Dear Members,
As you may be aware, it is to be Gulf Coast Racing’s (Corpus) turn to run a 36 day meet in 2018- 2019 and they already have the race dates.
Last we met with Gulf Greyhound Park and Gulf Coast Racing they said at this time, they will not be willing to commit to running. They said that it would not be right until they know if the TxRC will solve their budget issues, which could be late August or September. So, at this point there is no news on live racing at Gulf Coast Racing (Corpus).
The TGA is going into mediation with Gulf Greyhound Park and Gulf Coast Racing to try to resolve our issues in protecting the Texas breeder and to ensure that as much as possible of the purse money stays in the active Texas breeders hands. Mediation will hopefully take place sometime in June.
We will let you know about the future of live racing this fall, as soon as we have more information. The Board knows it is difficult to make plans for breeding and what to do with the dogs. This has been pointed out to the tracks and the TxRC on more than one occasion.
On another issue and as most already know, Florida passed an Amendment against dog racing to go on the ballot in November. The Florida Greyhound Association has a plan to work against this Amendment and has asked for funds to help them fight it. The TGA Board met and voted unanimously to donate $50,000 to the Florida Greyhound Association for their efforts. As you all know, Florida is critical for the Greyhound Racing Industry and without their tracks the number of race tracks around the country is dramatically reduced. We ask that you also help and donate personally to them as much as you feel you can.
The board is also aware of the letters from concerned members. Without signatures on such letters we are not sure they are in fact members and falls under fake news, so please be aware of this. We will continue to inform the membership of events as they unfold and ask that if you have any questions please contact your representative or me personally.
David R. Peck, President Board of Directors