“racing plant” to be completed. Fans sat in steel bleachers while awaiting “a grandstand to seat 10,000 or more and costing from $50,000 to $75,000…just as soon as the government curb is lifted.” However, this was the first Valley track to employ the “Universal Magic Eye” timing device, which eliminated the need for officials to use stopwatches. The Arizona Kennel Club conducted races at the Washington location until 1955, as a new $750,000 track debuted the previous year just four blocks east at 40th and Washington. The new, bigger and better track, which was the first to include a glass-enclosed grandstand, was erected by David K. and Arthur L. Funk. The brothers had come with their parents and four other siblings to Arizona about 1911. Their German-born father, Benjamin Funk, emerged as a prominent businessman who owned Phoenix’s largest jewelry store. As a youngster, it looked like older brother David would find a career in Hollywood. At 14, and weighing 215 pounds, he earned a contract as a juvenile comedian but his film career was short-lived. After a brief stint as a citrus grower in Arizona, David found a new passion – greyhound racing. In 1943, just short of his 40th birthday, David, along with his five-year younger brother, Arthur, bought into the Western Greyhound Kennel Club track. By 1952, the Funk Brothers had assumed entire ownership of the Roosevelt track, and incorporated the firm, Greyhound Parks of Arizona. As the year closed, they announced plans to build a modern $0.75 million facility at the site and a $300,000 facility in Tucson. The Tucson park was completed but plans changed in Phoenix. The Funks declared their new, state-of-the-art park would be erected on 60 acres at 40th Street and Washington. In the two decades following the end of World War II, greyhound racing flourished. By the end of the 1960s, the Funk brothers expanded their empire to six tracks located in Phoenix, Apache Junction, Black Canyon, Tucson, Amado, and Yuma. David is credited with innovations that were ultimately used nationwide. These included electronically printed wagering tickets and introducing the “Big Q,” which referred to a daily double Quinella in the last two races, which kept bettors at the track for the entire program. But after decades of unbridled success, the end of greyhound racing emerged when a three-pronged attack in the 1990s besieged the industry. Questionable operational practices had plagued the parks arizcc.com
from the beginning. Over the years, a variety of lawsuits chipped away at dog racing. In 1992 Governor Fife Symington began signing into law a series of Tribal-State Gaming Compacts that permitted casino-style gambling on Native American lands. That action took a big chunk out of track profits. The final blow came from animal rights activists through complaints and accusations about the treatment of greyhounds. That led to louder cries to end what the activists argued was an inhumane sport. As dog racing became less profitable,
tracks began shutting down one-by-one, starting with the rural operations. Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation in 2016 banning live greyhound racing in Arizona. Some tracks temporarily staved off the inevitable by staying open for off-trackbetting on televised races from around the country. The end of an era came 77 years after Arizona became the fourth state to legalize greyhound racing. Now it was the 40th state to finally silence the haunting call of “Here comes the rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.”
HEAVY EQUIPMENT SALES AND RENTALS We Listen. We Deliver. Articulated Dump Trucks · Dozers · Excavators · Scrapers Motor Graders (grade control available) · Wheel Loaders Water Wagons · Water Trucks · Fuel & Lube Trucks Mechanics Trucks · Stand Tanks · Water Pumps · Compactors
Rental Account Manager
Rental Account Manager
Rental Account Manager
General Manager
Jean Kasitch
James Bagshaw
Tyler Denton
Brian Collins
jean@pacwesttrading.com
jbagshaw@pacwesttrading.com
tdenton@pacwesttrading.com
bcollins@pacwesttrading.com
480-258-4818
602-723-6838
602-541-3633
602-620-2383
3105 N Maple St. Mesa, AZ 85215 | www.pacwesttrading.com
Phone: 480-832-0855 Arizona Contractor & Community