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Greyhound of the Week – Real Good Feelin (12/20/15)
Click to view Real Good Feelin’s Win.

In most stories, there are two characters which attract attention, the hero and the villain.  It’s nearly impossible to believe how the adorable 57-pound white/red Real Good Feelin, daughter of TMC’s Remedy – Need a Date born on August 15^th, 2013, could ever fill the role as the villain but the stage was set for one of the best performances of her racing career to claim the Greyhound of the Week honors.

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By CHACOUR KOOP The Daily News | Posted: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 12:00 am

LA MARQUE

In the last days of dog racing in Texas, greyhound owners and kennel operators are asking the state’s racing commission to step in and maintain a higher level of safety at Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque.

In a letter sent Friday to the racing commission, which regulates the industry, the Texas Greyhound Association raised concerns about major injuries to dogs and criticized the park for ignoring suggestions to improve the track’s surface. The association is worried Gulf is shirking responsibility for the dogs’ health during the final weeks of racing. In August, the park announced it would cease live racing at the end of this year.

“We’re afraid they’re going to get worse, and they’re already bad enough,” Texas Greyhound Association President David Peck said. “It’s the type of injury and severity we’re worried about.”

But Gulf management called parts of the letter untrue. The racing commission’s judges oversee the track during every race, and it hasn’t contacted the park with injury concerns for months, General Manager Sally Briggs said. Additionally, Gulf isn’t cutting back on the track maintenance crew even as it winds down other parts of its operation, Briggs said. The park will remain open for simulcast racing, where gamblers bet on races in other states.

“For them to now place any problems with injuries on us seems disingenuous to me,” Briggs said. “Our crew was always very, very willing to listen and learn.”

In its letter, the association contended the rate of major injuries has increased, and Gulf has been operating without a licensed track superintendent for more than a year. The racing commission didn’t dispute the major injury ratio had risen, but the increase could be skewed because fewer races have been run recently because of poor weather conditions, racing commission spokesman Robert Elrod said.

Despite the association’s calls to get help with day-to-day maintenance of the track, the racing commission won’t get involved, Elrod said.

“Our primary focus is on the safety of the greyhounds and ensuring the integrity of the racing operations at Gulf,” Elrod said. “Our safety standards have not changed.”

This isn’t the first time concerns about the track were raised. In 2014, the racing commission and a track maintenance consultant expressed frustration over the surface quality. The track was closed for a few days in August 2014 after three dogs suffered major injuries in one day.

Grey2K USA, a Massachusetts-based group aimed at ending dog racing, obtained the association’s letter and provided it to The Daily News. The group praised the greyhound association for raising the alarm about serious injuries at Gulf, but questioned why it still allowed dogs to race.

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Points on Safety Story
• The injury issues we raised in our letter to the Texas Racing Commission are valid and believe they should be immediately addressed by the commission and the track.

• Our members continue to run their dogs at Gulf because we have leases that require us to do so. Also, our hands are tied because this is the only track remaining in Texas.

• It is interesting the track acknowledged they will continue simulcast racing when they end live racing on December 31.

* The law doesn’t allow them to continue simulcast bets on out of state races without running live racing.

* Gulf essentially says they could care less about Texas greyhounds or Texas jobs.

* This is about padding the pocket of its out of state owner. Gulf is showing that their intent is to end live racing and simulcast only if your intent is to end live racing why would you take care of the track properly? The more injuries gives them the excuse to get rid of racing.

• We continue our call on the Texas Racing Commission to intervene and require Gulf track to protect the welfare of our greyhounds and follow the law requiring live racing.

David R. Peck
President, Texas Greyhound Association

AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers agreed Friday to fund the state Racing Commission through the end of February, averting a shutdown of the racing industry that had been set for Nov. 30.

Click HERE to view the full story.

Pre-stake schooling for the NGA Fall Meet is set to start this Sunday (Oct. 4) at 8:30 a.m. at the NGA Track.

Schooling will continue the five following mornings, through Friday, Oct. 9, when official races will be drawn for the first round.

“We’re now anticipating somewhere between 450 and 500 pups for the Fall Meet,” Executive Director Gary Guccione said Friday morning. “That’s pretty close to the numbers we’ve seen at the last two fall meets.”

Official racing will start at 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12 with first-round races for the younger pups. The older pups will see their first action the following morning (Tuesday, Oct. 13). The finals will be at 9 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 15 and 16.

Numerous other activities, including Hall of Fame inductions, social events and the concluding meet event–the auction–are all part of the week’s activities. A complete schedule is on the NGA website.

Schooling results will be posted on the NGA website each day following the races.

Gulf superstar Seldom Told has returned to the racing wars in a dramatic way at Gulf Greyhound Park.

Sidelined with an injury for about five months earlier this year, the Sharon Williams pup has resumed his regular mode of racing, which is to demolish the opposition.

But the January 2013 son of Trent Lee-Need A Date did something even more special on Sept. 16 when he set a new track record of 29.38, while winning by 11 lengths.

Seldom Told broke in at Gulf last year, winning his first eight outings en route to notching 18 wins in 25 starts.

More pronounced than his record was his method of winning—usually by a large number of lengths in going-away fashion.

His recovery from that injury appears complete, and Seldom Told’s record through Sept. 16 for the year stands at 11-4-1 in 16 starts. 

Click to view Seldom Told’s win.

by Gary West

If you watched the political debates or looked at the recent polls, you couldn’t have avoided concluding that Americans don’t like politicians. We elect them, quickly become disappointed and disenchanted with them and then — well, some Americans, it would seem, loathe politicians. (read full story below)

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/13728305/in-texas-even-mess-big

The Legislative Budget Board has informed Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Chuck Trout that the agency has been approved to immediately resume operations for the next 90 days, or until November 30, 2015. This action by the LBB was subsequently approved by the Governor. All TxRC offices are now open for regular business hours.

Michael R. Herron

December 31, 1940 – August 28, 2015

Michael R. Mike” Herron DVM, BS, MS, Dipl., A.C.V.S, 74, of College Station, he found peace on Friday August 28, 2015. A time for family to receive friends will be from 6 – 8 PM on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at Hillier Funeral Home of College Station. [Read more…]

(left to right):
Paul Watt – Texas Greyhound Association
Anthony Edwards
Craig Edwards – Trainer, D.Q. Williams Kennel
Christina Chambers – Assistant trainer, D.Q. Williams Kennel
Kane Clement – Patrol Judge
Tameshia Brown – Paddock Judge, Gulf Greyhound Park
Nick James – Exec. Director – Texas Greyhound Association
Joe Quinn- Assistant General Manager, Gulf Greyhound Park

Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win.

In the middle of June, thirty two Texas-bred athletes set their sights on the grand prize of attempting to win the richest stakes race offered in the state of Texas in 2015, the $10,000 Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship sponsored by the Texas Greyhound Association and Gulf Greyhound Park. 

Let’s ask a question, how often does a sports team or an individual athlete overcome all of the pressure accompanied that comes along with being expected to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning?  On some occasions, the expectations fall to the wayside with loads of disappointment but there are instances when the dreams actually do come true.  Before the athletes even set their paws on the 550-yard La Marque, Texas racing oval, everyone knew that the one to beat was the hottest greyhound at Gulf Greyhound Park and win leader, Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel.  Heading into the stakes competition, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1, 2012 was riding the wave of a four race winning streak including giving a career best performance of 29.56 seconds on June 6^th. [Read more…]