This One Goes Out to “Santa’s Little Helper”
The abandoned grandstand of the Sarasota Kennel Club, the city’s dog track.
For the longest time, I thought dog racing was just something that the writers of The Simpsons had made up. What a more clever way to introduce “Santa’s Little Helper,” the family’s new pet, than by having him be a rescue from a comedic parody of horse racing. I learned the truth later in life, though, after several friends took inspiration from Homer & Marge by adopting greyhounds of their own. These dogs were retired competitors who’d survived a career on the tracks of a gambling “sport.” One that dated back to the United States’ early 20th Century.
Exterior of the Sarasota dog track.
At least at the start, greyhound racing wasn’t necessarily viewed as something that would become the Simpsons punchline—and animal welfare concern—that it grew into. Early press reports covered dog races with a reverence similar to the one applied to horse racing. Tracks were also often accompanied by kennel clubs—social organizations and facilities for enthusiasts who specialized in the competitive breeding of canines that could run very, very fast. The greyhound was so well known for its speed and agility that the breed’s name become the moniker of intercity bus service, Greyhound Lines (a company not really known for its briskness these days, but that’s an entirely different story).
Entrance of the former Sarasota Kennel Club.
As dog racing proliferated across the country, the activity found some of its strongest success in 1920s Florida. Sarasota joined several other “Sunshine State” cities by opening a track of its own in 1929. After nearly a century of operation, however, the Sarasota Kennel Club hosted its final race at the end of 2019.
Discarded race programs from St. Patrick’s Day, 2018.
While catching a ride from the Sarasota airport to my hotel in the Spring of 2023, I saw the deserted seats of a shuttered stadium emblazoned with the mural of an eye patch-donning greyhound. The next day, I went for a closer look, hoping that some casual trespassing wouldn’t get me into trouble. If that “one phone call” thing was true, I didn’t want to use mine for explaining to my cousin that her officiant was going to miss her beach wedding because he was in some “Circus City” lockup.
Mural outside of the Sarasota Kennel Club race track highlighting the “One Eyed Jack’s” poker room.
The languishing arena, however, was wide open and well-worn by both time and vandals. After the dog racing had ceased, the adjoining “One Eyed Jack’s” Poker Room (hence the mural) had relocated elsewhere in the area. What remained were the decaying vestiges of a bygone gambling activity in the shadow of the city’s glitzy condo towers and investment firm offices. Some recent news seemed to indicate that the grounds would become more parking for the nearby airport and its growing crowds of vacationers, snowbirds, and retirees. Most of whom had apparently been coming to the area for its resorts and beaches, not so much for its dog track.
Judging by the amount of seats that were still lining the abandoned grandstand, however, there were clearly people who had enjoyed dog racing either in spite of, or unaware of, its issues. The greyhound gambling industry is keen on highlighting well-intentioned adoption programs that place former racing dogs in homes as pets, but it’s also known for its puppy mills, inhumane breeding tactics, and many other forms of abuse. Although popular opinion has solidly turned against the pastime these days, it’s still an active business where dogs can be raced to the point of death.
It’s not my intention here to paint all those involved with greyhound racing as nefarious, though. There were locals in Sarasota who cared deeply for the animals and who had livelihoods attached to the track, even as the dogs were commonly owned by out of state investors. An excellent 2019 article by Isaac Eger of Sarasota Magazine illustrates the greater story and context, but it also highlights the numerous issues with the sport. Dog racing became so negatively perceived that even aggressively conservative Florida sided with nonprofits like PETA to take a stand. In 2018, citizens overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment which followed several other states in banning the needlessly cruel form of entertainment.
While dog racing eventually came to be viewed as a seedy, inhumane, and low-brow imitation of horse racing, the equestrian version is still big business. One where gambling profits continue to overshadow animal welfare concerns in the sphere of popular opinion. Still, it’s a sport that’s facing criticisms of its own. Just this year, the esteemed Churchill Downs saw 12 horse deaths, two of which occurred on the day of the iconic Kentucky Derby. Horse racing may be rooted in a longstanding, sporting history—but outside of the superfluous Triple Crown events, its regular happenings probably have more in common with the nearly extinct dog tracks than with fancy hats and mint julips.
What’s left of the Sarasota Kennel Club’s track and scoreboard.
Whatever the future of horse racing, though, its canine cousin industry is rightfully on its way out. As of this writing, dog racing is illegal in 42 states and of the eight which still technically allow it: only West Virginia still has active tracks.
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