ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Recent stories of numerous greyhounds testing positive for cocaine after racing at the Orange Park Bestbet track have prompted questions about how the dogs are treated by their owners.
A trainer had his license suspended last month after the state found 17 dogs he trained tested positive for a substance called benzoylecgonine, a chemical offshoot of cocaine.
But the owner of the dogs that tested positive, Steve Sarras, is now saying the lab results are misleading and not as serious as some people think.
He said that for humans, the authorities wouldn’t worry about a chemical derivative of cocaine if it was below 150 nanograms per milliliter. He said his dogs tested well below that in the range of 10.7-36.5 nanograms per milliliter.
Sarras said that the amount of benzoylecgonine fell “well below any federal drug test for humans” and added that “of the 17 positive samples, only three dogs won.”
He said he believes Grey2K USA, an anti-greyhound racing advocacy group, is using the media to push its agenda with the cocaine story.
But Grey2K USA executive director Carey Theil pointed out that his group didn’t bring the story to the media but that News4Jax contacted him for information and perspective on the story, which he provided. He said his organization only acted as a resource after being contacted and that, in the end, it's about how the dogs are treated.
Theil said typically greyhounds spend most of the day in metal cages at a compound with only a few chances to go to the bathroom or race.
“The confinement greyhounds endure at Orange Park is cruel and inhumane,” Theil said. “It’s one of the reasons why the humane community is opposed to greyhound racing. I think if someone moved in next door and kept dogs confined 22 hours a day, you would be troubled by that.”
News4Jax attempted to investigate that compound at the old Bestbet facility in Northwest Jacksonville, which is now a school that also houses some of the dogs. When we stopped at the property, we were immediately asked to leave.
The property did advertise greyhound adoptions.
Sarras said the dogs are brought out to race more often than Grey2K USA believes, sharing a diagram showing that they are transported in crates larger than a typical pet crate.
Grey2K USA said Florida is one of two states that doesn’t require injury reports to be publicly released.
News4Jax requested comment from Bestbet but we were told management wasn't available Thursday, but is looking into getting a response to us about these issues. News4Jax will update when we receive that response.