- In October, 24 dogs were injured, with nine critical injuries and three dogs euthanized
- In November, 31 dogs were injured, seven seriously, with three animals put down
- December 2010 saw 28 dog injuries, with five critical injuries and three dogs euthanized
- In January 2011, 34 dogs were injured overall. Six were critically hurt and three were euthanized
- February 2011 brought 32 dog injuries overall, nine critical, but no euthanizations. Christine Dorchak is the president and general counsel for Grey 2K USA, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit working to eliminate greyhound racing. She said the recent injury reports are “continued cause for concern.” “Looking at these new records provided by the state is further proof: As long as dog racing continues, greyhounds will continue to suffer injuries,” she said. Dorchak pointed out that 23 percent of injuries listed in the January report involved broken or dislocated legs. In February 31 percent of injuries involved broken or dislocated legs. She said her organization would continue to fight to end greyhound racing in West Virginia. “The dog racing industry claims this is a safe sport, but serious injuries like this seriously question this claim. This is cruelty that must end,” she said. Multiple calls to Wheeling Island Racetrack and Casino were not returned. Contact writer Zack Harold at 304-348-7939 or zack.har…@dailymail.com.
But reports show overall injury rates still are higher than this time last year and a national greyhound advocacy group said injury rates are still cause for concern.
However, state officials tasked with regulating the dog racing industry say the number of critical injuries is down.
Lori Bohenko, Wheeling Island’s track veterinarian, reported 34 dog injuries in January and 32 in February, the most recent reports available. Those injuries include 14 critical or career-ending injuries in January and a dozen in February.
Three dogs were euthanized because of injuries in January.
The track saw 28 and 18 dog injuries in January and February 2010, respectively. Dogs had 20 serious injuries in the former and seven serious injuries in the latter. Three dogs were euthanized for their injuries in January 2010 and one was put down in February.
Bohenko would respond only to questions first submitted to Jon Amores, executive secretary of the West Virginia Racing Commission, via email. She also submitted her responses through him.
“The (critical) injury rate for (January and February) 2011 is slightly lower than 2010. Moreover, (January and February) are historically low injury months, so it is hard to compare from one year to the next, since they are always low,” Amores wrote.
Taken together, Amores said, this year’s critical injury rates are “a notch lower” than this time last year.
The track saw 13 critical injuries in January 2010 and four in Feburary. This year, the track reported six serious injuries in January and nine in February.
Amores also said general injury statistics could include hangnails or scratches. He said “catastrophic musculo-skeletal injuries” and career-ending injury rates are the “statistic that really makes the difference.”
Some trainers might choose to treat minor injuries without the aid of the track’s veterinarian, he said, but catastrophic injuries are “undeniable.”
“That’s not a thing that gets past the state vet,” he said.
“When the smoke clears, that’s the number that everyone is concerned with. That’s the thing that counts,” Amores said. “The primary reason the track got resurfaced was the catastrophic injuries were rising through the summer period.”
The track has averaged 1.44 serious injuries per 100 races since the resurfacing. In 2010, there were about 2.5 serious injuries per 100 races. In 2009, there were 1.99 serious injuries per 100 races, he wrote.
Dog injuries spiked last summer. In August 2010, the track reported 52 injuries in 421 races, including 31 serious injuries. Five dogs were injured so badly that month they were euthanized.
That prompted track officials to halt racing in August 2010 to complete a $400,000 overhaul to make the track safer.
Several factors can lead to sports injuries, Amores wrote in an email, including the composition of track surface materials; maintenance procedures; weather conditions; personnel’s level of experience and knowledge; the skill of track maintenance workers; the track superintendent’s knowledge and supervisory skills; dogs’ age, number of starts, level of conditioning and genetics; trainers’ skill, their ability to manage their greyhounds and their ability to manage sports related injuries.
“Unknown, un-measurable” factors also come into play like mid-race falls or dog-to-dog contact, he wrote.
“There was not an increase in any one of these factors in summer 2010,” Amores wrote.
No one knows what caused the increase in injuries last summer, he wrote in an email.
“The complexity of sports-related injuries often makes it difficult to ascertain what the exact cause may be,” he wrote.
Dog injury statistics did not immediately improve following the resurfacing, however.
Experienced greyhound racers urged patience, Amores said.
“No one got their hair blown back immediately. They were very calm about it. They said it happens all the time,” he said. “When you change the surface, the dogs have to get used to the physical experience of running on the surface.”
The track reopened last Sept. 20 after the large-scale upgrade. Wheeling Island reported 17 injuries, critical and otherwise, in the last 10 days of that month. There were nine critical injuries that month and four dogs were euthanized.
Though overall injuries have continued to climb, the track’s injury reports show a decline in critical injuries through the end of 2010.
Both overall and critical injury figures jumped in the first two months of 2011.The number of greyhound deaths held steady until dropping to zero in Feburary 2011.
- In October, 24 dogs were injured, with nine critical injuries and three dogs euthanized
- In November, 31 dogs were injured, seven seriously, with three animals put down
- December 2010 saw 28 dog injuries, with five critical injuries and three dogs euthanized
- In January 2011, 34 dogs were injured overall. Six were critically hurt and three were euthanized.
- February 2011 brought 32 dog injuries overall, nine critical, but no euthanizations.Christine Dorchak is the president and general counsel for Grey 2K USA, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit working to eliminate greyhound racing. She said the recent injury reports are “continued cause for concern.”
“Looking at these new records provided by the state is further proof: As long as dog racing continues, greyhounds will continue to suffer injuries,” she said.
Dorchak pointed out that 23 percent of injuries listed in the January report involved broken or dislocated legs. In February 31 percent of injuries involved broken or dislocated legs.
She said her organization would continue to fight to end greyhound racing in West Virginia.
“The dog racing industry claims this is a safe sport, but serious injuries like this seriously question this claim. This is cruelty that must end,” she said.
Multiple calls to Wheeling Island Racetrack and Casino were not returned.
Contact writer Zack Harold at 304-348-7939 or zack.har…@dailymail.com.
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