Sarasota Kennel Club opens season without major changes

The 73rd season of live greyhound racing at Sarasota Kennel Club gets underway Friday with a matinee, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

“It’s pretty much all the same materials as previous years,” Sarasota Kennel Club president and CEO Jack Collins Jr. said. “Racing six days a week, starting at 12:30, starting off tomorrow with 50-cent Friday: beer, hot dogs and Coke.”

Matinees are scheduled Monday through Friday all season, and Friday and Saturday evening races begin at 7:30 p.m., with the latter being a $1 night. The season runs until April 22. April 17 is the final matinee race.

The racing schedule will run the same as in past years. New additions at the facility are in the poker room, where the kennel club has added a pair of new games: three-card poker and ultimate Texas hold’em.

“They’re like player banks,” Collins said. “They’re almost like a casino game, playing against the dealer.”

Poker rooms open at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sundays.

Other than the small changes, the kennel club should have a familiar feel to past seasons in Sarasota. Live simulcasts of major horse and greyhound races will still be broadcast with live betting, and Triple Crown season will still be a main event.

“Besides that,” Collins said, “we’re just kind of trying to perfect things.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Sarasota Kennel Club opens season without major changes."