Greyhound Racing in Connecticut

GREY2K President Christine Dorchak dedicated her testimony for SB 132 to the memory of her dog Gina. Read her submission.

Thankfully, there are no operational greyhound tracks in Connecticut. Greyhound racing remains legal in the state, however, as a prohibition has not yet passed into law.

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 diminished 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. On May 3, 2023 the House voted 119-23 in support of the measure. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to take it up for a vote before session ended the next month.