By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Suspend dog racing? Not so fast.
The Department of Business Regulation (DBR) has told Twin River that it can't end its greyhound racing season on May 31 as it announced it would on Tuesday.

DBR said the gambling venue was jumping the gun by stopping racing so soon. To comply with the requirement that Twin River operate 125 racing days, it must keep the races going until at least Aug. 8, just before the Victory Day holiday weekend.
In a letter to BLB Vice President Craig Eaton, DBR Director A. Michael Marques explained that the Aug. 8 deadline is a “rolling date” because “weather and other cancellations could cause this date to roll forward.
Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle said, “We had a slight difference of interpretation over the 125 days clause in the (law). We agreed in an abundance of caution that we would extend the dog racing to Aug. 8 of this year then we will end the racing for the balance of this year at least.”
Twin River had counted 125 racing “cards” as extending to May 31. On weekends the track generally offers two “cards” of racing each day, two distinct sets of races.
The DBR, however, was not counting cards. It insisted on 125 days of racing and if there were two cards on a single day, the agency said that still counted as only one day of racing.
In his letter to Eaton, Marques warned that “If I do not receive written confirmation of your intended compliance, the DBR reserves its right to take any and all legal administrative enforcement action to assure Twin River's compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.”
Those enforcement actions could include suspension or revocation of Twin River's license, which could jeopardize their ability to continue the video lottery terminals. State law requires operators of video lottery terminals to be a “pari mutuel licensee.” The General Assembly eliminated that requirement for Newport Grand when that facility eliminated jai alai. So far no legislation has been put forward that would allow Twin River to operate the VLTs without the greyhounds.
Doyle declined to say how much it would cost Twin River to keep the greyhounds running until August, saying only that “there will be an additional expense.” Twin River said it wants to pull the plug on the races to save money in preparation for a possible bankruptcy filing. The facility owes more than a half-billion dollars to creditors who financed the purchase and rehabilitation of the track and slot machine emporium.
Jennifer Bramley, spokeswoman for the RI Greyhound Owners Association (RIGOA), put a different slant on that. She said Twin River is “retaining capital for the banks on the backs of the taxpayers” and on the backs of what she estimated as the 225 people whose jobs would be threatened if live racing ceased.
She said about 80 people work in the kennels and an approximately 150 others work as concessionaires, clerks, judges, and dog walkers, as well as the suppliers who sell goods and services directly related to dog racing.
“The date they discussed is irrelevant, what is relevant is that if they do go ahead and suspend greyhound racing at the track it means a significant economic impact on the state as well as an impact for 225 workers who will be losing their jobs. Our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and putting 225 more people on those rolls is just a bad decision.”
Asked if the dog owners might challenge the decision in court, Bramley said “we are exploring any and all options. Again, this is a significant impact for the state; it is providing tax revenue to the town of Lincoln, it is providing tax and fee revenue to the state.”
If racing did stop for several months, she said, “it would be difficult” to start it back up again next January. “These are people who worked there for a great deal of time, and this is a year-round activity at Twin River. These people have had jobs there anywhere between 10 and 30 years. They are full time employment jobs and there are 1,200 dogs. In the meantime, you would have to find places for these dogs. It is truly an unreasonable request.
Bramley said the Twin River pays the dog owners about $10 million annually, an amount that used to be paid by the state until the subsidy was eliminated when BLB purchased the former Lincoln Park in 2005. In return, she said, it attracts about 5,000 additional people a week who come specifically to bet on the dogs, but who might stay to play the slots or eat at the restaurants or go to the concerts and shows there.
Although Gov. Donald Carcieri said he would support doing away with the dog racing and allowing Twin River to keep offering the VLTs, his spokeswoman Amy Kempe said Wednesday that the law requires the 125 days of racing. As long as they meet the terms of the statute, and then want to suspend it, there is no problem.”