Monday, January 27, 2012

A local group trying to get the Wichita Greyhound Park up and running again thinks it has a winning idea. Wichita Wins is pushing for a Senate bill that would allow slot machines at Kansas race tracks.

Senate Bill 319 was introduced this week and, unlike the bill that failed in 2007 by just over 200 votes, members of Wichita Wins believe this bill is clearly worded and will have a better chance with Sedgwick County voters.

For the last 15 years, Erin Richwine's family has raised and raced greyhounds. But ever since the Wichita Greyhound Park closed its doors, the only place her parents can watch their dogs race is online.

“Right now when they are finished with a dog they have to send it to a track in Florida or West Virginia, you know, further away than Wichita, which is an hour and a half from them,” Richwine said.

Richwine and her husband attended a Wichita Wins meeting Friday night along with several other people who want the track back open. At the meeting, members went over the benefits of bringing the track back.

“It's $100 million investment. It's 500 jobs at the exact place. It's probably 4,000 jobs statewide,” Wichita Wins Member Tracy Wildey said.

Several people at Friday night's meeting have bitter memories from 2007 when the vote to allow slot machines in Sedgwick County failed. Wildey thinks the problem was that the bill's wording wasn't clear the last time around.

“The original vote did not mention the greyhound park at all,” Wildey said.

She says the problem has been fixed with SB 319 and believes, if given the chance, they will get the votes to reopen the Wichita Greyhound Park, complete with slot machines inside.

For Erin Richwine and her family, that would mean getting to actually see their dogs run the track for the first time in nearly five years.

In 2007, Phil Ruffin threatened to close the Greyhound Park if the casino vote failed. It failed by 244 votes and Ruffin followed through, closing the park that October. It has sat dormant ever since.

The Kansas Senate is scheduled to hear SB 319 next Tuesday. If you're interested in learning more about Wichita Wins or any of their meetings please click the link below.