Local kennel owners face foggy future

REVERE – This winter, local kennel owner John O’Donnell will take his greyhounds down to Sarasota, Fla. to race but, unlike in previous years, O’Donnell will not return to Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Park next summer.”I still don’t know what I’m doing,” he said, reflecting the uncertainty facing kennel owners, track workers and vendors associated with the dog racing industry in the wake of a 2008 voter-approved ban on racing effective Jan. 1.Without racing, Wonderland and Raynham will close or muster enough support in the state Legislature to attract slot machines or televised wagering to the tracks on expanded schedules. The ban will also leave 20 Massachusetts kennel owners scrambling to race out of state or figure out other options.”What people don’t understand is kennels represent a $6 million investment; you’re not going to just adopt out the dogs,” O’Donnell said.Racing supporters are not going down without a fight despite the ban.A dog racing industry group is seeking a judicial inquiry in Lynn District Court into allegations that proponents of the dog ban ballot referendum committed election fraud. Protection of Working Animals and Handlers (POWAAH) is asking for a judicial inquest into whether Question 3 supporters violated election laws prohibiting campaigns from knowingly publishing false information and offering inducements to voters. Attorney General Martha Coakley has largely dismissed POWAAH’s claims and referendum supporters have labeled the inquiry request “post election sour grapes.”But Casey O’Neil, a dog trainer who has worked in the O’Donnell family kennels since 1981, has no idea what he is going to do for a living after January. The Saugus resident does not plan to relocate if the kennels move out of state. Despite legislator’s promises in 2008 to provide retraining money and programs for racing workers, O’Neil said programs offered to date have focused on showing track employees how to file unemployment claims.”It’s a joke. I’m a dog man and I can’t go anywhere in Massachusetts,” O’Neil said.POWAAH hopes the judicial inquiry sets the stage for a legal challenge to the referendum based on claims the ban is an unconstitutional taking of property without compensation. Pro racing spokesman Doug Pizzi said the challenge cannot be mounted until the actual impacts of the racing ban are felt at Wonderland and Raynham after the ban begins next year.Ban opponents say the referendum will put 1,300 people out of work. They are holding a fund-raising dinner and auction at Raynham Park on Friday, Oct. 16 starting at 6 p.m. with cocktails, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and the auction at 8 p.m.Efforts to delay the start of the racing ban stalled in May when the state Senate voted 29-8. Despite the Jan. 1 deadline, Raynham filed for a full racing schedule of 312 dates with the state Racing Commission. Wonderland to date has not filed a 2010 racing schedule.