Gov. vetoes bill extending dog racing

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Governor Donald Carcieri has vetoed a bill that would have extended greyhound racing at Twin River.

If passed, the bill would have extended the number of racing days from 125 to 200. The Rhode Island Greyhound Owners Association issued the fillowing statement on the ruling:

“The general assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation to protect jobs and revenue to the state from greyhound racing. Greyhound racing has been a true partner to this state allowing VLTs into their private business in 1992 and bringing in 5,000 people a week to Twin River. The extra people the track brings in are of significant importance to the tax and fee revenue that Rhode Island collects daily from Twin River,” says Jennifer Bramley, spokesperson for RIGIOA.

The owners of Rhode Island’s largest slot parlor filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, June 23rd,  as they struggled to repay millions of dollars in debt, putting in question the state government’s third-largest source of revenue as it faces its own fiscal troubles.