$5M greyhound racetrack in Vung Tau to close after 23 years

The Sports and Entertainment Services JSC, the investor, will relocate all equipment at the track and return the location to the authorities. A center in Ba Ria Town nearby will continue to feed and train nearly 400 greyhounds while waiting for contract liquidation. The company is also speeding up the construction of a new racetrack in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands.

The Lam Son greyhound racetrack, invested with US$5 million, has been operating since 2000 with two races per week. The entrance fee is VND90,000-180,000 ($3.80-7.61) for one person. After 23 years, the company has organized nearly 1,500 races, attracting more than 3.5 million visitors to the track to watch and place bets.

However, its operation has not been profitable. The company said it has suffered a loss of VND205 billion besides paying more than VND45 billion to the local budget.

A representative of the company said that if the license is extended, they will have to pay value-added tax and special consumption tax for dog racing that cost at least VND100 billion per year. After 10 years, this amount will increase 30 times if the company is allowed to receive bets across the country through ticket counters outside the racetrack as well as text messages.

According to the Department of Culture and Sports of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province, after the closure of Lam Son racetrack, the location will be used for other sport activities.

The department proposes to relocate the racetrack to an area on Cau Chay Road that has a stadium of 10,000 seats and a sports complex on the gateway road of Vung Tau. Another proposed location is the 7.9-hectare dog farm of the investor in Long Toan Ward, Ba Ria.