Let it Ride

Jack Collins Jr. isn't a gambling man per se, but he hopes the 2010 Florida legislative session will be a sure thing for his business.

Collins and his family run the Sarasota Kennel Club, a live dog-racing track that takes in about $90 million annually in bets on dog races, televised horse races and poker games. The Collins family has operated the track since 1944, when Collin's grandfather, Jerry Collins, bought it from foreclosure on the courthouse steps for $5,000.

But Collins and his brother, Chris Collins, have told local politicians for a few years that state regulations and a dramatic — and recent — increase in competition is a double whack that threatens to put the club out of business. The track, which handles a pool of bets called parimutuels, initially opened in 1929.