Jun 30, 2008 5:08 am US/Mountain
Homes For Dogs Wanted As Racing Season Ends Early
DENVER (AP) ―
The last dog track in Colorado with live racing ended its abbreviated season over the weekend with kennel owners still seeking new homes for dozens of greyhounds.
Mile High Racing and Entertainment said it was working to relocate greyhounds from its Mile High Greyhound Park in Commerce City to tracks in other states for racing, or adopt them out as pets or for breeding.
Rori Mattson, vice president of Colorado Greyhound Adoption, estimated about 200 greyhounds would need to be placed. But Mark Couch, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, which oversees the Division of Racing, said the Colorado Racing Commission put the number at about 100.
Mile High decided live races would end in June after track officials and kennel owners couldn't come to a financial agreement to keep running races until September.
Mile High general manager Bruce Seymore said the track ran a full season in 2007 and lost $700,000 after being profitable in 2006. It had already decided not to run through the winter of 2008-09 and vacated race dates in November, December, January and February.
Kennel operators who care for and race the dogs hoped to find a compromise to keep the season running past June, but they couldn't reach an agreement with track officials.
Seymore said racing is set to resume in April, but it wasn't clear how many kennel operators would return.
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