State

TAR HEEL STORY By Billy Arthur Here Come The Greyhounds ere...comes...the...bun...ny" The race-track an¬ nouncer sang in a slow, measured tone as the mechanical rabbit passed, and eight hungry, rabbit-hat¬ ing. barking greyhounds broke from the starting box after it. In the grandstand, spectators stood and crowded the fence rail as they cheered, clutched their tickets, yelled, prayed, groaned and cursed both their luck and the dogs as the animals streaked around the quarter-mile track in about 30 seconds. And the race was over. The unlucky losers frowned, tore up their tickets and swore some more as the joyful winners headed for the pay windows. Such was a nightly (except Sunday) summer scene at the dog tracks at Morehead City and Moyock. where more than $35 million was gambled between 1948 and 1953. Until the legitimacy of the business was questioned — and the state Su¬ preme Court finally declared the sport illegal — dog racing was not only popular, but profitable for the local communities. Currituck County received 10 percent of the Moyock Until the legality of the business was questioned, dog racing was the nightly rage at Morehead City and Moyock. track's profits, or more than $500,000. Morehead City received almost $200,000. Call it rabbit gravy. Currituck was able to cut its county tax rate from $1.50 to 35 cents for every $100 valuation, build a new courthouse and make other improve¬ ments. At Morehead City, all of Evans Street along the Bogue Sound was paved, other streets were upgraded and maintained, and a pack-loader garbage truck and a recreation area were purchased. In addition, the tracks employed almost 400 weekly during the season. Despite opposition by local resi¬ dents and church leaders, the tracks continued to grow in popularity and gambling dollars, just as Representa¬ tive Fred Seeley of Carteret County had hoped way back in 1939 as the Great Depression was winding down. To promote the resort area and gen¬ erate enterprise and commerce, he pushed a bill through the General Assembly to permit dog and horse racing and parimutuel betting, sub¬ ject to a referendum in Morehead City. The people approved it, but for nine long years no action was taken because the community couldn't make a deal with a racing organization. Then, in 1946. Paul Cleland, a for¬ mer Morehead City real estate agent, was working in New York and remem¬ bered the dog racing bill. He knew that some prominent eastern North Carolinians had invested heavily — and lost — in the Morehead Bluffs and Villa Hotel developments during the land boom of the 1920s. That property was near the intersection of U.S. 70 and N.C. 24 west, where today a large shopping center stands. Cleland worked out a deal involving about $250,000 in out-of-state capital and $25,000 from businessmen in Carteret and surrounding counties. The Stale June ЧО 28