"They lost the referendum and they're out doing this, putting people out of work," Massachusetts State Racing Commission chairman Robert M. Hutchinson Jr. was quoted by the Globe. "It's really a vindictive kind of thing to do this to people who really don't have any control of their own destinies."(Story Boston Globe)
An animal rights group that failed to obtain a ban on dog racing in Massachusetts is reportedly trying to head off an effort by horse and Greyhound tracks to obtain an extension of the state's simulcasting law that expires on Dec. 31 of this year.According to the Boston Globe, racetrack lobbyists have been attempting to get the legislature, sitting in informal session prior to the formal session next month, to extend the simulcasting law. There was no new simulcasting legislation passed by the Massachusetts legislature in 2000 due to dissension among track operators and the uncertainty over the future of Greyhound acing, which would have cease to exist had voters approved a referendum in November. In the end, the referendum to halt dog racing was narrowly defeated.The group that sought the dog racing ban, Grey 2K, is reportedly trying to convince legislators not to approve a simulcasting extension, the Globe reported. The group would only need legislator to oppose the extension that would be in effect until the formal legislative session in January.
