing for longer than any other dog track in the world, but a $2.5 million renovation in December left no doubt about what the owners bet the future will look like.

The main entrance now opens to a brand new poker room featuring Texas Hold 'em. Getting to the dog track means walking a hallway lined on both sides with poker tables.

"I think the dog betting has become a secondary amusement," said Jim Nolan, who has been playing the dogs and the cards at Derby Lane since 1997. "You're getting a higher caliber crowd. You're getting a lot more white collar, and a lot more women."

Dog tracks across the state are increasingly leaning on poker rooms to survive, as the iconic Florida pastime of dog racing loses ground to other forms of betting.

Live dog racing has been a declining sport for the past decade, with an aging customer base, and the amount of money wagered on the dogs is down 15 percent over the past three years alone, state records show.

At the same time, poker room revenues across the state jumped 80 percent, fueled by the rising popularity of Texas Hold 'em on TV, which has made more people aware of the game, and how it works.

"As things have evolved with more options for gamblers, they have to be able to stay competitive," said Vera Filipelli, Derby Lane spokeswoman. "Look at McDonald's, look at them making salads."

The Sarasota Kennel Club opened its poker room in 2006 and expanded it from 24 to 32 tables in 2007, tucked behind the dog track's grandstands.

The track stopped live dog races for nearly eight months last year to avoid losing money in the tourist-free dog days of summer. The result: The only thing bringing in revenue there from early May to late December was poker, which has fewer overhead costs than live dog racing.

"To run the live dogs you're talking an extra 60 to 70 people," owner Jack Collins Jr. said.

"Dog racing was unique because for about 50 years it was the only form of gambling," Collins said. "In general, all around the United States, more people are betting casino-style gambling. People are just not as interested in the pari-mutuel side of it."

A new state law reduced the number of live races dog tracks must hold to keep their poker rooms. Sarasota Kennel Club can meet that requirement in less than five months.

The dog tracks still get most revenue from racing. Out of every $100 a Florida dog track pulled in for the year starting July 2007, only $17 came from the table rather than the rail. But the amount of money wagered in poker rooms has more than doubled since 2005.

The smell of fried food and 50-cent hot dogs fills the air at Sarasota Kennel Club on Friday afternoons, when cheap beer helps attract more than 2,000 spectators for greyhound races.

The announcer gives the traditional call -- "Heerrreee commmessss SWIFTY!" -- and the mechanical rabbit circles the sun-splashed track to lead another race.

Lee Clark of Bradenton has money on dogs this day, but he figures Texas Hold 'em poker is a safer bet.

"You have a chance," Clark said. "You control whether you win or not."

The dog races have a betting system confusing to newcomers, with words like quinella, trifecta and superfecta. And there are no shows about it on ESPN.

Some of the poker room revenues go to purses for the dog races, the main way breeders get paid.

But fewer live races is bad for breeders, said Jim Abernathy Sr., a longtime greyhound breeder in Sarasota.

He says there is no chance that dog racing will thrive in the future.

"The younger people want the cards and the faster action. They want to make a bet every 30 seconds," Abernathy said. "Greyhound racing is going down because they can't compete with the cards."