The Woodlands (race track)
Encyclopedia
The Woodlands was a greyhound racing
(and later horse racing
) track at 9700 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas
from 1989 until 2008.
.
The track opened in 1989 with considerable expectation with Kansas claiming it was the home of greyhounds with the National Greyhound Association
operating in Abilene, Kansas
which is also the location for the National Greyhound Hall of Fame. It was the first legal gambling outlet in the Kansas City, Missouri
area since the 1930's. However attendance spiked the second year with 1.7 million in 1990 and fell to less than 400,000 by 2000 as the track was subject to a series of scandals and competitive pressure.
In 1993 Missouri voters approved riverboat casino
s and the boat casinos appeared on the Missouri side competiting for the gambling market
In 1995 Jorge Anthony Hughes, operator of Hughes Kennels at the track, was charged with selling illegal steroids at the track. Further revelations showed the track was not adequately testing or monitoring for steroid use.
In 1996 charges were made that employees were accepting illegal out of state bets from Florida.
It went into bankrruptcy in 1996.
William M. Grace
brought the track out of bankruptcy in 1998 by holding 85 percent of its mortgage.
However the problems continued. In 2002 the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission said that employees had stolen $200,000. Further, Richard J. Boushka, one of the original owners, was indicted in 2002 that he had falsified documents to get the $19 million in loans from Wichita banks to initially open the track.
The track attempted unsuccessfully to get permission to operate slot machine
s. Governor Bill Graves
and Kathleen Sebelius
both endorsed the proposal and the Wyandotte County government attempted to implement it by local law and was passed both times. The track became in a dispute over how much money they could keep from the slot machines with the Kansas Lottery. Attempts have been made to try to amend the bill which allows slots at the track but has been mainly ignored by leadership in the Kansas legislature.
Grace died in 2005 and his son Howard T. Grace closed the course effective August 24, 2008.
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
(and later horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
) track at 9700 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
from 1989 until 2008.
History
In 1986 Kansas voters permitted parimutuel bettingParimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
.
The track opened in 1989 with considerable expectation with Kansas claiming it was the home of greyhounds with the National Greyhound Association
National Greyhound Association
The National Greyhound Association is the primary registry body for racing purebred dog Greyhound pedigrees in the United States.It is headquartered in Abilene, Kansas.Non-racing greyhounds are registered in the U.S. by the American Kennel Club....
operating in Abilene, Kansas
Abilene, Kansas
Abilene is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,844.-History:...
which is also the location for the National Greyhound Hall of Fame. It was the first legal gambling outlet in the Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
area since the 1930's. However attendance spiked the second year with 1.7 million in 1990 and fell to less than 400,000 by 2000 as the track was subject to a series of scandals and competitive pressure.
In 1993 Missouri voters approved riverboat casino
Riverboat casino
A riverboat casino is a type of casino found in several areas of the United States which use a riverboat as a casino. Several states authorized this type of casino to limit the areas where casinos could be constructed under a type of legal fiction.-History:...
s and the boat casinos appeared on the Missouri side competiting for the gambling market
In 1995 Jorge Anthony Hughes, operator of Hughes Kennels at the track, was charged with selling illegal steroids at the track. Further revelations showed the track was not adequately testing or monitoring for steroid use.
In 1996 charges were made that employees were accepting illegal out of state bets from Florida.
It went into bankrruptcy in 1996.
William M. Grace
William M. Grace
William M. Grace was a building developer who played an important role in bringing casinos to the Midwest.Grace was born on a farm near Burlington Junction, Missouri. He received a B.S. and later and MBA from the University of Arizona in 1959. He taught at Arizona State University. In 1966 W.M....
brought the track out of bankruptcy in 1998 by holding 85 percent of its mortgage.
However the problems continued. In 2002 the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission said that employees had stolen $200,000. Further, Richard J. Boushka, one of the original owners, was indicted in 2002 that he had falsified documents to get the $19 million in loans from Wichita banks to initially open the track.
The track attempted unsuccessfully to get permission to operate slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s. Governor Bill Graves
Bill Graves
William Preston "Bill" Graves , was the 43rd Governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003.Graves was born in Salina, Kansas in 1953 to parents who owned a trucking firm...
and Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...
both endorsed the proposal and the Wyandotte County government attempted to implement it by local law and was passed both times. The track became in a dispute over how much money they could keep from the slot machines with the Kansas Lottery. Attempts have been made to try to amend the bill which allows slots at the track but has been mainly ignored by leadership in the Kansas legislature.
Grace died in 2005 and his son Howard T. Grace closed the course effective August 24, 2008.