Greyhound Racing Nears End in US After Historic House Vote

• US House passes bill to effectively ban greyhound racing nationwide
  
• Measure targets betting, breeding, and training of racing greyhounds
  
• Senate decision looms as industry and advocates clash over ban

The US House has passed a measure that would effectively end greyhound racing in America if enacted.

The Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 5017) was tagged onto the must-pass Farm Bill, approved by the House on Thursday, now heading to the Senate.

The provision would amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit commercial greyhound racing and betting on such races.

Under the legislation, it would also become a federal offense to conduct races involving wagering, facilitate simulcast betting — including on races held abroad — or participate in the breeding, transport, or training of greyhounds for racing purposes.

Violations could carry fines and prison sentences of up to seven years. The law would take effect in 2027.

Dog Days Are Over?

Once the sixth most popular spectator sport in the US, greyhound racing has been in decline for years. The industry has faced mounting legal restrictions and public opposition over animal welfare concerns.

Today, only two tracks remain, both in West Virginia – the Wheeling Island Casino & Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort. The practice is illegal in 44 states.

It’s also significant that the House yesterday chose to reject an amendment that would have allowed greyhound racing to continue in West Virginia by a vote of 239-187.

The sponsor of that amendment, US Rep. Riley Moore, a West Virginia Republican whose district includes Wheeling, was left with little choice but to vote in favor of the GOP-led Farm Bill once his carve-out measure had failed. Moore will be hoping his counterparts in the Senate have more success in intervening.

“This is insane that we’re legislating on the federal level what is a state issue,” he told The Herald-Star. “It just does not make sense to me. It just feels like there’s this bizarre obsession in this town, Washington D.C., with what people in West Virginia do for a living, whether it’s coal, greyhounds, natural gas, steel, whatever. It’s just really disheartening.”

‘Cruel’ Sport

In contrast, campaigners against greyhound racing were jubilant. GREY2K USA, an advocacy group for greyhound protection, called it “a historic victory for everyone who cares about dogs.”

“Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane, resulting in hundreds of injuries and deaths of otherwise healthy dogs. It is an outdated activity that will soon be relegated to the history books,” the organization told Casino.org.