Live greyhound racing will end in Arkansas by the end of 2022, the owner of Southland Casino Racing announced Thursday.

Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis operates the only greyhound racing track in Arkansas. Southland, owned by Delaware North, and the Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association agreed to a phase-out of the operations.

The Arkansas Racing Commission approved Thursday a Southland petition that argued the venue is no longer required to conduct live greyhound racing to keep its casino license, thanks to an amendment approved by voters in November, according to Delaware North.

The wind-down of greyhound racing operations will begin next year, Delaware North said. A three-year period to end the operations is needed to provide enough time for the roughly 1,200 greyhounds racing at Southland to be adopted, said Southland President David Wolf.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS:Arkansas greyhound racing industry talks the sport's decline

"We want to avoid a disruptive and abrupt end to live racing to the benefit of all parties, including everyone who has a job at stake,” said Robert Thorne, president of the Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association, in a statement.

Races at Southland will be reduced from its 2019 level of 6,656 races to 4,992 races in 2020, according to Southland’s announcement. The number of races will then drop to 3,994 in 2021 and to 2,662 in 2022.

GREY2K USA, a group advocating for the end of greyhound racing, said the announcement “is a victory for everyone who cares about dogs.” The group, citing the Arkansas Racing Commission, said 1,361 greyhound injuries have been reported at Southland in the last decade.

“It's now clear that greyhound racing will end completely in the United States,” GREY2K said in a statement. “Today's development will leave only a handful of states where commercial dog racing still exists.”

Greyhound racing interest has declined

Southland and the kennel association discussed the future of greyhound racing, which Southland acknowledged “has seen a marked and steady decline” in the U.S.

Florida voters passed a greyhound racing ban in 2018, and Southland said independent polling suggests a similar initiative would pass in Arkansas. Florida’s decision shocked many in Arkansas’ greyhound racing industry.

Wolf said given those factors, the two sides worked on an agreement to end live racing through “an orderly process and on our own terms.”

Southland has conducted live greyhound racing in West Memphis since 1956, when it opened. The venue said a typical Saturday night at the track in the 1960s through the 1980s might see 20,000 people in attendance.

The sport is far removed from its heyday decades ago. The amount bet on Southland greyhound racing dropped from $20.3 million in 2010 to $16.4 million in 2018, according to GREY2K, which the organization says falls in line with a national decline.

Recent developments at Southland have focused on the venue’s gaming operations. Delaware North announced a $250 million expansion for Southland in January, after Arkansas voters passed the amendment allowing live games and sports betting there.

That expansion didn’t mention any upgrades to Southland’s greyhound racing operations.

This story will be updated.

Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.