Betting on the puppies was the first legal gambling that I did. ...well, not really legal in that I started when I was 19 and the legal betting age was 21 - had to dodge some of the security guys when placing bets and cashing winners for 2 years. Greyhound and horse racing were the only forms of gambling that was legal in Colorado for a long time. Rocky Mountain Greyhound Park was a block from where I live now. I was at the track almost every night for several seasons. I even applied for a job as a groom...that was a very popular job for young people back then and the jobs were hard to get.

One of my favorite stories from the track was one night, a dog named Floyd Brown figured out that the rabbit was going to be back where he had just passed. He was leading the pack at about half track when he slammed on the brakes and started running the other direction. The poor little guy caught the rabbit square in the mouth, running full speed into it. He retired after that race.

Colorado had a pretty active Greyhound Racing scene. Three tracks would run separate seasons - one would run in the spring, one would run in the summer and one would run in the fall. Many or most of the kennels would race their dogs in Florida during the winter. Not too long after Colorado legalized casino gaming, one guy bought all three greyhound tracks. He didn't appear to have any interest in maintaining an active racing schedule at the three tracks. He thought he could run them all year with pari-mutuel off track betting on horse and dog racing all over the country. Some Colorado casinos were getting their feet wet with off track betting, and they raised a big stink with the Colorado Gaming Commission, saying the off track betting at the dog tracks was illegal. Gaming agreed and all three tracks were closed. That was a shame...I sure would like to be able to walk up the street and place a few box, wheel or across the board bets. I really did enjoy the dog track!