Dog Racing Ban Can Appear on Ballot

Yesterday, in Carney v. Attorney General, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Attorney General Martha Coakley's decision to certify a ballot question on dog tracks in Massachusetts. The court said that although there are only a few dog tracks in Massachusetts, the question is not barred as a "local" question. "That the present economic realities of the industry might make this prospect [of additional tracks] unlikely to materialize is irrelevant; the proposed law would change the legal status of dog racing Statewide." Further, track owners "have no compensable property interest in their racing licenses." The Boston Herald reports that "if approved, the move would ban dog racing as of Jan. 1, 2010."