From Willamette Week:
Gov. Tina Kotek shut the door last week on Oregon’s large, if largely invisible, role in the rapidly declining sport of greyhound racing.
On May 7, Kotek signed House Bill 3020, which, according to a staff summary, “prohibits any person from wagering on the outcome of a greyhound or other dog race, or accept or facilitate such wagering, regardless of the location where the race takes place.”
The bill might seem confusing or even unnecessary, given that greyhounds haven’t raced in Oregon for more than two decades. For much of the 20th century, dog racing drew big crowds in Oregon. Multnomah Greyhound Park in Wood Village held more than 18,000 people and had a seating capacity of more than 6,000. But declining interest and strong criticism from animal rights activists led to the park’s closure in 2004.
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