Last modified: Thursday, November 6, 2008 2:37 AM EST A greyhound waits to race at Raynham-Taunton Dog Track on Wednesday. Greyhound racing will no longer be allowed in Massachusetts come 2010. (Staff photo by Mike George) End of the line for dog racing BY ALEX SPEREDELOZZI FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE RAYNHAM - At Raynham Park, the sun barely peaked through thin clouds early Wednesday afternoon, one day after Massachusetts voted to ban greyhound dog racing. The decision requires Raynham Park to shut down racing by Jan. 1, 2010. Though it was business as usual at the races, and employees and patrons readied themselves for the 12:30 p.m. start of the first afternoon race, track employees were dismayed by passage of the Greyhound Protection Act, also known as Question 3 on the state ballot. "Very, very subdued," track Superintendent Tom Clifford said, describing the mood among employees. Raynham Park employs 650 to 700 part- and full-time employees, said Clifford, who lives in Rehoboth and has worked at the track for 32 years. Most of those jobs would be lost, he said. "Not a whole lot salvageable. A lot of people who are long-term employees have been let down by fellow citizens." "We genuinely do the right thing by the dogs," he said. "We do a great job taking care of our greyhounds and our customers. No greyhounds are euthanized. All are found loving homes." Though there's been talk about other avenues for revenue at the track, such as slot machines, no plans have been set. There is interest in simulcast betting, but the mandate does not allow for simulcasts without live racing, Clifford said. Other employees echoed Clifford's sentiments. Cheryl Bonaparte, a 24-year employee from Raynham, became teary-eyed, saying she was "devastated." "I'm from the typewriter age, not the computer age," she said. Bonaparte is a parimutuel clerk, serving customers who place bets. "I can't believe people voted that way, putting us out of work," she said. "I have a mortgage, a child in college. I haven't slept, crying all night." Track announcer Chris Roberts of Raynham said the new law would not protect greyhounds, but simply cause them to be relocated to other states where adoption requirements are not as stringent. Roberts said the dogs are only raced until they are 4 years old, and he cited Raynham Park's 100 percent adoption rate. "We like to think we're for the dogs. We care about the dogs," he said. Roberts, a 10-year employee, said his work hours give him the flexibility to officiate at high school basketball and baseball games. "Utter devastation" is how he described the ban, and wondered aloud "how someone from Framingham, Chicopee, Pittsfield could determine the loss of 1,200 jobs. "You tell me, in this economy, where are the businesses to hire 1,000 people," he said. "These people are family. The saddest day will be the day these doors close." Gerald Read from Swansea, who worked the polls on Tuesday in Fall River to persuade voters to reject the ban, said he began working at age 18 - 56 years ago - parking cars with his father. He works now as a parimutuel clerk five hours a day, six days a week. "Where am I going to get a job now at 74," he said. Not as angry, but still disappointed on Wednesday were some of the patrons at Raynham Park. "I don't like it," said Clarence Thomas from Stoughton who has been coming to the track since the 1980s. Thomas attends races four times a week. He works second shift at the Stop & Shop warehouse in Freetown, so his days are free. "Me and the friends come down here and have a few beers, some relaxation," he said. If the track closes, Thomas said he may go to Foxwoods. "Next best thing," he said. Bob Collett, who lives in Mashpee part of the year and winters in Florida, has been coming to the track for 40 years. "It's too bad," he said. "Now I'll probably have to live in Florida full-time to see them (greyhounds) live." As the first race got underway, and the familiar "Here comes Rusty" blared from the speakers, Jack Eordekian looked at his program and the two tickets he just purchased. "Too bad the vote turned out that way," he said, despite admitting he voted "yes" on Question 3 himself. Eordekian said he voted for the ban because his 13-year-old granddaughter became active in the push to ban greyhound racing. "You're doing the wrong thing, Papa, going to the race track," he said she told him. "If I thought they were abusing dogs, I wouldn't come here," said the 82-year-old man from Watertown. "I did it for her. I didn't think my vote would make a difference."