After 23 years, Gulf Greyhound Park nears the finish line

After the 12th and final race on New Year's Eve, Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, the last dog track in Texas, will cease hosting live racing after 23 years in operation.

It's unknown when, or if, live racing will return. For now, track officials are saying that Gulf Greyhound Park will "pause" live racing in 2016 and 2017 - while staying open for simulcast betting on horse and dog races at other tracks around the world. The track has plans - really a faint hope - of resuming live racing on a limited basis in 2018.

It's no mystery why live racing is going away at Gulf Greyhound Park. Business is bad, really bad, and getting worse. It's an industry-wide tailspin. Greyhound racing in the U.S. has seen its betting handle - the total amount wagered on races - decline each year over the past two decades.

There are many factors for dog racing's downturn. Casino gambling is legal now in places where dog tracks used to be the only "action" in town. Animal rights groups have pressured states to ban dog racing. Colorado became the 39th state to outlaw the "Queen of Sports" last year. (Horse racing is the "King of Sports.")

As recently as 1980, there were 50 active greyhound tracks in the U.S. When Gulf Greyhound Park goes dark next year, there will be only 19 active dog tracks left.

Let's look at Gulf Greyhound Park's closing through three long-running fixtures at the track: the race announcer, the woman who helps retired greyhounds get adopted as family pets and the mechanical bunny that's hounded 12 times a night.

John Paul Faour is the race announcer. He been with the track since opening night in 1992. He started as a waiter in the clubhouse restaurant. Faour took over the announcing job in 1999. Over the years, he has written and starred in most of the track's TV commercials.

"I trained for the job as announcer by listening to other horse and greyhound announcers," Faour said. "I was inspired by the great Bob Tallman, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's legendary announcer.

"I will miss the play-by-play announcing of the races. This has been my Texans, Rockets and Astros all in one. I leave here believing I am the best in the country. We've applied for live racing dates in 2018, but we shall see. Dog racing is a dying sport. With casinos all over the country, dog racing is too slow," he said. "People like the instant gratification of pulling a slot machine. The state governs us, and it also operates the Texas Lottery, which is competition to us. We're not allowed to have slot machines or poker rooms because they're listed as games of chance. And the lottery isn't? I can't handicap the lottery and scratch-off tickets."

In 2002, Faour was driving home from the track at night when his car was hit by a drunk driver. He was taken to a hospital where a CT scan and MRI revealed a mass, an arteriovenous malformation, wrapped around his brain stem. He endured two brain operations, the first in 2002, and another the following year. In 2006, when his brain was back functioning to where he could retain what he was reading, he enrolled at Texas Southern University and earned a degree in fine arts and theater.

"I was still announcing at the track, but I don't remember much from the years 2002 to 2006," he said. "I had a couple of strokes during that period. The first one left me half-blind in both eyes. Not too bad to be the best greyhound announcer in the country with only 50 percent eyesight. I decided to go back to school because I want to get into acting and teach theater one day. I'm in the process of getting my teaching certificate."

Genie Ferguson is the Greyhound adoption director. She's been helping "retired" (translation: slowpoke) greyhounds find permanent homes as family pets since 1993. She currently has 12 dogs waiting to be adopted. The track may close to live racing on New Year's Eve, but Ferguson isn't going anywhere until each of those dogs has a new home.

This is her passion. She's found homes for about 2,400 former racing greyhounds at the La Marque track.

"These dogs make wonderful pets, they're so gentle and quiet and loving. They're usually between 2 and 4 years old. Yeah, they like to run around the backyard, but they're really couch potatoes. They're either lying on the floor, or on the couch, or on you," she said.

Ferguson is holding an Adoption Celebration and Parade at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the track - a couple of hours before live greyhound racing. Former racing greyhounds will walk around the track. Ferguson calls it "their last race."

"We will have dogs available for adoption," sahe said. "Each dog costs $200. They're spayed or neutered and have all their shots. We also have their teeth cleaned, so they're ready to go home. We even throw in a leash and a collar."

"Marky" is the mechanical bunny that spins around the track and gets chased by a pack of dogs 12 times a night. He's just a bunch of fluffy cotton shaped like a rabbit. Even though the greyhounds wear a muzzle, they give Marky a pretty good nuzzling after each race.

Marky is named after the city of La Marque. Marky usually lasts about a month before he's tattered and torn, and replaced by a new Marky. The track currently has four in the supply closet.

I already have two dogs, so I'm not in the market to adopt a live greyhound - but I want one of those Markys.