DRUGS TAINT INTEGRITY OF GREYHOUND RACES

TAMPA - On any given day, hundreds of greyhounds tear around racetracks in
Florida in a display of sheer animal speed and strength. And each year
loyal fans wager more than $500 million on the dogs, hoping to hit a winner
in a fair race.

Trouble is, some of the winners later test positive for cocaine and other
drugs, calling the integrity of races into question.

What's more, the state doesn't strip the race title from dogs that test
positive for drugs or determine how the drugs got into the animal.

As for patrons who wagered on races in which a winning dog later tested
positive, they don't get to share in the wagering pool.

The state has no system of distributing money to gamblers who bet on dogs
that finished close behind those testing positive for drug use.

What the state does do is demand that owners of greyhounds that test
positive forfeit winnings, which average less than $1,000 for a first-
place finish.

Statewide each year, dog owners split about $32 million in purses.

However, the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering - the agency that
regulates racing at the state's 16 tracks - doesn't alert police when a
greyhound tests positive. It also doesn't try to determine how drugs such
as cocaine get into dogs.

The regulators say it's not their place to do either.

They believe the testing system works.

"We have a high level of accountability," said Dennis Miller, the state
regulator who oversees tracks in South Florida.

Extent of the Problem

About 40 greyhounds a year tested positive for cocaine during the past
three years. More were positive for less serious substances.

When shown the figures, elected state officials such as state Sen. Debbie
Wasserman Schultz, a Broward County Democrat who has worked on dog track
issues, said 40 a year is too many.

The testing system is flawed and should be improved, she said.

Under the system, every greyhound that finishes first is tested for drugs
immediately after the race. Sometimes a second-place finisher is tested.
Always tested at random is a dog that finished out of the money.

The urine samples are shipped to a laboratory at the University of Florida
in Gainesville. Results can take two to three weeks.

Wasserman Schultz is convinced the state could come up with a way to test
dogs before each race and have results available immediately so suspect
dogs could be scratched from races.

She said she is weighing seeking testimony from state officials as to why
that can't be done.

However, Cynthia Kollias- Baker, director of the UF laboratory, cautioned
that rapid-screening tests can yield false positives. Although screening at
the track would be ideal, she said, it also would be cost-prohibitive.

Fans of the sport, such as Tom Mighton, a retired New York parks employee
who travels throughout Florida to watch greyhound races, say the state
should correct testing flaws to protect patrons.

He finds it unfair that bettors are never alerted that race winners changed
because of positive drug tests.

"There's no way to get your money back," Mighton said.

Greyhound fan Carvon "Smitty" Smith, 85, of Tampa said the system leaves
bettors in the dark.

"I hope they aren't doing it," said Smith, referring to the possibility
dogs are deliberately drugged, "but how would we know."

From June 1, 2002, to May 30, 2003 - the last 12-month period the state
has race records for - 44 greyhounds tested positive for cocaine, according
to state figures. In all, 137 greyhounds tested positive for the dozen or
so substances race dogs can't use, including cocaine.

During the same period in 2001 to 2002, 37 greyhounds tested positive for
cocaine out of 145 that were positive for other substances. Between June 1,
2000, and May 30, 2001, 38 greyhounds showed cocaine of the 74 that failed
the drug test.

That average of 40 dogs per year compares with zero cases during the same
period for 1999-2000, records show.

That only 119 dogs tested positive for cocaine during the past three years
shows that Florida's policy of zero-tolerance for drugs in greyhounds is
working, Kollias-Baker said.

The veterinary pharmacologist said the 137 dogs with drugs in their system
in the latest year came from 35,712 samples sent to the UF laboratory - 1
in 260 samples.

She also said even if state officials wanted to, it would be difficult to
pinpoint the exact method of drug transmission to the dog.

Worries About the Industry

Vera Filipelli public relations director for Derby Lane greyhound track in
St. Petersburg and a former greyhound trainer, says that although the
number of positive tests is small, parimutuel officials should do
everything to protect the integrity of the sport and fans.

"It's disturbing. Even one cocaine case is too much. We have to find out
how they're getting cocaine in their systems, and once they find out how,
there has to be serious action," Filipelli said.

A review of how the state handled nine cases of dogs that tested positive
for cocaine at the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track during 2002 show what
steps the state typically takes.

Steve Petrillo of Fort Myers was listed as the trainer for all nine of the
dogs. The state revoked his trainer license.

That was it.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office, which covers the Naples- Fort Myers dog
track, was never contacted about Petrillo, said sheriff's spokeswoman
Ileana LiMarzi. It never had a chance to investigate the drugs or whether a
race was fixed.

Nor did racing officials investigate whether drugs were used to influence
the races.

The state did not investigate how cocaine got into Petrillo's greyhounds.

The Florida Division of Pari- Mutuel Wagering's "best guess" was Petrillo
used cocaine during the time he handled the greyhounds and that "incidental
contact" transferred the drug to the dogs, said David Roberts, agency
director. He regarded the Petrillo case as typical.

Roberts discounts the notion trainers are doping greyhounds to enhance race
performances or fix races.

"Nobody is sure how the dog will react if you give it cocaine," Roberts said.

Petrillo told the Tribune he used cocaine recreationally but did not give
it to the dogs to make them run faster.

"I'm not that stupid," he said.

Chuck Marriott, president of the National Greyhound Association and a
trainer who races dogs at Derby Lane, said if a trainer has cocaine "on his
hands and he brushes the dog with his hand, the drug goes into the dog."

Explanation Doesn't Wash

But Wasserman Schultz and greyhound advocates say it's unrealistic to
believe greyhounds test positive for cocaine only because trainers are
using cocaine.

"That's ridiculous. That's naive," the state senator said.

Carey Theil, president of the greyhound advocacy group GREY2K USA, based in
Somerville, Mass., says most races and dogs are so fast that even trace
amounts of cocaine could determine which dogs finish in the money.

"If there was an organized attempt to fix the races by using this drug, I
would assume that's something the state would be interested in," Theil
said. "It begs the question whether there are further irregularities at
Florida dog tracks. If I was a betting man I would think twice about
betting the house on a Florida dog race."

Along with Florida's 16 tracks, there are 30 other venues in the United
States. About 1.7 million people paid to attend dog races in Florida last
year, but attendance is waning as cruise ships and Internet sites lure
gamblers away.

Theil says Florida officials should consider improvements to its greyhound
testing and trainer licensing.

Roberts said requiring private tracks to test workers for drugs may be tough.

"You can encourage it," he said, "but it's hard to require it."