One of Colorado’s last remaining greyhound racing breeders admitted to state investigators that he used live rabbits to train his dogs — a banned practice in the shrinking dog-racing world that has prompted at least one state to open an investigation and cast into doubt the future of one the country’s premier breeders.
John Lashmet, who, with his wife Jill, operates one of Colorado’s two racing greyhound kennels, admitted to a state Division of Racing Events investigator in December that videos captured by a greyhound advocacy organization show him “live-lure” training on his Weld County farm, or releasing live rabbits in a pen for the dogs to chase, maim and kill.
“Lashmet answered in the affirmative multiple times to my specific questions that the videos showed him using rabbits for live-lure training,” the investigator wrote in a Division of Racing Events report obtained by Grey2K USA, the advocacy organization, and reviewed by The Denver Post. “He was forthcoming with the information.”
Three weeks after Lashmet admitted to the live-lure practice, he allowed his license with the Colorado Division of Racing Events to expire, a department spokesperson confirmed. Breeders must be licensed in order to operate in the state.
Lashmet did not respond to multiple inquiries Monday. He told The Post in July that he used mechanical lures, not live jackrabbits.
West Virginia, Arkansas and Iowa are the only states in the country that still allow dog racing, though Arkansas and Iowa are ending the practice and will cease races at the end of this year.
Racing regulators in West Virginia on Monday said they had received documents with Lashmet’s admission and the case is currently being investigated.
“At the appropriate time we will take appropriate action,” said Joe Moore, executive director of the West Virginia Racing Commission.
Greyhound racing rules in West Virginia prohibit dogs from racing that have been trained with live lures, he said. Violators could be hit with anything from a fine or suspension to license revocation.
An attorney with the Arkansas Racing Commission also said Monday that he had received the same investigative documents from Colorado. In previous cases involving live-lure allegations in the state, a board of judges would conduct an investigation and issue findings within six weeks, said Byron Freeland, the state’s racing commission attorney.
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office last summer opened an investigation into Lashmet’s alleged conduct, but investigators closed the case due to “insufficient evidence.” The Division of Racing Events doesn’t have the authority to enforce racing or training statutes, a spokesperson said, since those were revoked when Colorado banned the sport in 2014.
Lashmet is still free to renew his license anytime this year.
Carey Theil, executive director for Grey2K USA, called for Weld County to reopen its case in light of Lashmet’s admission and pushed regulators in West Virginia and Arkansas to immediately revoke the breeder’s license.
“He needs to be out of the greyhound industry,” Theil said. “That’s the bottom line.”
It’s unclear what will happen to Lashmet’s dogs, at least eight of which are set to race this week at tracks in West Virginia and Arkansas.
“People will bet on dogs that were very likely live-lured trained, regulators know were likely live-lured trained and nothing is being done,” Theil said. “And that’s outrageous. This is an incredibly cruel activity that should not be allowed in any way shape or form.”
Racing regulators have made it clear over the years that the practice of using live animals to train dogs is not accepted in the sport, though animal-rights advocates allege that the industry has known about it and refused to crack down.
“The board considers the use of live-lure training to greyhounds to be dishonest, undesirable, detrimental to, and conduct that reflects negatively on the integrity and best interested of racing in the state of Iowa,” the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission wrote in a 2020 ruling revoking one operator’s license. “Additionally, the board considers the use of live-lure training to train greyhounds to be conduct of an individual whom is not of good repute and moral character.”
Greyhound racing used to be big business in Colorado, but, as in many other states, slowly lost popularity as other gambling options and a growing animal welfare movement pushed the sport to the fringes of American fandom. Colorado hasn’t seen a greyhound race since 2008, and, in 2014, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law outlawing the sport.
But breeders have still been allowed to operate in Colorado even after prohibition, training dogs to race in states where it remains legal.
