"End draws near for Wonderland racing; Regulars remember when track thrived" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | September 7, 2009
REVERE - Sadly for Kenneth Miller and kindred spirits who think of Wonderland as a second home, live dog races at the track have entered their final days. The voter-approved ban on greyhound racing, which takes effect in January, means this summer’s season will be Wonderland’s last, with the final race scheduled to run by Sept. 18....
To a stranger, Wonderland can seem a dingy, lonely haunt that has seen better days. Some days the park is nearly empty, save for a few scattered old-timers staring blankly at simulcasts. But on live racing nights, there appears a fraternity of dedicated regulars who remember when the track crackled with life, jammed with cheering fans, and who return now as though to make those days reappear....
I'm so sick of getting a smiley, shiny bow around an agenda-pushing you-know-what, readers.
Wonderland opened in 1935, on the site of a former amusement park, and has held dog races ever since, hosting some of the sport’s most famous competitors. But in recent years attendance has plunged, forcing the track into financial quicksand. The owners barely contested the ballot initiative to end dog racing. It was slot machines or bust.
And look at where we are today, Massachusetts reader.
Employees at the track, however, remain bitter over the ballot initiative, in which proponents denounced dog racing as cruel and accused tracks and kennels of mistreating dogs.
“To me it’s all lies,’’ said Freddy Archambault, a 24-year-old from Lynn who leads the dogs to the track before the race. “I know personally that the dogs are treated with great respect. There’s no other way to say it.’’
I know how you feel.
Also see: Massachusetts Is Going to the Dogs
Oh, I thought he was talking about reading the Glob.
Archambault has worked with Wonderland’s dogs for five years, and struggles to say what comes next. He just wants to savor the time he has left.
“These dogs are beautiful,’’ he said. “They are incredible animals.’’
I agree; that's why we voted to free them.
Jim O’Donnell, a kennel owner from Middleton who trains 60 dogs, is both bitter and wistful. He is angry that voters took away his livelihood and deprived the animals of doing what he says they were born to do, and what they love. They did the same to him, he said.
“I’ve done it all my life. What else am I going to do?’’ he asked. “Why is it I can’t follow my American dream?’’
You guys are not the only ones. Tax loot getting tossed away in this state while national economy has deliberately been exported offshore and outsourced.... ah, what's the use?
Such passion is rare at the track, however. By 9 p.m. or so, some 300 people have gathered, but many ignore the races outside the window for those beamed onto their personal television. Conversation is minimal, and cheers are rare.
“I don’t win much, I don’t lose much,’’ said Eddie, a thick man in thick work boots. “I’m just killing time.’’Yeah, great, nothing better to do, sigh.
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Also see: The One-Armed Bandit of Massachusetts
Otherwise known as slot machines.
Coming soon, Wonderland.
