Greyhound Racing in Connecticut

Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria with Gina.

Sponsor Mike D'Agostino with Gina and GREY2K USA Worldwide President, Christine A. Dorchak.

Representative Tony Scott sits on the General Law Committe and supports HB 6615.

Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey and Senator Saud Anwar were all smiles.

Michelle Torello and her greyhound Tora visited with Representative Bill Pizzuto.

GREY2K USA Worldwide lobbying team: Emma Coppock, Christine A. Dorchak and Gina with Alexis Bourassa and Mike Bzdyra of Focus Government Affairs.

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Thankfully, there are no operational greyhound tracks in Connecticut. Plainfield Greyhound Park, the state’s first track, opened in 1976,¹ and Shoreline Star Greyhound Park, a former jai alai fronton, was converted into a racing facility in 1995.² By 2005, live racing had ended at both facilities after years of declining attendance and diminshed wagering.³

But greyhound racing remains legal in Connecticut. A bill prohibiting the activity passed the Senate but stalled in the House in 2017.⁴ In 2021, the House of Representatives took up its own bill and voted 112-36 for the greyhounds.⁵ In 2022, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security approved a measure to ban live racing but the bill was not called for a plenary vote before the end of the session.⁶ Championed by Representative Mike D'Agostino and Nicole Klarides-Ditria, HB 6615 was newly filed in 2023 to outlaw commercial dog racing in the state once and for all.

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