KENOSHA - The last of the state's five original greyhound racing parks will soon be shut down.

Dairyland Greyhound Park will discontinue operations after its last race on Dec. 31, the owners announced Tuesday. The closing will cost both people and dogs their jobs.

"It's a sad day for the Dairyland family and Kenosha community," Dairyland Executive Vice President Roy Berger stated in a news release. He said the employees were informed Tuesday.

After seven money-losing years, Berger said, the Alabama-based owners, with minority Wisconsin ownership, decided to quit.

The shutdown will cost 180 jobs - roughly one-third full-time and two-thirds part-time, Berger estimated.

He stated, "Now our focus is hoping our 180 employees can transition to new jobs and helping our kennel owners and operators work in conjunction with the state of Wisconsin to find homes for the racing greyhounds either at other racetracks or through an adoption program."

Berger added a plug for the Dairyland employees.

Dairyland and the four other racetracks were built about two decades ago after the state authorized pari-mutuel betting. In pari-mutuel betting, the amount bet is divided among the winners, with the house keeping a commission.

Dairyland was built for about $45 million, Berger said. It opened on June 20, 1990, just off Highway 158 and Interstate 94.

Decline

According to Dairyland, for a few years it "enjoyed success as one of Wisconsin's top tourist attractions."

Dairyland survived as greyhound racetracks in Hudson, the Fox Valley, Wisconsin Dells and finally Geneva Lakes closed.

In a telephone interview, Berger insisted that authorizing pari-mutuel betting was not a mistake. But Dairyland contends the state and federal governments steadily took away the racetracks' ability to stay in the betting game.

Berger said the racetracks were limited to pari-mutuel betting - and no casinos or any other types of gaming.

Ultimately, Dairyland said, the spread of American Indian gaming, and especially Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, "combined with a sputtering economy to seal the fate of the last of the five greyhound racetracks in the state."

"The gaming landscape in the state has been slanted against pari-mutuel racing from the inception of Native American casinos," Dairyland stated.

"It has been virtually impossible for us to compete fairly. Every time we asked the Legislature or state gaming officials for consideration with games to help make us competitive, we have been rebuked."

Berger compared it to the government preventing a retailer from stocking newer and better products as they become available.

"Finally," Dairyland stated, "we have reached the point, after seven years of stead(ily) escalating losses, where we just can't see any viability with a single out-of-favor product and have been forced to make this decision."

Dairyland said it continues to support the Menominee Indian tribe's application for federal approval to put the Dairyland property into trust and convert it to a $1 billion casino/entertainment complex. Supporters say it would create 3,000 jobs with no public money.

Kenosha voters have twice approved the concept in referendums.

Berger said greyhound racing will continue as usual through New Year's Eve.