City considers request to bring off-track betting to Headquarters Lounge

Owners of a local restaurant and lounge are gambling that Maricopans are hungry for more than food and spirits and have asked the city for permission to add off-track wagering through Phoenix Greyhound Park to its lounge’s menu.

The matter was tabled for another day, however, at the suggestion of the newly sworn-in mayor, Anthony Smith, during the first City Council meeting over which he presided, gavel in hand.

“Items of moral significance like this need a public hearing,” Smith said.

In addition, the city has not yet put in place a procedure for accepting applications for off-track betting, and no fee structure or guidelines exist.

Smith suggested, and the Council agreed, that staff create and the Council approve just that before revisiting the current application before the city.

The applicant is Headquarters Café and Headquarters Lounge, both at 19640 N. John Wayne Parkway, which have been in the business of feeding customers home-style meals and tending bar patrons for decades. Owned by Alma Farrell, the business is somewhat of a local landmark with its ranch-style architecture and decorative horse shoes nailed to its front wall.

The family’s ties to the community are far reaching including Alma Farrell’s service from 1999 to 2006 as superintendent of schools for the Maricopa Unified School District. The family matriarch married into one of the city’s founding families and graduated from Maricopa High School in 1962.

Although the Farrells did not publicly approach the City Council on Tuesday during the Call to the Public, three concerned citizens, three greyhounds on leashes and the general manager of Phoenix Greyhound Park did.

Kimberly Diedrich, Kelly Hoke and Jill Touchette each delivered emotional statements stating why they believe the Council should not approve such activity.

Diedrich, who doubles as the wife of newly elected Councilman Carl Diedrich and the treasurer of his recent political campaign, was the first to speak. She is also the owner and operator of Home is where the Hound Is, a local in-home pet sitting service.

“As many of you know, I devote much of my life to animals and their safety,” she said, after briefly explaining that her purpose for addressing the Council was to shut down the possibility of bringing off-track betting to Maricopa.

“Greyhound racing uses these beautiful creatures for financial gain,” she said.

Kelly Hoke, also of Maricopa, approached the Council with Sherman and Patton, two retired racing greyhounds, close by her side.

One of the dogs wore special shoes on his hind feet and a sweater about his hips. Hoke cited research showing that the racing industry in general does not provide good care for greyhounds, including feeding them substandard meat and allowing them little room to exercise or stretch out their feet.

Hoke argued that bringing off-track betting to Maricopa would not likely increase business for Headquarters because businesses on either side of the city in the East Valley and in Casa Grande already offer the service.

Besides, those who have an itch to gamble, she said, would be more likely to drive on through to Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort Hotel than stop in town.

“Please do not bring off-track betting to Maricopa,” she said.

Another greyhound owner agreed.

“It supports an industry that is cruel,” Touchette said, as her golden, female greyhound waited patiently at her feet.

Curtis Swamberg, the off-track betting manager for Phoenix Greyhound Park and a Hidden Valley resident, chose not to address the Council or the women’s remarks until the Council addressed the matter as official business as listed on the evening’s agenda.

Councilman Ed Farrell, son of Alma Farrell and the late Eddie Jay Farrell, also waited to recuse himself from the discussion until that time.

Swamberg, who has 50 years of experience working in industry, said the accusations of the women, while they might be historically accurate, do not reflect today’s operations.

The days of cramped quarters have been replaced with daily walks with trainers, large running areas and a whirlpool where the canine athletes can unwind in a Jacuzzi-like experience. And while the end of a racing career often meant the end of quality of life for them, such is no longer the case either.

“The dogs are very well taken care of,” he said. “There are no ticks or fleas. This is the most scrutinized sport around.”

Oversight to make sure such conditions exist is in place, Swamberg said; because all greyhound tracks must be state licensed, employees are fingerprinted and must have clean felony records for the most recent decade. Spot inspections occur regularly on sites, and all dogs who retire from the business are adopted out to pre-screened homes, mostly in California and Nevada. Since 1990, 6,000 greyhounds from Phoenix have been placed.

Swamberg made no attempt to justify the sport’s less-than-pristine history, but acknowledged its existence.

“I’ve seen a lot, and we’ve had to make changes from years ago,” he said. “But now we are proud of the way our adoption association is run.”

No decision on the application will be made until the Council removes it from the table for further discussion and a possible vote at a future meeting.

Alma Farrell could not be immediately reached for comment.

Photos by RuthAnn Hogue