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 15th, 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.
On Friday evening December 11th, a blockbuster field of seven superstar athletes, all top grade AA winners in recent weeks, made their way to the 550-yard starting box for the much anticipated tenth race. Real Good Feelin drew a favorable #7 post position for her mid-track running style but most of the attention for this contest was directed towards the #5 post position as kennelmate and 2015 win leader, Need My Moneynow, was seeking his record breaking 15th consecutive victory and a page in the long history of competition at Gulf Greyhound Park.
In her two most recent attempts against Need My Moneynow, Real Good Feelin put up two gallant efforts in hot pursuit finishing only 1½ lengths behind on October 10th and December 3rd. Would this be the night when Real Good Feelin finally turned the tables? The lid of the starting box opened and Real Good Feelin broke alertly dueling stride for stride with the “hero” Need My Moneynow before yielding to a pursuing second place position around the first turn. Known for her strong closing ability, Real Good Feelin was merely two lengths behind as electricity and suspense filled the air for the upcoming closing act. As the gap between the two athletes narrowed to a whisker entering the stretch, would this be the end of “the streak”? The answer would be a resounding “Yes!” as the powerful, spirited stretch run of Real Good Feelin proved best crossing under the lights of the finish line one length in front stopping the timer at 29.78 seconds.
Real Good Feelin has enjoyed a very successful 2015 campaign building a record of 57/20-9-11-6 establishing herself as one of the top athletes at Gulf Greyhound Park for trainer Craig Edwards and owner Tina Williams.
Hey Hey Daddy (12/05/15)
Click to view Hey Hey Daddy’s Win.
It’s no secret that D.Q. Williams Kennel has been fortunate to have some of the best athletes to ever grace the sands of the Gulf Greyhound Park racing oval. Another name can be added to that special list with Hey Hey Daddy claiming the Greyhound of the Week honors. Under the guidance of trainer Craig Edwards, the 58-pound black daughter of TMC’s Remedy – Need a Date born on August 15th, 2013 has enjoyed a very successful 2015 campaign with a record of 44/14-11-2-5 for owner Tina Williams.
Following a two month departure from the racing scene, Hey Hey Daddy has been performing at the top of her game over her last eight outings with three victories and five second place finishes since October 11th. In fact, the only athletes that proved better on those 2nd place efforts were her kennelmates from D.Q. Williams Kennel chasing the likes of Miss Jakie and Pippi each one time and the best athlete currently on the Texas Gulf Coast, Need My Moneynow, on three separate occasions.
After pursuing the track champion, Need My Moneynow, in back to back races on November 12th and 18th, Hey Hey Daddy finally caught a break avoiding him in her contest on November 22nd. With that being said, this would not be an easy task facing a field including Buzz Williams from Libby Racing Kennels, who had won three out of his previous four races. Wearing the yellow colors of the #6 post position, Hey Hey Daddy led the way into the first turn establishing a one length advantage ahead of kennelmate #3 Pippi and #7 Buzz Williams. As the field headed into the far turn, Pippi provided a little bit of a “road block” getting in the path of Buzz Williams allowing Hey Hey Daddy to extend her lead and run away to an eventual 2½ length triumph ahead of Buzz Williams stopping the timer at 29.87 seconds.
The next opportunity for Hey Hey Daddy arrived on December 2nd sporting the white colors of the #3 post position. Despite facing a formidable field including recent top grade AA winners TB’s Nemesis of Meteorite Kennel, Atascocita Kosta of Libby Racing Kennels, Miss Jakie of D.Q. Williams Kennel and Hall of Famer Sakkara Bowie of Lingle Kennel, Hey Hey Daddy was tagged as the 3/5 race favorite. When the 550-yard starting box opened, it was clearly apparent why as Hey Hey Daddy took early command of the contest and was never really challenged in a front running four length winning effort.
Need My Moneynow (11/21/15 & 11/28/15)
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win (11/21/15).
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win (11/28/15).
Let’s begin with a question, are you superstitious? Has the number “13” ever been bad luck for some of you? Well, not for the Greyhound of the Week at Gulf Greyhound Park as Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel continues to dominate the top grade competition with a winning streak consisting of 13 in a row. With each triumphant journey, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1st, 2012 comes closer to the historical mark of fourteen consecutive victories held by San Tan Riffraff, who competed for owners Kenneth and Janet Allen, trainer Jim McGehee and Allen Kennel, Inc. in 2003.
Need My Moneynow has definitely attracted the attention of the rest of the country ranking as high as #2 in the polls with a 2015 record of 45/37-5-3-0 and career numbers totaling 80/57-9-8-3 while establishing himself as one of the finest athletes to ever race on the Texas Gulf Coast. In fact, during this incredible streak, Need My Moneynow has eclipsed the thirty second barrier in twelve out of the thirteen races including setting the track record of 29.35 seconds over the 550-yard course on September 23rd.
During any winning streak, there are moments of greatness and dominance but also sometimes there are those nail biting seconds of nervousness when a superstar doesn’t quite have his “A” game which makes the streak much more special. One of those events occurred on Thursday evening November 5th as Need My Moneynow was sporting a string of nine straight wins at that time. Wearing the green colors of the #4 blanket, Need My Moneynow did not break immediately to the lead in usual fashion and found himself boxed in behind a wall of competitors at the first turn. Showing the savvy of an experienced athlete, Need My Moneynow found an opening heading into the backstretch to claim a one length advantage as track announcer John Paul Faour expressed the words “settle down”. The determined run resulted in a one length victory ahead of MRL Kung Fu from Meteorite Kennel in his slowest time of the streak at 30.40 seconds.
With ten wins in a row riding on the line, Need My Moneynow faced a stern challenge from one of his kennelmates, Hey Hey Daddy, in his next two outings. On November 12th, Need My Moneynow put the yellow colors of the #6 post position on display with an alert beginning leading every step of the way and pulling away from the early challenge given by Hey Hey Daddy. Six days later on November 18th, these two speedsters would be matched up again each drawing favorable post positions with Need My Moneynow starting from the #1 post and Hey Hey Daddy beginning from the #8 post. The early portion of the duel was intense as the two raced nose to nose heading into the first turn. The post draw proved valuable for Need My Moneynow saving ground establishing a one length lead heading into the backstretch. With Hey Hey Daddy in hot pursuit, Need My Moneynow wouldn’t be denied his twelfth consecutive victory crossing under the wire two lengths in front.
A cold, blustery day on Sunday November 22nd presented itself for Need My Moneynow drawing the green colors of the #4 post position. Sent off as the overwhelming 1/9 favorite, Need My Moneynow did not disappoint the fans breaking immediately to the lead and simply toyed with his competition with an easy eight length victory for win number thirteen in a row putting smiles on the faces of trainer Craig Edwards, assistant trainer Christina Chambers and owner Sharon Williams.
Seldom Told (11/14/15)
Click to view Seldom Told’s Win.
The traditional criteria for the Greyhound of the Week honors was achieved as Seldom Told from D.Q. Williams Kennel posted a pair of top grade AA victories for owner Sharon L. Williams and trainer Craig Edwards.
During the month of October, the 85-pound black son of Trent Lee – Need a Date born on January 17th, 2013 posted three consecutive efforts in impressive style with a winning margin of at least twelve lengths. There would be a slight “hiccup” though in his first outing of November after a thirteen day layoff experiencing traffic troubles following a slow break ultimately leading to a hard charging third place finish 2½ lengths behind.
Glancing at the career of Seldom Told which began in July of 2014, there have only been four occasions when Seldom Told has failed to bounce back immediately with a winning effort following a loss. That fact is simply incredible as one of the finest athletes to ever grace the sands of Gulf Greyhound Park has built a record of 51/37-5-6-2.
With that being said, history would say that the next opportunity for Seldom Told on Wednesday afternoon November 11th was going to end in triumphant fashion wearing the white colors of the #3 racing blanket. Those very same colors have proven to be very special on two separate occasions as Seldom Told set the track record of 29.38 seconds (at that time) on September 16th and then equaled the existing track record time of 29.35 seconds held by kennelmate, Need My Moneynow, on October 9th. For this journey around the 550-yard course, Seldom Told emerged from the starting box in much better fashion positioning him in second place behind race leader Killer Kenya of Bone Man Racing Kennel. Tagged as 1/9 betting favorite, Seldom Told made a strong move around the far turn to claim the lead and raced away to an eventual winning margin of 7½ lengths posting a time of 30.03 seconds.
A quick turnaround was in order as Seldom Told prepared to compete three days later on Saturday evening November 14th drawing the black colors of the middle #5 post position. Following an alert beginning from the starting box, Seldom Told found himself engaged in a duel for the lead with Wild Impulse of Currid Racing. By a matter of inches, Seldom Told managed to clear just ahead of his rival to establish a two length advantage around the first turn setting the stage for another awesome performance. The daylight between Seldom Told and the rest of the competition grew increasingly with each stride ultimately crossing under the lights of the finish line eight lengths to the good stopping the timer at 29.53 seconds to earn win #18 in 2015.
Buzz Williams (11/07/15)
Click to view Buzz Williams’ Win.
Believe it or not, there’s another top athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park that doesn’t come from the D.Q. Williams Kennel. In fact, this week’s Greyhound of the Week, Buzz Williams from Libby Racing Kennel, appears to be rejuvenated showing the excellent form from late in 2014 and belongs in the discussion when naming the best 550-yard greyhounds on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Twelve months ago almost to the exact day, the 74-pound fawn son of Bob’s Skeet – Biz Episode born on July 23, 2012 put together back to back top grade AA winning efforts on November 1st and November 12th of 2014 to earn the weekly bragging rights for the first time in his career. Just when things were going so well, a pair of troublesome outings in late January of 2015 forced Buzz Williams away from the racing oval.
Seven long months would pass by before Buzz Williams would set his paws on the La Marque, Texas racing surface again and appeared to be back on track with victories in both of his official schooling contests. Of course, the lights of “the big show” are completely different and Buzz Williams found tough luck during his first four attempts with only a third place finish to show for his efforts.
As the page of the calendar turned to the month of October, the proverbial “page” in the career of Buzz Williams also changed for the better with a front running victory against grade A competition on October 2nd. Then six days later on October 8th, Buzz Williams equaled the fastest time of his career winning a top grade AA contest by 4½ lengths stopping the timer at 29.89 seconds. A pair of second place finishes would follow but then the winning ways resumed with a come from behind victory over Miss Jakie of D.Q. Williams Kennel on October 29th. In his most recent outing on November 6th, another duel would materialize between Buzz Williams and a speedster from D.Q. Williams Kennel, Pippi, battling around the 550-yard course. While running the second fastest time of his career at 29.93 seconds, Buzz Williams would emerge the victor by two lengths to continue this latest hot streak of 4 wins and 2 seconds in his last six races for trainer Derek Tinney and owner Joseph McGoldrick.
Kiss This (10/24/15)
Click to view Kiss This’ Win.
The Greyhound of the Week spotlight moves to the longer 660-yard course as Kiss This from D.Q. Williams Kennel takes center stage. Competing for owner Sharon Williams and trainer Craig Edwards, the 59-pound black daughter of Offthebrakedrake – Yes I’m Sweet born on January 23, 2013 is no stranger to being the featured athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park after earning the honors for the first time in early August.
In a period of time covering July 8th through September 10th, Kiss This was the top performing athlete on the backside with victories in seven out of her ten attempts around the 660-yard course including a string of four straight wins. In fact, when we last visited Kiss This, she had put together two dominating performances on August 2nd and 7th to claim the Greyhound of the Week honors and then dismissed the alleged “curse” spoken by many with two additional front running victories on August 15th and 23rd.
Following this spectacular run, Kiss This encountered a rough patch over the next four outings with only one second place finish to show for her efforts as the betting favorite in each race. There would be a break of nearly two weeks between starts which may have proven to be beneficial as Kiss This prepared for her next contest on Wednesday afternoon October 21st in a shortened field of seven. Drawing the yellow colored blanket of the #6 post position, rail running Kiss This was let go at profitable odds of 7/2 as all of the attention was directed towards Kay Robertson from Currid Racing, winner of three out of her last four contests attempting to be the successor as the dominant long distance athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park.
After failing to achieve the much needed lead in her last four attempts, things would be much different on this day as Kiss This broke alertly to put her nose out front and establish a two length lead with wide running SWG Topaz of Libby Racing Kennels in pursuit. The margin between the two athletes would diminish to one length around the far turn but a ground saving trip by Kiss This hugging the rail proved the best as SWG Topaz drifted wide and lost costly ground allowing Kiss This to cross under the lights of the finish line one length in front while running the third fastest time of her career in 36.94 seconds.
Fiat Trickery (10/17/15)
Click to view Fiat Trickery’s Win.
For the first time in several weeks, there is a fresh face shining in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight at Gulf Greyhound Park. With a recent string of success, Fiat Trickery from K-Rod Kennel has blossomed into one of the top superstars on the Texas Gulf Coast accumulating a record of 53/13-7-10-6 in 2015 for the connections of Charter Kennel, Inc. and trainer Troy Tinney.
The 59-pound red daughter of Djays Octane – Odd Francis set her paws on the La Marque, Texas racing oval for the first time in December of 2014 after beginning her career in Wheeling, West Virginia. A slow and difficult climb up the grade ladder extended into the month of March while floundering around in the middle grades of competition but showed a sign of going on periodic “hot streaks”. In the beginning of February, Fiat Trickery won two out of three contests to advance from grade D into grade B but was quickly followed by a five race winless drought. Then all of a sudden, Fiat Trickery “caught fire” winning four out of her next six journeys around the 550-yard course starting on March 22nd with a grade C victory and ending with her first top grade AA triumph on April 23rd.
Following that achievement, the roller coaster ride took another downward turn extending into the month of June when a move to the 660-yard course was made. Fiat Trickery responded immediately with a winning trip from the backside on June 11th and two starts later on June 25th. The next three months were uneventful with only two additional wins and a downward fall into grade B company again.
The latest “streak” began to take shape on September 13th with a grade B victory, a third place finish in grade A on September 18th and then eclipsed the thirty second barrier for the first time ever on September 23rd running the 550-yard course in 29.96 seconds on the way to a four length victory in grade A. After overcoming trouble to finish in third place chasing Need My Moneynow on September 30th, Fiat Trickery put together a monumental box to wire performance on October 3rd to win by one length in a speedy time of 29.97 seconds defeating a field including Seldom Told, who happened to miss the money for the only time in his storied career.
Fiat Trickery would get another shot at Seldom Told six days later on October 9th but unfortunately had to settle for second best chasing his track record tying performance. The next highlight in the career of Fiat Trickery would arrive on October 16th wearing the lucky stripes of the #7 post position. After taking early command of the contest with a two length lead around the first turn, Fiat Trickery increased her lead to a final winning margin of five lengths under the lights of the finish line stopping the clock in a career best time of 29.84 seconds.
Seldom Told (10/10/15)
Click to view Seldom Told’s Win.
Who’s the fastest athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park? Hmmm, that’s a really good question. For over four years, the track record around the 550-yard course held by Cry Homer was thought to be “untouchable” until Seldom Told from D.Q. Williams Kennel lowered the time to 29.38 seconds on September 16th. Then one week later, kennel mate Need My Moneynow stole the bragging rights by running a faster time of 29.35 seconds on September 23rd. So that was the end of it, right? Wrong! Seldom Told ran the fastest time of his career on Friday evening October 9th equaling the track record time of 29.35 seconds to earn the Greyhound of the Week honors once again leaving all of us to argue amongst ourselves, which superstar is faster?
For his first record breaking run on September 16th, the 85-pound black son of Trent Lee – Need a Date born on January 17th, 2013 was wearing the white colored blanket of the #3 post position on his way to an eleven length demolition of his top grade competition. Ten days later on September 26th, Seldom Told drew the #3 post position again and overcame a slow start to run away in impressive fashion by nine lengths. After getting knocked out of contention for the first time in his career on October 3rd, Seldom Told returned to the racing oval on October 9th wearing, yes you guessed it, the white colors of the #3 post position.
There would be no fooling around on this night as Seldom Told went immediately to the front end establishing a five length lead at the first turn. Of course at this point everyone knew the ending result would be win #33 of his 46 start career but then the question rose, could the magic happen again? Flying along on the lead almost effortlessly, track announcer John Paul Faour used the words “legend” and “he’s great” as Seldom Told rolled to a twelve length trouncing and then the running time of 29.35 seconds flashed on the tote board to put his name side by side with his kennelmate Need My Moneynow in the history books.
Owned by Sharon L. Williams and trained by Craig Edwards, Seldom Told now has a 2015 record of 20/14-4-1-0 and career totals of 46/33-5-5-2.
Kay Robertson (10/04/15)
Click to view Kay Robertson’s Win.
This week’s featured athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park, Kay Robertson from Currid Racing, has logged many miles while competing at three different racetracks during a career spanning over two years. Under the guidance of assistant trainer Andrew Currid, the 58-pound brindle daughter of Kiowa Mon Manny – Divulge born on November 27th, 2011 is still performing at an optimum level while enjoying her second visit to the Texas Gulf Coast building a record of 19/6-4-5-2 over the past four months. Blessed with a running style of closing from the back of the pack and seemingly able to run forever, a recent move to the longer 660-yard course made by trainer Freddy R. Currid has paid immediate dividends with a pair of back to back winning efforts.
The long journey began at what then was called Dubuque Greyhound Park in the summer of 2013 with Kay Robertson finding no success and grading off from competition. Two months later in October, Kay Robertson set her paws on the La Marque, Texas racing oval for the first time and found it to her liking winning both official schooling races. While constantly landing in the money with six third place and one second place finish to begin her career, it took until the eighth attempt to graduate from the maiden class on November 16th and was quickly followed by a grade J victory on November 23rd. During her first visit to the Gulf covering six months, Kay Robertson finished in the money in 24 out of 26 races while climbing the grade ladder into top grade AA competition.
Kay Robertson returned to Dubuque, Iowa for a five month period from May through September of 2014 and fared quite well competing in their top grades over their longer distance course. Then the decision was made for Kay Robertson to chase “the big money” at Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis, Arkansas beginning in December of 2014. Unfortunately for her connections, Kay Robertson spent the next six months going winless while experiencing a freefall down the grade ladder and grading off.
The decision was made to bring Kay Robertson back to Gulf Greyhound Park in June of 2015 and the successful ways returned quickly as if she had never even left. Beginning against grade D company, it only took four attempts before finding her way to the winner’s circle and the climb up the grading ranks gathered momentum working her way into top grade AA competition by the end of August.
It was evident that a move to the backside was needed to earn her first top grade victory at the Gulf and that decision was made on September 25th. Wearing the blue colors of the #2 blanket, Kay Robertson bided her time down the backstretch in pursuit of the leaders then made a swift move around the far turn circling her rivals setting up a powerful finish down the stretch to win by four lengths showing she loved the added distance. Six nights later on October 1st, Kay Robertson found herself in a similar position behind the frontrunners but made her move sooner this time down the backstretch. Entering the far turn full of run, Kay Robertson battled her way through a trio of contenders and then sprouted wings in the late stages pulling away to win by five lengths making it clear as day that Gulf Greyhound Park can be called, “Home Sweet Home”.
Need My Moneynow (09/26/15)
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win.
Have you ever seen lightning strike the same place twice? Well, if you were fortunate enough to watch the exciting action at Gulf Greyhound Park the past two Wednesdays, then that statement is true because the track record over the 550-yard course was lowered on back to back weeks.
After kennelmate Seldom Told of D.Q. Williams Kennel broke the track record that stood for over four years setting a time of 29.38 seconds on September 16th, Need My Moneynow used the phrase “what you can do, I can do better” and lowered the fastest time ever run around the 550-yard course to a new record time of 29.35 seconds on September 23rd.
Owned by Sharon L. Williams and trained by Craig Edwards, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1, 2012 has put together an impressive resume` during his nineteen month career on the Texas Gulf Coast. While dominating the competition in 2015 as the track win leader with a record of 36/28-5-3-0 and career numbers totaling 71/48-9-8-3, the previous highlight was when Need My Moneynow completed an undefeated campaign on his way to winning the Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship on July 4th and now we can add one more gem.
Leading up to the historic journey, Need My Moneynow was on quite a roll gathering momentum with three consecutive victories while posting a faster running time in each contest. On September 4th, a come from behind victory over Sakkara Bowie of Lingle Kennel by 1½ lengths in 29.97 seconds followed by a front running effort on September 12th crossing under the wire in front by 6½ lengths in 29.70 seconds and finally toying with the field on September 17th romping home by 9 lengths in a time of 29.57 seconds.
Setting the stage on Wednesday afternoon September 23rd was a bright, sunny day with Need My Moneynow wearing the green colors of the #4 post position as the prohibitive 1/2 favorite in race ten. As the lid of the starting box opened, Need My Moneynow began alertly going immediately to the lead and sure, we have all seen this scenario in previous races but ultimately this trip around the 550-yard course would prove to be magical. Need My Moneynow simply ran away from the top grade company in impressive style winning by 14½ lengths and when the time of 29.35 seconds was posted on the tote board, it was at that moment everyone realized that we had witnessed history one more time.
Seldom Told (09/19/15)
Click to view Seldom Told’s Win.
This week’s featured athlete, Seldom Told from D.Q. Williams Kennel, is certainly no stranger to the spotlight of the Greyhound of the Week honors; in fact it has only been two weeks. When everyone arrived at Gulf Greyhound Park on Wednesday afternoon September 16, no one could anticipate what we were about to experience as the 85-pound black son of Trent Lee – Need a Date owned by Sharon L. Williams and trained by Craig Edwards walked towards the 550-yard starting box for the day’s thirteenth race wearing the white colors of the #3 post position.
As the lid of the starting box opened, Seldom Told began his journey alertly by claiming the early lead ahead of #5 Bob’s Kado from Currid Racing and establishing a three length advantage around the first turn. For everyone that follows the career of Seldom Told (42/30-5-5-2), it is a known fact that the final outcome was already determined for all intensive purposes but what happened next widened the eyes and dropped the jaws of everybody watching the contest. Rolling along almost effortlessly on the lead, Seldom Told crossed the finish line in front by eleven lengths but then the race time of 29.38 seconds appeared on the tote board breaking the track record over the 550-yard course.
The previous record of 29.42 seconds was established on May 14, 2011 by one of Gulf Greyhound Park’s all-time best athletes, Cry Homer from LQK Kennels, Inc. but the history books have been changed again. There was a glimpse of this special day earlier in the career of Seldom Told almost a year ago on October 19, 2014 when he just missed the record time by .02 seconds stopping the timer at 29.44 seconds in just his fifteenth career start.
Need My Moneynow (09/12/15)
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win.
There has been a recurring theme at Gulf Greyhound Park as the connections of D.Q. Williams Kennel, trainer Craig Edwards and owner Sharon Williams continue to flourish with their top grade superstars dominating the headlines. The 2015 win leader at the Gulf, Need My Moneynow, has put together back to back impressive winning efforts to shine in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight once again.
Following a hard fought victory in the finals of the Diane Whiteley Championship on the 4th of July, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1, 2012 took a well deserved departure from the 550-yard racing oval. Six weeks would pass by before Need My Moneynow announced his presence to the competition in resounding fashion. For his first official schooling outing on August 13, Need My Moneynow posted a winning time of 29.93 seconds and then three days later on August 16, lowered the bar stopping the timer at 29.90 seconds.
The highly anticipated return arrived on August 23 with a muddy racing surface presenting itself but it did not matter as Need My Moneynow performed admirably with a workmanlike box to wire effort winning by six lengths wearing the yellow colors of the #6 blanket and returning a win ticket price of $2.10. However, nearly a week later on August 29, Need My Moneynow did not begin very sharply from the starting box and ran into traffic around the first turn which ultimately led to a rare defeat by the paws of young superstar Bob’s Kado from Currid Racing and a second place finish.
Electricity filled the air in his next contest on September 4 as a potential duel worthy of being called a match race was in store as Need My Moneynow faced one of Gulf Greyhound Park’s all-time best athletes, Sakkara Bowie from Lingle Kennel. Each superstar found favorable post positions as Need My Moneynow drew the lucky stripes of the #7 post while the rail running Sakkara Bowie drew the blue colors of the #2 blanket. The beginning of the race shaped up as planned with Sakkara Bowie darting away to a two length advantage around the first turn as Need My Moneynow managed to clear the early challenge from #3 Whisperinthewind of Currid Racing positioning himself behind Sakkara Bowie and now the race was on! With Sakkara Bowie leading the way by one length into the far turn, Need My Moneynow made his move swinging to the outside and put his skills on display powering home down the stretch to a 1½ length triumph in a time of 29.97 seconds as the 2/5 favorite.
Following that outstanding performance, Need My Moneynow took center stage once more on September 12 drawing the #2 post position, again as the 2/5 race favorite. As the lid of the starting box opened, there would be less drama for this journey as Need My Moneynow took early command with a three length cushion around the first turn. The remainder of the contest resembled “poetry in motion” as Need My Moneynow sped away to a 6½ length victory in a lightning quick time of 29.70 seconds improving his 2015 record to 34/26-5-3-0 and outstanding career numbers totaling 69/46-9-8-3.
Seldom Told (09/05/15)
Click to view Seldom Told’s Win.
D.Q. Williams Kennel, trainer Craig Edwards and owner Sharon Williams have been fortunate throughout the years having some of the best athletes to ever grace the sands of the La Marque, Texas racing oval. These connections welcomed back one of the top superstars in recent history with open arms as Seldom Told made his return in astounding fashion to bask in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight.
During the first two and a half months of 2015, the 85-pound black son of Trent Lee – Need a Date born on January 17, 2013 was simply rolling through the top grade competition with eight wins and four second place finishes out of twelve starts including a stakes victory in the King & Queens Championship in February. Just when things were going well, Seldom Told was forced away from the racing scene following a strong come from behind victory on March 15.
Four weeks later, Seldom Told resumed his campaign and appeared to not miss a stride with a pair of impressive official schooling efforts running a near record time of 29.51 seconds on April 19 and 29.74 seconds on April 23. During his formal return on April 30, Seldom Told experienced a troublesome journey around the 550-yard course while closing for a third place finish but this appearance would be a brief one.
Four long months would pass by and questions began to rise concerning the likelihood of Seldom Told resuming his career. For all of you WWE fans and quoting superstar Daniel Bryan, the answer to that question was “Yes! Yes!” Seldom Told returned on August 23 for his first official schooling effort to post a time of 29.74 seconds and then overcame all sorts of obstacles to win his next official schooling contest on August 27.
It was time for the lights of “the big show” on Thursday evening September 3 as the post-position draw proved to be very kind with the red colors of the #1 blanket. Tagged as the 4/5 race favorite, Seldom Told went to the front immediately to establish a three length advantage around the first turn and “the big boy was rolling” according to track announcer John Paul Faour. Flying along on the lead, Seldom Told simply ran away to demolish his top grade AA competition by eleven lengths stopping the timer at 29.61 seconds, not bad huh?
While earning his ninth victory this year out of fourteen starts, Seldom Told still continued the streak of earning a purse check in every race of his career with a record of 40/28-5-5-2.
Bob’s Kado (08/29/15)
Click to view Bob’s Kado’s Win.
Things always become more exciting while adding some electricity to the air when a young pup bursts onto the scene and all of us at Gulf Greyhound Park have enjoyed the pleasure of watching an emerging superstar over the past two months. Competing for owner Robert Stokes and trainer Freddy R. Currid from Currid Racing, Bob’s Kado has quickly maneuvered through the grade ladder with a record of 9/6-1-1-1 including a three race winning streak to shine in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight.
When the 69-pound dark brindle son of Pat C Clement – Bob’s Kibble born on December 23, 2013 first set his paws on the 550-yard course for his first official schooling outing on July 5, eyes were widened and jaws dropped as Bob’s Kado went immediately to the lead and demolished the field of seven by 17 lengths in a time of 30.26 seconds. In his second official schooling race on July 9, Bob’s Kado showed his versatility by coming from behind and running away to an 8½ length romp in 30.50 seconds.
The much anticipated debut arrived on July 15 and everything looked perfect drawing the red colors of the #1 post position. Tagged as the even money favorite, Bob’s Kado ran a very good race with a second place effort but also created some doubts of being a possible “flash in the pan”. For his next contest on July 19, Bob’s Kado quickly eliminated those thoughts from the naysayers by rushing to the lead from the outside #8 post position and running away to an eight length victory to graduate from the maiden class. The winning ways continued with a come from behind two length victory against grade J competition on July 25.
There’s a test that needs to be passed from every athlete as they continue their never ending pursuit of Marquey and what happens when coming into contact with other competition. For the first time in his young career, a troublesome trip arrived on July 30 wearing the black colors of the middle #5 post position versus grade C company getting bounced around in the first turn but Bob’s Kado handled things well by closing ground to finish in third place just two lengths behind the winner. The post-position draw proved more kind for his next opportunity on August 5 starting from the outside #8 post. Mirroring his maiden winning trip, Bob’s Kado emerged from an early duel for the lead and once again raced off alone to cross the finish line in front by 7½ lengths.
The “trouble bug” reared its ugly head in a grade B outing August 9 with more traffic around the first turn resulting in a fourth place finish for Bob’s Kado. Since that point, the smiles have returned to his connections with back to back victories from the #1 post position winning by 2½ lengths in grade B on August 14 and then by 5½ lengths in grade A while running the fastest time of his career at 29.97 seconds on August 22.
Next up on his plate on August 29, the top grade AA debut facing a field including track win leader Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel and accomplished superstar Ruff Tuff Babe of K-Rod Kennel. Wearing the blue colors of the #2 blanket, Bob’s Kado struck the front quickly but was passed up by Ruff Tuff Babe to his outside but more importantly blocked Need My Moneynow backwards at the first turn. With Ruff Tuff Babe leading the way into the far turn, Bob’s Kado ducked inside and then to the outside circling around the leader to claim the lead at the top of the stretch. While “scraping paint” with Ruff Tuff Babe down the stretch, Bob’s Kado managed to draw clear in the final strides winning by 1½ lengths ahead of a hard charging Need My Moneynow.
Miss Jakie (08/22/15)
Throughout their history of racing at Gulf Greyhound Park, D.Q. Williams Kennel and owner Sharon Williams have provided trainer Craig Edwards with some of the best athletes to ever compete around the La Marque, Texas oval. After somehow cruising under the radar for nearly two and a half years accumulating an outstanding career record of 150/38-29-18-24, the spotlight for the Greyhound of the Week honors has finally caught up with Miss Jakie. Despite approaching the age of four, the 59-pound white/black daughter of Fuzzys Cannon – Loveless has put together a three race winning streak for only the third time in her storied career and the first since October of 2013.
When the name of Miss Jakie is mentioned, there is no doubt that everyone knows where she is going when the 550-yard starting box pops open, straight left towards the rail! This unique running style can provide excitement with each journey around the track but can also make other trainers cringe knowing that she’s going to come across the noses of the greyhounds drawn to the inside of her.
This scenario was put on display Thursday evening August 13 as Miss Jakie drew the outside #8 post position. Once the lid opened, out popped Miss Jakie like a flash almost leaving track announcer John Paul Faour speechless as she slashed down to her usual rail running position establishing a three length advantage. With a trio of greyhounds battling for the place spot behind her, Miss Jakie cruised along to an eventual five length victory stopping the timer at 29.97 seconds and Mr. Faour “surprised”.
The next opportunity arrived three days later on Sunday afternoon August 16 drawing which many would think is the ideal spot for her early speed, the red colors of the #1 post position. Things materialized differently though as Miss Jakie broke in the middle of the pack but good fortune was smiling on her this day as she hugged the rail to slide by early traffic and then bounce Slatex Annie Lee out of her way at the first turn to claim a two length lead. The remainder of the journey was a breeze crossing the wire by the same two length margin as the even money favorite.
Moving along to her most recent start on a rainy Sunday afternoon August 23, a muddy racing surface was in store with Miss Jakie wearing the lucky stripes of the #7 post position. As expected, Miss Jakie went straight left towards the rail at the break squashing most of the field and creating her own luck to build a three length lead around the first turn. Splashing along in the mud, Miss Jakie won easily by four lengths as the slight 2 to 1 race favorite for her third consecutive victory and improved her record in 2015 to 39/10-8-2-9.
Kells Diablo (08/15/15)
Click to view Kells Diablo’s Win.
A week ago, Kells Diablo from Lingle Kennel gave a performance more than worthy of earning the Greyhound of the Week honors with a pair of come from behind top grade AA victories around the 550-yard course but unfortunately was outvoted by the panel that nominates the weekly “top dog” as the attention was directed towards the recent backside dominance from Kiss This of D.Q. Williams Kennel. Following the saying of “try, try again”, Kells Diablo extended his winning streak to three in a row and staked his claim as this week’s Greyhound of the Week at Gulf Greyhound Park.
After shining in the weekly spotlight three months ago in the middle of May, the 68-pound brindle son of Hi Noon Renegade – Karaoke Cat born on April 4, 2012 has regained his top form continuing a very successful campaign this year with a record of 37/16-5-3-5 while also adding to a future Hall of Fame career record of 118/29-20-21-25.
The perfect run during the month of August began on Wednesday afternoon August 5th wearing the lucky stripes of the #7 post position. In typical fashion, Kells Diablo began his journey from the back of the pack but hustled up quickly to take the lead around the far turn. Normally at this point, the race is over but this time Kells Diablo had to turn away a strong challenge from Slatex Kristoff of Bone Man Racing Kennel to win by one length as the 9/5 race favorite.
Three days later on Saturday evening August 8th, Kells Diablo drew the yellow colors of the #6 post position and was tagged once again as the race favorite at odds of 2 to 1. The first half of the 550-yard journey found Kells Diablo racing in the middle of the pack but then accelerated to the lead around the far turn and put the field away crossing the finish line nine lengths in front stopping the timer at 29.96 seconds.
The next opportunity arrived on Friday evening August 14th starting from another outside favorable post position wearing the black/yellow colors of the #8 blanket. Shouldering the burden as the even money race favorite, Kells Diablo rushed around traffic entering the first turn and found himself in third place. Full of momentum, Kells Diablo narrowed the gap on leader BC Sweet Angel from Tri-State Kennel setting the stage for exciting stretch duel. When it appeared at BC Sweet Angel was going to hold on, Kells Diablo found another gear in the final strides to win by one length in a time of 30.26 seconds.
Kiss This (08/08/15)
Click to view Kiss This’ Win.
D.Q. Williams Kennel provides the Greyhound of the Week once again but this time we are going to change the scenery shifting gears to the backside featuring Kiss This. Historically at Gulf Greyhound Park, owner Sharon Williams has provided one successful long distance competitor after another for trainer Craig Edwards and now the next superstar in line is the 59-pound black daughter of Offthebrakedrake – Yes I’m Sweet born on January 23, 2013.
Making her initial appearance in November of 2014, things did not go so well for Kiss This struggling around the 550-yard course. It took nine attempts to finally graduate from the maiden class on January 30, 2015 but then spent the month of February floundering around against grade J competition. The move to the backside was made in March and it could be seen immediately that Kiss This had found her home with back to back second place finishes in her first two tries and then scored a grade C victory in her fourth attempt on March 27.
A slow but steady climb up the grade ladder would ensue with finishes in the money on several occasions while throwing in a winning trip periodically averaging one per month. As the heat of the Texas summer began, the winning results arrived more often as Kiss This established herself as one of top competitors over the 660-yard course and slowly took the spotlight away from kennelmate Coco My Way who had just made the list of the top twenty-five greyhounds in the entire country.
The crowning achievement so far in the career of Kiss This arrived on Sunday afternoon August 2 with the rail running superstar drawing the red colors of the #1 blanket. Tagged as the 3/2 race favorite, Kiss This darted away to the early lead leaving a demolition derby in her wake and now it was just her and Marquey. While flying alone on the lead, Kiss This set the 660-yard course “on fire” ultimately crossing the finish line thirteen lengths in front and stopping the timer in a career best 36.73 seconds
The next opportunity would arrive on Friday evening August 7 drawing the middle #5 post position. Was her last performance a “fluke” because she was never challenged at any time during the contest? The fans did not think so establishing Kiss This as the 9/5 favorite for her next journey. When the lid of the starting box opened, out popped Kiss This once again to seize command of the race and this little girl simply ran away from the top grade competition to win by 8½ lengths in another impressive time of 37.06 seconds to go a perfect two for two in the month of August, so take that all of you naysayers.
Real Good Feelin (07/25/15 & 08/01/15)
Click to view Real Good Feelin’s Win – 07/25/15.
Click to view Real Good Feelin’s Win – 08/01/15
There were two candidates that fulfilled the criteria for the Greyhound of the Week honors with a pair of top grade AA victories and submitted their resume` to shine in the weekly spotlight. To quote a line from the movie Highlander, unfortunately “there can only be one” as Real Good Feelin from D.Q. Williams Kennel gets the nod with faster running times over Mo’s Two Sons from K-Rod Kennel.
Competing for owner Tina Williams and trainer Craig Edwards, the 57-pound white/red daughter of TMC’s Remedy – Need a Date born on August 15th, 2013 may be small in stature but packs quite a punch with a strong, come from behind running style down the center of the track. Real Good Feelin has provided many “good feelings” for her connections during the month of July by winning three out of her last four contests to improve her career record to 37/9-6-8-3.
When Real Good Feelin made her debut over the 550-yard course in December of 2014, her first two journeys were filled with trouble resulting in a fifth place and second place finish respectively. Then the sweet taste of success arrived in start number three overcoming trouble to graduate from the maiden class on December 28th and was quickly followed with a 6½ length romp in grade J to start off the New Year on January 8th.
The learning curve came to a proverbial crawl as Real Good Feelin spent the first two months of 2015 competing in grade C before finally breaking through on February 27th. The month of March found Real Good Feelin in the same rut against grade B competition until finding the way to the winner’s circle again in her final start of the month on March 29th. After finishing in the money in her three attempts in grade A, Real Good Feelin would make her first try over the 660-yard course after being entered in the TGA Spring Classic and found instant success winning her qualifying round in front running fashion. The finals painted a different picture though as Real Good Feelin did not find the lead and drifted back to a fifth place finish.
Stakes competition would arrive once again for Real Good Feelin in the Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship over the 550-yard course during the month of June. With two strong second place efforts in the first two rounds, Real Good Feelin still managed to reach the finals despite falling down in round three. Drawing a favorable outside #8 post for the Championship on July 4th, Real Good Feelin fared well with a fourth place finish crossing the finish line two lengths back of kennelmate Need My Moneynow.
All of a sudden, Real Good Feelin literally “caught fire” on July 10th running the second fastest time of her career (29.88 seconds) on the way to winning her first top grade AA race. A troublesome third place finish would follow on July 16th but then Real Good Feelin found the winning formula once again. Her outing on July 22nd was unique as Real Good Feelin broke on top from the #3 post position only to be outrushed to the first turn. No worries as she regathered her momentum and came flying down the stretch to win by five lengths stopping the timer at 30.01 seconds at profitable odds of 6 to 1. Just three days later on July 25th wearing the lucky stripes of the #7 post position, Real Good Feelin found a clear path down the center of the track in the early going and provided another powerful finish running right by Wild Impulse from Currid Racing to win by three lengths in the same exact running time of 30.01 seconds as the 9/5 race favorite.
Nino’s The Dom (07/18/15)
Click to view Nino’s The Dom’s Win.
Kennel owner/trainer David Lingle from Lingle Kennel provides the Greyhound of the Week for back to back occasions but this time around we feature a relative newcomer to the Texas Gulf Coast, Nino’s The Dom. The 68-pound fawn son of Kiowa Mon Manny – Greta’s Shanghai born on May 8th, 2013 possesses the winning formula of a rail running style while flashing early speed from the 550-yard starting box which has proven to be very successful throughout the history of racing at Gulf Greyhound Park.
While competing at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Florida, Nino’s The Dom was stuck in grade C company with a record of 28/4-5-3-5 and owner Anthony Gancitano, Jr. decided to make the move for his youngster to come to the great state of Texas in May of 2015. Following two successful official schooling efforts with a third place finish and a victory respectively, Nino’s The Dom made his debut on June 7th and to no one’s surprise, went to the early lead but was caught late settling for a nice third place effort two and a half lengths behind the winner. Wasting no time at all, Nino’s The Dom found his way to the winner’s circle in his next outing on June 12th versus grade C competition with a front running effort holding on by a nose and then immediately cashed in another victory going box to wire to win in grade B by one length on June 18th.
After experiencing a bumpy journey in grade A on June 24th, Nino’s The Dom quickly made amends in his next opportunity opening up an insurmountable five length advantage in the early going on July 1st and ultimately coasted across the finish line in front by 2½ lengths to punch his ticket into the elite competition of the Gulf’s top grade AA.
The top grade debut on July 4th was definitely a rocky one failing to achieve his much needed lead leading to a last place finish but no worries, the winning ways would return. Drawing the #7 post position for his outing on July 9th, Nino’s The Dom led every step of the way to cash in his first top grade AA victory by a neck at odds of 7 to 1 while running his fastest time at Gulf Greyhound Park stopping the timer at 30.10 seconds. Six days later on July 15th, Nino’s The Dom was let go at longshot odds of 14 to 1 drawing the black colors of the #5 racing blanket. In typical fashion, Nino’s The Dom instantly achieved the lead building a three length advantage around the first turn and refused to be caught on this day crossing the finish line safely in front by one length for consecutive winning efforts and improving his record to 8/5-0-1-0 at Gulf Greyhound Park.
Sakkara Bowie (07/11/15)
Click to view Sakkara Bowie’s Win.
The featured athlete for the Greyhound of the Week honors needs no introduction at all because once the name of Sakkara Bowie is mentioned; everyone knows they are in the presence of greatness. The 75-pound red fawn son of Bob’s Skeet – WW’s Edith born on October 12, 2011 has provided plenty of smiles for owner Karen Hyde and trainer/kennel owner David Lingle over the last two years while accumulating a future Hall of Fame record of 129/56-28-16-13 and is showing no signs of letting up at all.
Let’s take a look at the resume` of one of the finest greyhounds to ever compete in the twenty plus year history of Gulf Greyhound Park. First of all, there is the current streak which will in all probability never be challenged as Sakkara Bowie has remained in Gulf Greyhound Park’s top grade AA competition for 116 consecutive starts dating back to August 9, 2013, simply incredible! Secondly, Sakkara Bowie has accomplished the feat of reaching the finals of the richest stakes race offered in the great state of Texas the last two years, the Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship. Following a third place finish in the Championship finals of 2014, Sakkara Bowie provided the fans with one of the most exciting races in recent history battling stride for stride over the 550-yard course with the eventual champion, Need My Moneynow, only to suffer a heartbreaking narrow defeat ending a perfect run through the stakes competition.
The question came about, how would Sakkara Bowie respond after the intense Championship finals on the fourth of July? We would all get the opportunity to observe as five days later on Thursday evening July 9th, the post-position draw proved to be kind with the rail running superstar drawing the ideal spot of the red blanketed #1 post. The stage was set and Sakkara Bowie responded in spectacular fashion by taking early command of the contest with a three length advantage around the first turn. As a demolition derby was left behind in his rear view mirror, it was now just Sakkara Bowie flying along all alone on the lead and what happened next was no surprise. Sakkara Bowie crossed the finish line comfortably in front by six lengths for win #18 this year but the icing on the cake was when the race time of 29.63 seconds appeared on the tote board establishing the fastest performance given in the historic career of Sakkara Bowie, congratulations!
Wild Impulse (06/27/15)
Click to view Wild Impulse’s Win.
One of the bright spots from an outstanding week given by Currid Racing came from Wild Impulse to earn the Greyhound of the Week honors. Owned by Plum Creek and trained by Freddy R. Currid, the 62-pound dark brindle daughter of Kiowa Sweet Trey – D’s Honey Badger born on January 18, 2013 possesses the early box speed which has proven to be successful throughout the history of racing around the Gulf Greyhound Park 550-yard oval while building a career record of 38/9-6-9-3.
Following two lackluster schooling efforts at Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis, Arkansas in July of 2014, Wild Impulse showed some promise in her two official schooling efforts in October at the Gulf finishing second in both outings. Making her debut on October 23, Wild Impulse wasted little time showing she meant business winning immediately by three lengths to graduate from the maiden class and continued to take the Texas Gulf Coast by storm with two more victories in grades J and C to start off her career a perfect three for three.
Unfortunately, the winning streak came to an end with two consecutive third place efforts against grade B competition on November 16 and 23 but the winning ways picked back up on December 3 with a box to wire trip. After experiencing a troublesome journey and failing to land on the paysheet for the first time in her career versus grade A company on December 10, Wild Impulse quickly righted the ship and completed the climb up the grade ladder to top grade AA in just eight starts following another front running effort on December 17.
During the first two months of 2015, Wild Impulse managed to find her way to the winner’s circle on two occasions but then a serious drought arrived. The winless string covered a period of three months and 16 attempts around the 550-yard course without scoring a victory. Out of the darkness came the brightest moment in the career of Wild Impulse on Saturday afternoon June 6 as Wild Impulse finally put a halt to the streak in spectacular fashion leading every step of the way to win by 1½ lengths and running the fastest time of her career stopping the timer at 29.84 seconds.
In her most recent outing on Thursday evening June 25 following a narrow defeat by last week’s Greyhound of the Week, Coco My Way of D.Q. Williams Kennel, Wild Impulse drew the green colors of the #4 post position and was tagged as the 7/5 race favorite. As the lid of the starting box opened, Wild Impulse erupted out on top to quickly establish control of the contest and was never challenged crossing under the lights of the finish line by two comfortable lengths and breaking the thirty second barrier for the third time in her career with a time of 29.98 seconds.
Need My Moneynow (05/30/15 & 06/06/15 & 06/13/15)
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win – 05/30/15.
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win – 06/06/15.
Click to view Need my Moneynow’s Win – 06/13/15.
After searching high and low and even requesting the services of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, it has been determined that Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel deserves to bask in the spotlight of the Greyhound of the Week honors for a little while longer. While nearing the age of three, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date is definitely in the prime of his career building a 2015 record of 26/19-4-3-0 including a current four race winning streak and has drawn the bullseye as the favorite in the upcoming $10,000 Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship sponsored by the Texas Greyhound Association for Texas-bred athletes.
When we last visited Need My Moneynow, the top athlete at Gulf Greyhound Park was riding the wave of back to back victories heading into his next outing on Saturday afternoon June 6. As one of the largest crowds in recent history was buzzing in anticipation of American Pharoah’s date with destiny and what turned out to be the 12th Triple Crown in thoroughbred racing, Need My Moneynow put on quite a show with a career best performance in race #13 of the day. Starting from the middle #5 post position, Need My Moneynow took early command of the contest and raced away to a five length victory while running the fastest time of his life stopping the timer at 29.56 seconds.
Six days later on Friday evening June 12, would there be a letdown after such an amazing performance? Drawing the white colors of the #3 post position, the odds board tagged Need My Moneynow as the 3/5 race favorite so the fans were anticipating another winning effort. During the early portions of the race, Need My Moneynow was engaged in an early battle for the lead with #2 Killer Mona of Bone Man Racing Kennel to his inside and #7 Wild Impulse of Currid Racing to his outside heading into the first turn. By a matter of inches, Need My Moneynow cleared in front of Killer Mona and then used the inside position to his advantage by bouncing Wild Impulse out of his way to establish a 1½ length lead. From that point forward, Need My Moneynow took complete command of the contest by running away to a seven length triumph in a time of 30.01 seconds to build his future Hall of Fame career record to 61/39-8-8-3.
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A familiar face steps into the Greyhound of the Week spotlight as Gulf Greyhound Park’s top athlete so far in 2015 continues to pile up the trips to the winner’s circle. Owned by Sharon Williams and trained by Craig Edwards, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1, 2012 is running away on top of the yearly wins list and has also finished third or better in each of his journeys around the 550-yard course this year posting a record of 24/17-4-3-0. In fact, Need My Moneynow can be included as one of the best greyhounds ever to compete on the Texas Gulf Coast with outstanding career numbers totaling 59/37-8-8-3.Since earning the weekly honors near the end of April, of course the alleged “curse” of the Greyhound of the Week can be blamed for a troublesome third place finish on April 30th. As the page of the calendar turned to May, Need My Moneynow gave two of the best performances of his storied career with a nine length demolition on May 6th in a time of 29.75 seconds and then blazed around the 550-yard course in his second fastest trip ever at 29.65 seconds on May 10th also winning by nine convincing lengths.
On May 16th in front of one of the largest crowds at the Gulf with the simulcast running of the Preakness Stakes, Need My Moneynow broke a step slow putting himself in a tough spot but still managed to rush up for a third place finish only two lengths behind the winner. One week later on May 23rd, Need My Moneynow was engaged in a battle chasing Whisperinthewind from Currid Racing. As the two speedsters entered the far turn, Need My Moneynow claimed the lead by a matter of inches sending Whisperinthewind stumbling backwards and then managed to hold firmly to the lead down the stretch ahead of a strong bid from Gable Demigod of Bone Man Racing Kennel to win by two lengths.
Moving along to the next opportunity on May 29th, Need My Moneynow found himself once again in another tussle with a competitor from Currid Racing, Wild Impulse. During the early portions of the contest, these two athletes raced stride for stride into the first turn and after “scraping paint”, Need My Moneynow overcame the bumping to take the lead away from Wild Impulse. Things were far from over though for Need My Moneynow as Sakkara Bowie of Lingle Kennel took up the chase and applied pressure down the backstretch. Need My Moneynow was up for the challenge on this night turning away his rival and raced away to an eventual three length victory in a time of 29.83 seconds at profitable odds of 3/2.
Sakkara Bowie (05/23/15)
Click to view Sakkara Bowie’s Win.
Everyone should stand up and applaud as we celebrate the monumental achievement of this week’s Greyhound of the Week at Gulf Greyhound Park, Sakkara Bowie from Lingle Kennel. Competing for owner Karen Hyde and trainer/kennel owner David Lingle, the 75-pound red fawn son of Bob’s Skeet – WW’s Edith born on October 12, 2011 put together back to back triumphant efforts for wins number eleven and twelve this year but more importantly win #50 of his future Hall of Fame career. Since first setting his paws on the La Marque, Texas racing oval, Sakkara Bowie has built a record of 119/50-26-15-13 earning over $41,000 in purse money.
Throughout the storied career of Sakkara Bowie, it is easy to notice that the wins come in bunches with much of his success coming from the outside post positions using his notorious monster rush to the first turn and achieving his preferred rail running position. Following a three race winless string during the first half of the month of April, Sakkara Bowie has found his best stride once again winning five out of his last six races.
After a fourth place finish on Friday evening May 8 in which Sakkara Bowie did not break very well and was forced to chase from behind, the post-position draw proved more kind for the next opportunity on Thursday May 14 with the lucky stripes of the #7 blanket. Engaged in a three way battle for the early lead, Sakkara Bowie managed to clear ahead of Hashtag Hioctane from Tri-State Kennel and Whisperinthewind from Currid Racing entering the first turn with a three length advantage. The remainder of the 550-yard journey was a piece of cake ultimately winning by six lengths in 30.09 seconds.
Next up was the historical run into the record books on Wednesday afternoon May 20. Despite drawing the yellow colors of the #6 post position, the target of the race favorite was set upon Sakkara Bowie at even money odds. As the lid of the starting box opened, Sakkara Bowie wasn’t playing around at all on this day with an alert beginning taking immediate command of the contest by 2½ lengths. The rail running specialist remained comfortably in front of the steady pursuit from Wild Impulse of Currid Racing crossing under the finish line two lengths to the good stopping the timer at 30.05 seconds for his milestone victory.
Kells Diablo (05/16/15)
Click to view Kells Diablo’s Win.
As the heat of another summer is beginning to make its presence felt along the Texas Gulf Coast, the recent efforts given by Kells Diablo from Lingle Kennel can also be categorized into the category of being “red hot”. It was just a mere six weeks ago since the 68-pound brindle son of Hi Noon Renegade – Karaoke Cat shined in the weekly spotlight but the good times have continued to roll on much to the delight of owner John Dalton and trainer/kennel owner David Lingle with a perfect month of May winning four consecutive top grade AA races to earn the Greyhound of the Week honors once again.
Picking up where we left off last month, Kells Diablo squashed the alleged “curse” that seems to affect the featured athletes by defeating track win leader Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel on April 12. The following start on April 18 found trouble preventing Kells Diablo from catching up in time finishing in fourth place but only one length behind. Next up was an attempt over the 660-yard course in the qualifying round of the TGA Spring Classic Championship on April 25 but unfortunately early trouble arrived again and knocked Kells Diablo out of contention.
Returning to the familiar surroundings of the 550-yard course on Friday evening May 1, Kells Diablo resumed his winning ways with a strong come from behind effort running down Bob’s Trace of Currid Racing in the final strides. Who knew at that time that this would be the start of another magical journey? For his next feat on Wednesday afternoon May 6, Kells Diablo put his closing ability on display but with an additional twist by squeezing through one of the smallest openings around the far turn to steal the lead away from Ruff Tuff Babe of K-Rod Kennel and eventually draw away to a two length victory.
The next two outings featured exciting duels between Kells Diablo and Miss Jakie from D.Q. Williams Kennel. In their first encounter on Sunday afternoon May 10, Kells Diablo spent most of the 550-yard journey tracking the front running speed of Miss Jakie before making his move at the top of the stretch. These two superstars battled stride for stride in front of the grandstand as Kells Diablo proved the best on this day reaching the finish line first by the narrow margin of a neck.
In front of a huge crowd attending the Gulf for the simulcast of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday afternoon May 16, the stage was set for one of the most exciting finishes seen in recent times. The early going found the double entry of George H W Bush and Miss Jakie from D.Q. Williams Kennel along with Atascocita Kosta from Libby Racing Kennels flying on the front end. Kells Diablo was racing in his usual position at the back of the pack and began his charge towards the front down the Gulf Greyhound Park backstretch. The field bunched up around the far turn and next thing you know the field was five wide turning for home. As Miss Jakie snuck through along the rail to achieve the lead, Kells Diablo took the scenic route around the outside circling his competition down the center of the track to steal the victory away from Miss Jakie once more, this time by ½ length for win #9 in 2015 and improve his career record to 102/22-17-21-23.
Whisperinthewind (05/09/15)
Click to view Whisperinthewind’s Win.
For the last two weeks at Gulf Greyhound Park, the athletes from Currid Racing have been cashing in one win after another and this week’s spotlight of the Greyhound of the Week honors shines on an emerging superstar leading the way with back to back top grade AA victories. Owned by David Robinette and trained by Freddy R. Currid, Whisperinthewind is in fact creating a bunch of noise with her early box speed which has proven to be successful historically here on the Texas Gulf Coast accumulating a record of 23/9-3-3-4.
The 63-pound red daughter of Little Andy – Closing the Gap born on December 7, 2012 arrived at Gulf Greyhound Park in October of 2014 following a dismal stay at Bluffs Run in Council Bluffs, Iowa where Whisperinthewind had a record of 11/0-0-1-0. After her official schooling efforts, it did not take long for the purse checks to come rolling in with a third place finish in her debut followed by a second place effort. On November 9, Whisperinthewind graduated from the maiden class with a four length victory and then went box to wire in her next outing in grade J on November 19.
The initial visit against grade C company was not successful covering a period of three starts forcing a drop into grade D competition and began to get back on track with a third place finish. All of a sudden on December 27, something clicked as Whisperinthewind put together a four race winning streak in grades D, C, B and A to quickly climb the ladder and enter the elite competition of top grade AA at Gulf Greyhound Park.
After a respectable second place effort in her top grade debut on February 22 chasing kennelmate Wild Impulse, the trips to the winner’s circle became scarce over a six race period before finally breaking through against grade A competition on April 12 with a front running effort over a muddy racing surface. Now facing “the big boys” once again, Whisperinthewind landed on the paysheet with a troublesome fourth place finish and a third place effort.
On May 2, in front of one of the biggest crowds at the Gulf with the running of the Kentucky Derby later in the day, Whisperinthewind accomplished the crowning achievement of her young career by winning her first top grade AA contest. Wearing the yellow colors of the #6 post position, Whisperinthewind jumped out quickly to the lead and then turned away the challenge from JSK Jungle to win by ½ length. Perhaps the most impressive performance in the career of Whisperinthewind occurred on Friday evening May 8. Sporting the green colors of the #4 post position, Whisperinthewind found herself in hot pursuit of speedster Topaz Red Baron of Tri-State Kennel. As the dueling athletes made their turn for home, Whisperinthewind showed the heart and determination of a champion with a rare come from behind effort to outduel her rival and cross the finish line in front for another ½ length victory.
Need My Moneynow (04/25/15)
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Gulf Greyhound Park’s top 550-yard athlete, Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel, is currently enjoying another successful campaign in 2015 while running away from his competitors to sit on top of the wins list with a record of 18/13-4-1-0. In fact since last missing the purse sheet on October 23, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date has been on an incredible run of success covering 24 starts with 18 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third and 1 fourth place finish including a pair of speedy winning trips this past week to take home the Greyhound of the Week honors again.
Following a much surprising outcome on April 12 when Need My Moneynow was caught in the final steps by strong closing Kells Diablo of Lingle Kennel, Need My Moneynow would test the waters again seven days later on April 19 drawing a difficult #6 post position. There was little doubt from the fans though establishing Need My Moneynow as the even money favorite and his performance on this day showed why he is the “best of the best” so far this year with a six length thumping in a spectacular time of 29.90 seconds.
Next up on tap was an intriguing matchup with the reigning Greyhound of the Week, Ruff Tuff Babe from K-Rod Kennel, on Friday evening April 24. The post-position draw found Need My Moneynow once again wearing the yellow colors of the #6 blanket while Ruff Tuff Babe drew the advantage of the rail and the #1 red blanket. As the slight 6/5 race favorite, Need My Moneynow found himself in hot pursuit as the speedy Ruff Tuff Babe sprinted away to a two length advantage. While building a career record of 53/33-8-6-3, most of his winning efforts have arrived in front running fashion but there have been some rare occurrences when Need My Moneynow has shown the ability to come from behind. This night would be one of the instances as Need My Moneynow slowly chopped into the lead of Ruff Tuff Babe around the far turn and then it was time for one of the most exciting finishes in recent times. These two superstars battled stride for stride down the Gulf Greyhound Park stretch until finally Need Moneynow edged out Ruff Tuff Babe at the finish line by a desperate nose in another blistering time of 29.93 seconds.
Ruff Tuff Babe (04/18/15)
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This week’s Greyhound of the Week, Ruff Tuff Babe from K-Rod Kennel, possesses the winning formula of early box speed which has proven to be successful throughout the long history of racing at Gulf Greyhound Park. Competing for owner Ron Maloy and under the care of trainer Cam Hawkins, a solid argument can be made that the 62-pound white/black daughter of Rhythmless – Oh Yeah Baby born on November 29, 2012 is the top female athlete competing over the 550-yard course while building a career record of 33/14-6-2-2. During the last month, Ruff Tuff Babe has been one of the hottest greyhounds on the Texas Gulf Coast winning four out of her last five races including a current three race winning streak.
Ruff Tuff Babe made the move to Texas in September of 2014 following a lackluster stay at Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis, Arkansas with only a record of 11/1-2-0-1 to show for her efforts as a grade D competitor. The change in scenery was definitely uplifting as Ruff Tuff Babe took an immediate liking to the La Marque, Texas racing oval winning both of her official schooling efforts. As many know, these schooling races are just a measuring stick in preparation for the lights of the big show but Ruff Tuff Babe showed she was more than capable of backing up those performances with wins in four out of her first five appearances to quickly climb the grade ladder from D into top grade AA company.
From late October thru the middle of January 2015, the winning ways came to an abrupt halt against the elite top grade AA competition at the Gulf. In fact, covering a span of thirteen races during this time frame, the only shining moment was a career best effort of 29.92 seconds on December 7 to earn her first grade AA win along with two grade A winning trips on November 16 and January 18. During the King & Queen Stakes series in February, Ruff Tuff Babe began to establish herself as one of the top sprinters at the Gulf with a front running victory against the girls in the qualifying round and narrowly pulling off the upset in the championship finals leading most of the way before yielding to the eventual winner and perhaps the top performer at that current time, Seldom Told.
Since that successful run, the top grade AA victories have been rolling in as Ruff Tuff Babe has struck gold earning six of her eight wins in 2015. The beginning of this recent string of success began on April 4 as Ruff Tuff Babe outdueled Atascocita Kosta from Libby Racing Kennels in one of the most exciting races of the year to win by one length. A muddy racing surface was in store for her next attempt on April 12 but Ruff Tuff Babe handled the situation with class and style running away from a trouble filled race and crossed the finish line comfortably in front by six lengths. The proverbial “icing on the cake” occurred on April 18 as Ruff Tuff Babe found herself in pursuit of front running CT King of Rock from Meteorite Kennel for a majority of the 550-yard journey. Making the turn for home, Ruff Tuff Babe showed the heart and determination of a champion by coming from behind and proving the best down the stretch reaching the finish line first in a blanket finish as the top four athletes finished within one length of one another.
Kells Diablo (04/04/15)
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From the first time that Kells Diablo graced the sands of the La Marque, Texas racing oval in August of 2013, there is one word that comes to mind when looking at a career spanning a time frame covering over a year and a half, consistency. Competing for owner John Dalton and trainer/kennel owner David Lingle, the 68-pound brindle son of Hi Noon Renegade – Karaoke Cat has enjoyed a prosperous stay at Gulf Greyhound Park earning a purse check in 81% of his journeys accumulating a record of 95/17-17-21-22 while competing mainly over the 550-yard course with a few sprinkles of 660-yard contests thrown in.
The running style of Kells Diablo always provides a thrill for the fans by closing from the back of the pack and trying to catch the speedsters on the Texas Gulf Coast. Riding the wave of an eleven race consecutive streak of finishing in the money since January 25, Kells Diablo managed to score back to back winning trips in his two most recent efforts to shine in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight.
Heading into his contest on Saturday evening March 28, Kells Diablo was once again faced with the challenge of competing against the early blazing speed of Ruff Tuff Babe from K-Rod Kennel. In their previous meeting three days prior, Kells Diablo experienced loads of trouble around the first turn to hinder his efforts while Ruff Tuff Babe raced away by eight lengths. The post-position draw found Kells Diablo sporting the green colors of the #4 blanket once again but this matchup would feature a much different ending. With Ruff Tuff Babe cruising along on the lead, Kells Diablo experienced a traffic free “dream trip” and put his closing skills on display with a flying finish down the center of the track to catch Ruff Tuff Babe and earn a revengeful 1½ length victory at profitable odds of 9 to 1.
Moving along to Saturday evening April 4, the post-position draw proved kind with the lucky stripes of the #7 blanket and attracting the bullseye of the 6/5 race favorite. Taking advantage of an early benefit as #6 Miss Jakie from D.Q. Williams Kennel slashed to the rail, Kells Diablo moved forward into a perfect stalking position just behind #1 KB’s New York of K-Rod Kennel and race leader #8 CT King of Rock from Meteorite Kennel. Progressing forward as a tandem, KB’s New York took the inside route and Kells Diablo shifted to the outside as they caught CT King of Rock around the far turn and now, the race was on! These two athletes put on quite a show down the stretch as Kells Diablo managed to outduel his younger competitor reaching the finish line ½ length in front.
U Too Alexis (03/28/15)
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Throughout the first portion of this year, there has been more emphasis placed on offering more races from the longer 660 yard distance at Gulf Greyhound Park so we turn our attention to the backside in search of the Greyhound of the Week. Stepping into the spotlight for owner Faye Shepherd and trainer Tommy LaRosa is U Too Alexis from Meteorite Kennel with back to back winning trips to improve her record this year to 11/3-1-1-2 and a career record of 51/11-11-9-6.
The 69-pound black daughter of Trent Lee – U Too Silk born on March 2, 2012 arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast in the beginning of 2014 from Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis, Arkansas and possesses an exciting yet nerve-racking running style of closing from the back of the pack after literally walking out of the starting box. Despite earning a purse check in all five of her starts over the 550-yard course at the beginning of her stay at the Gulf, it was obvious that more distance was required to take advantage of her come from behind ability.
Initially, the move to the backside proved to be justified as U Too Alexis found the winning formula with three victories in her first six attempts around the 660-yard course to quickly work her way up the grade ladder into grade A. Then for some reason, the bottom literally fell out as the drought of all droughts covering over five months from the beginning of May through the middle of October arrived. Over this period covering 22 starts, U Too Alexis only managed to win one race and there was a freefall back down into grade D.
All of a sudden, as quickly as the poor performances arrived, there was a complete turnaround with U Too Alexis “catching fire” winning four of her next five outings to reach top grade AA competition. The “red hot” form continued into the TGA Christmas Classic stakes series with a second place finish in the qualifying round and a third place finish in the finals to reward her connections.
The career of U Too Alexis, resembling a roller coaster ride, took another downward turn through the first two months of 2015 going winless. Finally, U Too Alexis struck gold in her eighth start this year on February 27th and now appears to be regaining her peak form once again. On March 18th, U Too Alexis drew the outside #8 post position and started her journey in typical fashion from the back of the pack but put together a strong drive and gained some revenge by catching the Christmas Classic champion, Sun Shinny Day from D.Q. Williams Kennel, to win by 1½ lengths. Four days later on March 22nd, U Too Alexis drew the black/yellow colors of the #8 post position once again but this time she got her motor running much earlier in the contest passing rivals around the escape turn. With a strong move down the backstretch, U Too Alexis rallied into the perfect striking position around the far turn and carried her momentum down the stretch by outdueling Ugo Kashmir from Libby Racing Kennels to win again by 1½ lengths.
SWG Topaz (03/21/15)
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We shift our focus back to the youth movement as Libby Racing Kennels, trainer Troy Tinney and owner Phyllis Shuffield have been blessed with another emerging superstar. With a career record of 14/6-3-2-1, SWG Topaz has completed his journey throughout the grade ladder including a top grade AA victory in his last outing to take home the Greyhound of the Week honors.
The running style of the 75-pound white/red son of Rhythmless – Bay Oaks Jewel born on January 1, 2013 favors the outside portion of the La Marque, Texas racing oval and always provides loads of excitement with his strong closing speed from the back of the pack.
When beginning his career in August of 2014, the post-position draw proved very kind with SWG Topaz starting from the #8 post and found instant gratification with a determined finish to win by a neck over a muddy racing surface and graduate from the maiden class. The experience against grade J competition over the next four starts solely relied on where SWG Topaz would begin from. The two races beginning from the #6 and #5 post positions resulted in a third and second place finish while the two races from the #2 and #3 posts found loads of trouble. On September 25, SWG Topaz managed to get closer to the front earlier than normal wearing the lucky stripes of the #7 blanket and raced away to a six length grade J victory. Following that winning effort, SWG Topaz overcame some bumping in a grade C contest on October 2 to finish in third place but was shut down for the remainder of the year.
Nearly four months would pass by before SWG Topaz made his 2015 triumphant debut on January 31 running away to a 3½ length victory in grade C. A lackluster last place finish would follow in his next start on February 8 but then another strong winning effort arrived on Valentine’s Day February 14 circling around trouble to sprint away by four lengths in grade B and begin this recent run of success. Following another strong second place grade A outing on February 20, SWG Topaz found his way to the winner’s circle once again with another determined stretch run on February 27.
Making his top grade AA debut on March 8, SWG Topaz took advantage of the favorable #8 post-position draw finishing in second place only one length behind kennelmate Atascocita Keane. These two friendly rivals would find each other engaged in another battle ten days later March 18. SWG Topaz was sitting in a tough spot drawing the red colors of the #1 post position but proved to the determining factor in a trouble filled contest. As Atascocita Keane sprinted away ahead of the trouble, SWG Topaz slipped by the demolition along the inside finding himself in second place heading into the backstretch. Once in the clear, the game was over as SWG Topaz came flying from behind to catch Atascocita Keane and pull away to a three length victory.
Sakkara Bowie (03/14/15)
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The focus of the Greyhound of the Week spotlight shifts back to the traditional 550-yard course with a superstar athlete still showing the skills that will ultimately be forever remembered in the history books of Gulf Greyhound Park. Competing at the age of 3½ years old for owner Karen Hyde and trainer/kennel owner David Lingle, Sakkara Bowie has put together back to back top grade AA winning efforts for victories number four and five in 2015 and continue building his legacy with a career record of 108/43-25-15-12 which amounts to an 88% record of earning a purse check.
Looking back at a career which began in May of 2013, there are two things to notice about the rail running, 75-pound red fawn son of Bob’s Skeet – WW’s Edith. The most incredible point is that Sakkara Bowie has remained in the elite company of top grade AA competition since August 9, 2013 which is completely unheard of. Secondly, the winning trips appear to arrive in bunches including a two race winning streak most recently in the first week of February 2015.
Following a victory in the qualifying round of the King & Queen Stakes on February 7, Sakkara Bowie experienced difficulty achieving the lead in the Championship finals on February 14 ultimately leading to a fourth place finish. Unfortunately, things did not get any better with a troublesome journey resulting in an eighth place finish on February 20 then more trouble would arrive during his race on February 26 but better results with a very game second place finish.
A much needed break would arrive with the post-position draw as Sakkara Bowie drew the ideal red colors of the #1 blanket on March 7 and the fans took notice establishing him as the 6/5 race favorite. With quick breaking #7 Miss Jakie from D.Q. Williams Kennel slashing down to her preferred rail running position in the early portion of the contest, Sakkara Bowie took full advantage of the post draw by battling through along the rail at the first turn to put his snout in front. The run down the backstretch found Sakkara Bowie opening up a two length advantage which ultimately proved to be insurmountable holding off a late bid from Miss Jakie to win by one length.
Six days would pass by before Sakkara Bowie and Miss Jakie would be involved in another duel on Friday March 13. This time around, the advantage of the post-position draw would favor Miss Jakie as she drew her ideal #1 spot for the rail while Sakkara Bowie was still made the slight 9/5 favorite starting from the middle #5 post. Using an alert break, Sakkara Bowie wasted little time to achieve the lead sprinting away to a three length advantage around the first turn over Miss Jakie. The daylight between the two would diminish slightly but the lead of Sakkara Bowie was never in danger crossing under the lights of the finish line 1½ lengths to the good.
Trey Chic (03/07/15)
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Don’t blink or you might miss the excitement generated over Gulf Greyhound Park’s 330-yard course. For the second consecutive week, the Greyhound of the Week spotlight is directed towards the super sprinters with Trey Chic from Libby Racing Kennels shining brightly with back to back top grade victories for owners Maria Colon and John Draper.
Now there’s no doubt that the 67-pound white/red daughter of Kiowa Sweet Trey – Ugo Katy Fit born on June 6, 2012 has been blessed with an incredible amount of early speed which historically has proven to be very successful around the La Marque, Texas oval. Unfortunately, Trey Chic found difficulty stretching out her blazing speed across the standard 550-yard course.
During the early portion of her career which began in December of 2013, time after time would pass by achieving the lead only to be caught down the stretch. Finally in her seventh attempt on January 19, 2014, Trey Chic managed to hold on for a one length victory and graduate from the maiden class. Things went south real quickly finishing in the back of the pack in all four of her grade J outings forcing a drop into grade D competition. At that point on March 9, trainer Troy Tinney made the change for Trey Chic to move to the shorter 330-yard course and has remained there ever since.
Over the period of three months, Trey Chic gradually moved upwards through the grading ranks and with the benefit of a pair of victories in grade B on May 26 and grade A on June 5, Trey Chic had reached the pinnacle of top grade AA competition. From that point forward, Trey Chic has remained in the top two grades at Gulf Greyhound Park building a career record of 59/16-5-5-5.
On Sunday afternoon, February 22, Trey Chic began her recent run of success by flashing her brilliant early speed in a box to wire victory. Wearing the blue colors of the #2 post position, Trey Chic was never challenged leading every step of the journey to cross the finish line 3½ lengths in front for her 3rd victory in 2015.
Nearly two weeks would pass by before Trey Chic had the opportunity to compete again on Saturday evening March 7 and a challenge was in store facing the dominant greyhound recently over the super sprint course, LD Fly Red Tail from Tri-State Kennel, and his streak of six consecutive victories. Starting right next door with the lucky stripes of the #7 post position, Trey Chic was let go at reasonable odds of 5 to 1 as all eyes were directed towards #6 LD Fly Red Tail. As the lid of the 330-yard starting box opened, the early speed from Trey Chic was once again put on display rushing away to an early two length advantage with littermate Trey Jolie in pursuit. Flying along on the front end, Trey Chic proved to be much the best extending her lead to a final winning margin of three lengths and making a bold statement that she was definitely a force to be dealt with.
LD Fly Red Tail (02/28/15)
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For the second consecutive week, we feature another superstar at Gulf Greyhound Park that is currently riding the wave of an extended winning streak. One month ago, LD Fly Red Tail from Tri-State Kennel shined brightly as the Greyhound of the Week with three consecutive victories. Since that time, the 74-pound red son of Kelsos Lorenzo – Fly Two Forks experienced an undefeated month of February with three additional winning trips to increase his string to six wins in a row and become further established as the dominant athlete over the 330-yard super sprint course competing for owner Darrell Jimmerson and trainer Leon Giguere.
If it is at all possible, LD Fly Red Tail appears to be growing stronger with each additional outing. For instance, during the early portion of this latest streak, LD Fly Red Tail was using an incredible rush to the first turn to achieve the lead and put away his competition. Over the recent three victories, LD Fly Red Tail has emerged from the starting box even quicker with sharp beginnings and leaving no doubt who the best of the best is building a record in 2015 of 7/6-0-1-0 and victories in 9 out of his last 10 races.
On Wednesday afternoon February 11, all eyes were upon LD Fly Red Tail heading to the 330-yard starting box with the bullseye as the 4/5 race favorite. Drawing the white colors of the #3 racing blanket, LD Fly Red Tail literally “popped” the box to take immediate command of the contest and then cruised under the finish line two lengths in front of KB’s Radiate from Meteorite Kennel.
Eight days would pass by before LD Fly Red Tail would have another opportunity to flash his skills on Thursday evening February 19 wearing the blue colors of the #2 post position. This time as the 3/5 race favorite, the trend continued with another quick beginning leading to a dominating 4½ length trouncing of the top grade competition.
Winding down the final days of the month, LD Fly Red Tail took center stage once again on Friday evening February 27 drawing another favorable #3 post position for his inside running style. Despite another quick break from the starting box, LD Fly Red Tail did have to turn away an early challenge from KB’s Thermo King of K-Rod Kennel and rose to the occasion by drawing clear crossing the finish line 2½ lengths in front for his sixth consecutive victory.
Need My Moneynow (02/21/15)
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The hottest athlete on the Texas Gulf Coast and possibly across the entire country arrives in the form of the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date born on July 1, 2012, Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel. Trained by Craig Edwards and owned my Sharon Williams, Need My Moneynow sits on top of the wins list in 2015 with a record of 9/7-2-0-0 and is currently on a seven race winning streak to shine in the Greyhound of the Week spotlight once more. Looking back over the last six months since August 24, 2014, Need My Moneynow has proven to be nearly unbeatable compiling a record of 26/20-2-0-2.
When we last visited Need My Moneynow a month ago, no one could have possibly foreseen what was in store following his twelve length demolition and his first victory this year to earn the Greyhound of the Week honors. The winning trips came rolling in one after another in the traditional front running form shown throughout the career of Need My Moneynow mixed in with some incredible come from behind victories to keep this string alive.
Let’s begin with the performances that earned Need My Moneynow this week’s award. Starting on Sunday afternoon February 15, Need My Moneynow was riding the wave of five consecutive victories and drew the advantageous blue colors of the #2 post position for his inside running style. With all eyes upon the overwhelming 1/5 race favorite, Need My Moneynow did not waste any time taking command of the contest with a three length advantage around the first turn. The remainder of the 550-yard journey was a breeze crossing the finish line by the same three length margin for his sixth win in a row.
Six days later on Saturday evening February 21, Need My Moneynow faced a more difficult challenge drawing the yellow colors of the #6 post position. Nonetheless, the fans had all the confidence in the world tagging Need My Moneynow as the solid 2/5 race favorite. Throughout the early portion of this particular evening, Libby Racing Kennels was seemingly winning every race and their entry in this contest, #7 Atascocita Keane, looked to keep that trend going by sprinting away to an early three length lead with Need My Moneynow in pursuit. With a definite battle on his paws and a possible end to the streak on the line, Need My Moneynow narrowed the gap to one length around the far turn then used every ounce of energy to pass the valiant effort from Atascocita Keane down the stretch to win by two lengths and lucky number seven in a row.
Crabby (02/07/15)
Much like the running style of this week’s recipient of the Greyhound of the Week honors, Crabby from Libby Racing Kennels has appeared out of nowhere with a recent run of success to shine brightly in the weekly spotlight. The 59-pound black daughter of Kelsos Fusileer – Stand Tall Cat is still a youngster born on January 8, 2013 but has blossomed into one of the top 550-yard greyhounds at Gulf Greyhound Park.
Crabby first appeared on the La Marque, Texas racing oval in July of 2014 competing for LaRosa Racing Kennel and enjoyed a successful beginning to her career with her mid-track closing skills scoring two wins, four seconds and one third place finish out of ten starts much to the delight of owner Bianca DeAngelo.
After the departure of LaRosa Racing Kennel, a change in scenery was in store for Crabby moving to Libby Racing Kennels after her start on September 18th. Over the next two months during this “breaking in” period, Crabby could only muster two third place finishes out of eight starts, floundering around in grade C which also included three unsuccessful attempts over the longer 660-yard course and a drop into grade D company by the end of November.
What to do? What to do? Well, trainer Troy Tinney gave Crabby a couple of weeks off and when returning for an official schooling effort on December 14th, Crabby flashed signs from the past with a seven length runaway victory in a shortened field of six greyhounds. In her first race back under the lights of “the big show” on December 21st, Crabby experienced trouble in the early going but showed promise by closing late in the contest to finish in fourth place. Ten days later on December 31st, Crabby closed out the year of 2014 with a “bang!” winning by two lengths against grade D competition for her first victory since August 27th.
Unfortunately the first start in 2015 on January 7th didn’t provide as much excitement with a lackluster even effort for fourth place in grade C. A muddy racing surface was in store for her next attempt on January 14th and something special happened on this day as the proverbial light bulb clicked “on” as Crabby came flying from behind to win by two lengths in grade C. Four days later on January 18th, Crabby fared very well with a strong closing third place effort but only two lengths behind the winner despite drawing the disadvantage of the inside #1 post position for her running style.
The post draw proved kind for her next opportunity in grade B on January 25th with the yellow colors of the #6 post position as Crabby used a determined stretch drive to outduel Bob’s Eureka from Currid Racing and win by the narrow margin of a head. The winning trend would continue on January 31st as Crabby overcame the red colors of the #1 racing blanket with a better than usual break and another driving finish winning by one length. The “icing on the cake” occurred on February 7th with Crabby making her top grade AA debut wearing the white colors of the #3 post position. This closing effort was like no other as Crabby was simply flying down the stretch, weaving her way between rivals to reach the finish line in front by 1½ lengths for her fourth win in her last five starts.
LD Fly Red Tail (01/31/15)
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The surroundings may have changed but the winning trend has remained the same for LD Fly Red Tail earning the Greyhound of the Week honors for the second time in just over a month. When we last visited the 74-pound red son of Kelsos Lorenzo – Fly Two Forks born on October 22, 2011, LD Fly Red Tail had just made his final start for Sambade Racing, LLC who departed Gulf Greyhound Park at the conclusion of 2014. With a new year came new scenery as LD Fly Red Tail moved to Tri-State Kennel and under the guidance of trainer Leon Giguere, has made a smooth transition with a current three race winning streak and continues to be the dominant athlete over the 330-yard super sprint course.
A couple of determining factors led up to the first start of 2015 for LD Fly Red Tail on January 7. With the already mentioned change in kennels, there was also the gap of 16 days between races. The fans disregarded these distractions establishing LD Fly Red Tail as the 4/5 race favorite from the #1 post position. Unfortunately, a slow start hindered the chances of extending his win streak but a huge rush along the rail salvaged a third place finish.
Given the benefit of the doubt, LD Fly Red Tail would have ten more days to ponder his thoughts before heading to the 330-yard starting box on January 17, this time drawing the blue colors of the #2 post position. Despite a little better beginning in the middle of the pack, LD Fly Red Tail rushed to the first turn once again and caught a bit of racing luck as early race leader Firefly from D.Q. Williams Kennel drifted wide around the turn allowing LD Fly Red Tail to slip by along the rail. With a determined run down the stretch, LD Fly Red Tail won by ½ length as the 7/5 race favorite for his new connections and longtime owner Darrell Jimmerson.
Now with a little taste of success, LD Fly Red Tail would get another opportunity to flash his skills on January 25 drawing the green colors of the #4 post position. As the heavy 3/5 race favorite, LD Fly Red Tail broke more alertly for this contest and emerged from the early hustle and bustle involved in most of these super sprints to run away with a 3½ length victory.
Finally on Friday evening January 30, the post-position draw proved very kind with the red colors of the #1 blanket and of course the fans targeted LD Fly Red Tail as the 4/5 race favorite. Using the rail to his advantage, LD Fly Red Tail overcame a start in the middle of the pack by rushing up quickly to establish a two length lead around the turn and eventually cross the finish line by the same margin for his third win in a row.
Since November 2, 2014, LD Fly Red Tail has now won nine out of his last twelve journeys around the 330-yard super sprint course including six out of his last seven races. With a 2015 record of 4/3-0-1-0, LD Fly Red Tail sits very close to the top of the yearly wins list and continues to improve his career totals with a record of 95/18-14-15-10.
Seldom Told (01/24/15)
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For back to back occasions, D.Q. Williams Kennel, owner Sharon L. Williams and trainer Craig Edwards provide the Greyhound of the Week at Gulf Greyhound Park. After bringing Need My Moneynow to the table last week, the other half of “the pocket aces” Seldom Told shines brightly in the weekly spotlight. With a current three race winning streak and never failing to earn a purse check with a career record of 30/22-2-4-2, the 85-pound black son of Trent Lee – Need a Date born on January 17, 2013 is establishing himself as the top athlete on the Texas Gulf Coast.
For the second half of 2014, Seldom Told created a buzz amongst the local fans in La Marque, Texas as well as drawing attention from many around the country. For the last two months, Seldom Told has been very dominant winning six out of his last eight races with the only “thorn in his side” being two second place finishes behind K’s Declan from Tri-State Kennel on December 31st and January 7th.
On Wednesday afternoon January 14th, Seldom Told struck gold for the first time in 2015 with an impressive effort. While wearing the green colors of the #4 post position, this was one of those rare times that Seldom Told came away from the 550-yard starting box immediately on top spelling doom for the rest of the competition in the form of a 9½ length demolition over a muddy racing surface.
A week later on Wednesday January 21st, Seldom Told headlined a field of top grade competition including Sakkara Bowie from Lingle Kennel and recent Greyhound of the Week, Atascocita Clap from Libby Racing Kennels. Finding himself beginning from the #4 post position once again, Seldom Told began this journey rather well muscling his way through traffic and claiming the lead away from early speedster Cady Longmire of Currid Racing around the first turn. Finally with some room to maneuver, Seldom Told appeared to “sprout wings” and pulled away to a convincing seven length victory as the even money favorite.
The next opportunity for Seldom Told arrived quickly on Sunday afternoon January 25th as the post-position draw was very kind with the red colors of the #1 blanket. With everything appearing to be in his favor, the fans established Seldom Told as the odds on 3/5 favorite. What was supposed to be an easy, casual stroll in the park materialized into quite a battle as Sakkara Big D from Lingle Kennel, known for his closing speed, broke on top leaving Seldom Told to play the game of “try and catch me”. As Seldom Told made his down the backstretch passing his rival, K’s Declan from Tri-State Kennel and Ryan Lewis from Currid Racing, only Sakkara Big D was in the way of extending his winning streak. Battling his way through along the inside, Seldom Told was not to be denied on this day winning by 1½ lengths in the fastest time of the day at 30.28 seconds.
Need My Moneynow (01/17/15)
Click to view Need My Moneynow’s Win.
After missing most of the miserable weather that plagued Gulf Greyhound Park in the early portion of the week, Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel took full advantage of a golden opportunity to show why he is one of the top greyhounds on the Texas Gulf Coast and collected the Greyhound of the Week honors.
Taking a peek in the rear view mirror, the 68-pound white/black son of No More Loving – Need a Date enjoyed a very successful 2014 campaign finishing in third place on the yearly wins list and the second best 550-yard athlete with a record of 35/20-4-5-3 behind BWG Eat My Dust from Big Water Kennel and Atascocita Kosta from Libby Racing Kennels.
In fact, Need My Moneynow was the hottest greyhound at Gulf Greyhound Park from the end of August through the end of the year winning 13 out of 17 top grade AA contests including a career best time of 29.60 seconds on October 9th.
So, what was on tap for Need My Moneynow and the beginning of his second full year competing around the La Marque, Texas racing oval? Most would be pleased with the beginning earning a pair of second place finishes to Atascocita Act of Libby Racing Kennels on January 2nd and Buzz Williams also from Libby Racing Kennels on January 9th. Unfortunately something appeared to be missing because Need My Moneynow was not getting out of the 550-yard starting box as quickly as shown in previous efforts and was forced to come from behind to earn those paychecks for his connections.
Despite being defeated as the race favorite in his first two attempts of 2015, the fans did not lose any faith and made Need My Moneynow the even money favorite for his third start on January 16th drawing the yellow colors of the #6 post position against a field including Buzz Williams, who had proven victorious in their previous meeting and Kells Casanova from Tri-State Kennel, who had stolen the front end away in their previous two engagements. As mentioned earlier, a bit of “racing luck” can be considered here as the racing surface was much faster than the previous two days of competition playing right into the “paws” of Need My Moneynow. There would be no messing around on this night as Need My Moneynow flashed his notorious early speed immediately from the starting box to establish an early three length advantage. The remainder of the journey proved to be a “walk in the park” as Need My Moneynow demolished this field of top grade rivals by 12 lengths and posted the fastest time of the week at 30.53 seconds.
Atascocita Clap (01/10/15)
Click to view Atascocita Clap’s Win.
The youth movement continues at Gulf Greyhound Park as owner Atascocita Racing and Libby Racing Kennels provide the Greyhound of the Week for the second week in a row. Fitting the mold of early box speed from the 550-yard starting box which has proven to be very successful throughout the history of racing on the Texas Gulf Coast, Atascocita Clap has quickly climbed up the grade ladder with a career record of 12/7-0-0-2 including a victory in his top grade AA debut.
When the 66-pound black son of Flying Westover – Atascocita Dulce first set his paws on the La Marque, Texas racing surface in October of 2014, the future appeared very promising with two winning trips in official schooling leading up to the maiden debut on October 22. A bit of racing luck occurred as Atascocita Clap found himself ahead of loads of trouble while running away all alone by 16 lengths. Showing it was no fluke, Atascocita Clap once again pulled away from his rivals in his second career start with a 7½ length victory in grade J and posting the fastest time through his career so far at 30.29 seconds.
As the competition grew more difficult in grade C, two fourth place finishes ensued before Atascocita Clap found his way to the winner’s circle again on November 16 while experiencing a muddy racing surface for the first time. In fact, it appeared that Atascocita Clap enjoyed the mud by “splashing off alone” to an eight length grade B victory in his next outing on November 22. Unfortunately, rough times would arrive for his next three starts versus grade A competition as Atascocita Clap was bounced around in the first turn resulting in the only three times in his career of not landing on the paysheet and a drop back into grade B company.
Was it fate that a muddy track presented itself once again for his next attempt in grade B? Possibly but Atascocita Clap found himself running away to victory by three lengths on December 18 to improve his record in the mud to three wins out of four chances. Using his typical early box speed to perfection, Atascocita Clap ran away from another demolition derby on December 27 to finish off the year on a winning note with a nine length victory in grade A.
The proverbial “icing on the cake” arrived in the 2015 debut as Atascocita Clap drew the advantageous #1 post position for his top grade AA debut on January 8. Emerging from an early battle for the lead, Atascocita Clap found himself on the lead by 1½ lengths around the first turn ahead of Killer Polk from Bone Man Racing Kennel, Bob’s Trace from Currid Racing and Vogo Coal Dust from Tri-State Kennel. The daylight between Atascocita Clap and his rivals would increase to three lengths around the far turn as Atascocita Clap fought on gallantly to the finish line winning by two lengths improving his current winning streak to three wins in a row.
Atascocita Act (01/03/15)
Click to view Atascocita Act’s Win.
There is a return visitor to the Greyhound of the Week spotlight as Atascocita Act from Libby Racing Kennels continues to dazzle and amaze many of the onlookers with his come from behind ability to earn the weekly honors for the second time in his young career. Competing for owner Atascocita Racing and trainer Troy Tinney, the 76-pound fawn son of Atascocita Bowl – Atascocita Avery has put together another two race winning streak to improve his career record to 15/9-2-1-2.
A mere three weeks ago, Atascocita Act was running red hot with three wins out of four starts to earn the Greyhound of the Week honors for the first time. Unfortunately, the “infamous curse” of the weekly accolades that many speak of proved true once again as Atascocita Act had his win string snapped on December 17 by being knocked out of contention around the first turn resulting in a fourth place finish.
Following that troublesome journey, Atascocita Act still received the support of the crowd for his next outing on Friday evening December 26 tagged as the 6/5 race favorite. Wearing the blue colors of the #2 post position, Atascocita Act began the 550-yard contest in familiar fashion following the pack in last place around the first turn. Swinging to the outer portion of the race track, Atascocita Act accelerated down the backstretch and circled around his competition to move into second place entering the far turn with pacesetting Ruff Tuff Babe of K-Rod Kennel now in his sights. The tremendous momentum carried forward down the stretch and proved to be too much for Ruff Tuff Babe to handle as Atascocita Act reached the finish line one length in front.
A muddy racing surface presented itself to begin the New Year on Friday evening January 2 as Atascocita Act was let go at profitable odds of 5 to 1 drawing the white colors of the #3 post position against a field including Need My Moneynow from D.Q. Williams Kennel. As the starting box opened, Atascocita Act began his quest from the back of the pack once again but started to make his move much sooner than expected. With Kells Casanova from Tri-State Kennel surprisingly setting the pace until the far turn, it appeared that Need My Moneynow was poised and ready to take control of the race by catching the frontrunner. Atascocita Act definitely had something to say about that flying from behind and circled around the leaders as if they were standing still. The incredible effort resulted in a 4½ length runaway victory and the only race time to eclipse the 31 second barrier for the night at 30.86 seconds.
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Kennel of the Week
D.Q. Williams Kennel (12/12/15)
Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel, made the most of the four performances offered to run away with the Kennel of the Week honors. With a steady stream of winning efforts rolling in, the high points occurred on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evening with three victories on each card. The athletes accumulated a total of 9 wins, 4 seconds, 8½ thirds and 2½ fourth place finishes out of 53 starts earning $10,254.58 worth of purse money. Leading the way with top grade AA victories were Real Good Feelin on Friday evening and Seldom Told on Saturday evening. As we near the conclusion of racing in 2015, the name of D.Q. Williams Kennel can be etched into the history books for the Kennel Championship with 435½ wins ahead of second place Currid Racing (393½ wins), third place Tri-State Kennel (331½ wins) and fourth place Meteorite Kennel (322 wins).
Currid Racing (12/05/15)
It has been proven time and time again that the formula of “the numbers game” leads to the highest potential for success. Following the five days of competition around the Gulf Greyhound Park racing oval, trainer Heather Currid and the rest of the Currid family put that idea to work once again leading their athletes to the Kennel of the Week honors. Although the winning trips came few and far between with only one victory on each of the performances, the remainder of the paysheet was filled up nicely with final numbers adding up to 5 wins, 14 seconds, 7 thirds and 5 fourth place finishes out of 62 starts to accumulate $8,555.40 worth of purse money. Currid Racing sits comfortably in second place of the kennel standings with 389½ wins as we continue into the final month of 2015 in pursuit of first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (426½ wins).
Currid Racing (11/21/15)
As the bone chilling weather finally made its way to the Texas Gulf Coast, the athletes from Currid Racing were “red hot” dominating the action at Gulf Greyhound Park to claim the Kennel of the Week honors. As we wish former trainer Freddy R. Currid the utmost success in his future endeavors, the remaining members of the Currid family had their superstars flying around the La Marque, Texas racing oval. The week of competition could be described having “bookends” starting off with four wins on Sunday afternoon and then finishing off the period in impressive fashion winning five races Friday evening and four additional winning trips on Saturday evening. The final totals accumulated to 16 wins, 7 seconds, 10 thirds and 6 fourth place finishes cashing in an incredible $11,182.08 worth of purse money at the bank. With multiple wins scattered up and down the grade ladder, Jims Full Count scored a mixed grade TAA victory on Saturday evening to lead the troops. Currid Racing is enjoying a very successful 2015 campaign sitting in second place of the yearly kennel standings with 380½ wins as we head into the holiday season.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (11/14/15)
It feels like forever since a full week of competition was completed at Gulf Greyhound Park but Mother Nature finally allowed the athletes to continue their never ending pursuit of Marquey on all five days of live racing. Emerging on top once again with the Kennel of the Week honors was the top kennel on the Texas Gulf Coast, D.Q. Williams Kennel. Despite going winless on Sunday afternoon to begin the week, the winning trips piled up quickly with three wins each on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening leading the way to claim the bragging rights for back to back weeks. Top grade AA wins were numerous as Hey Pretty Baby, Need My Moneynow, Sassy’s Brandy and a pair of victories from Greyhound of the Week, Seldom Told, helped D.Q. Williams Kennel and trainer Craig Edwards continue their dominance. The final totals accumulated to 9 wins, 7 seconds, 9 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes out of 59 starts to cash in $8,734.96 worth of purse money. Taking a glance at the yearly kennel standings, D.Q. Williams Kennel leads the way with 407½ wins followed by Currid Racing (364½ wins), Tri-State Kennel (311½ wins) and Meteorite Kennel (305 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (11/07/15)
As Mother Nature continues to play havoc with the weather along the Texas Gulf Coast, Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel, made the most of the three live racing performances to claim the Kennel of the Week honors. Most of the damage was done on Thursday evening with five winning trips including a pair of top grade AA victories from Hey Hey Daddy and track win leader Need My Moneynow. The final totals accumulated to 10 wins, 3 seconds, 4 thirds and 2 fourth place finishes racking up $10,066.56 worth of purse money. As we continue into the final stages of the year, it appears that D.Q. Williams Kennel has the Kennel Championship wrapped up with 398½ wins with Currid Racing in second place with 356 wins.
Currid Racing (10/24/15)
The week of competition was shortened to four performances once more as torrential rains pounded the Texas Gulf Coast over the weekend forcing the cancellation of the Saturday evening performance but the deluge of water could not extinguish the heated battle for the Kennel of the Week honors between the top two kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park. After literally being “nosed out” last week, trainer Freddy R. Currid and his athletes from Currid Racing turned the tables and emerged on top of the weekly tussle by the narrow margin of $86 over D.Q. Williams Kennel and trainer Craig Edwards. Despite the lack of a top grade victory, Currid Racing used a very consistent effort throughout the week of winning at least two contests on each of the four days of racing to build final numbers totaling 9 wins, 6 seconds, 9 thirds and 7 fourth place finishes cashing in $8,020.87 worth of purse money. The never ending pursuit continues for second place Currid Racing (346½ wins) in the kennel standings chasing first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (383½ wins) with just over two months left this year.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (10/17/15)
After four days of competition this week, the usual suspects emerged once again as the top two kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park battled tooth and nail right down to the very last race to determine the Kennel of the Week honors. Separated by only $42, the athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel and trainer Craig Edwards claimed the weekly bragging rights for the second consecutive week away from trainer Freddy R. Currid and the athletes from Currid Racing. Most of the success for D.Q. Williams Kennel arrived at the beginning of the week with three wins on Sunday afternoon and then a stellar effort of four winning trips on Saturday evening to clinch the honors. Leading the way with top grade AA victories were Miss Jakie on Sunday, Seldom Told on Thursday and a pair of wins on Saturday from Need My Moneynow and Real Good Feelin. Turning to the yearly kennel standings, D.Q. Williams Kennel leads the way with 373½ wins with Currid Racing in pursuit with 337½ wins.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (10/11/15)
Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel, put on quite a show to take the Kennel of the Week honors in impressive fashion. With victories over both the 550 and 660-yard distances, the top grade superstars shined brightly with a pair of grade AA victories from track win leader Need My Moneynow on Sunday afternoon and Saturday evening, Real Good Feelin chimed in with a winning trip on Wednesday afternoon and finally there was Seldom Told equaling the 550-yard track record on Friday evening. The final numbers added up to 13 wins, 11 seconds, 5½ thirds and 8½ fourth place finishes out of 60 starts earning $9,870.08 worth of purse money. As we near the end of the year, D.Q. Williams Kennel appears to be well on their way to the Kennel Championship with their 364½ wins ahead of second place Currid Racing (327½ wins).
Currid Racing (10/04/15)
The top two kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park continued their ongoing battle for the Kennel of the Week honors while at the same time simply running away from the rest of the competition. Currid Racing and trainer Freddy R. Currid used the “numbers game” of having the most starts in the kennel compound to claim the weekly bragging rights away from D.Q. Williams Kennel and trainer Craig Edwards by the narrow margin of $230. Business picked up quickly with three wins each on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening ultimately leading to final totals of 9 wins, 10 seconds, 4½ thirds and 9½ fourth place finishes out of 60 starts to cash in $8,094.10 worth of purse money. Leading the way was Greyhound of the Week, Kay Robertson, with her second consecutive top grade victory around the 660-yard course and a front running grade AA win from Wild Impulse over the 550-yard course on Friday evening. Despite the outstanding performance, Currid Racing (319½ wins) only managed to narrow the margin on top of the yearly kennel standings by one win in their pursuit of top kennel D.Q. Williams Kennel (351½ wins) as we begin the final stretch run of 2015.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (09/26/15)
Another full week of competition around the La Marque, Texas racing oval featured a back and forth battle between the top two kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park for the Kennel of the Week honors. As the dust settled, the athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel led by trainer Craig Edwards proved the best this time and denied Currid Racing the opportunity for the back to back weekly honors. A majority of the winning trips for D.Q. Williams Kennel were earned on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday with three victories in each performance to clinch the most wins for the week throughout the kennel compound over the trio of Bone Man Racing Kennel, Big Water Kennel and Currid Racing. The final totals accumulated to 10 wins, 7 seconds, 7 thirds and 14 fourth place finishes to cash in $6,837.87 worth of purse money at the bank. The top grade AA wins kept rolling in with a pair of victories from Seldom Told on Sunday afternoon and Saturday evening, Pippi on Thursday evening, and then there was the outstanding performance given by Need My Moneynow breaking the 550-yard track record on Wednesday afternoon. Turning to the yearly kennel standings, D.Q. Williams Kennel leads comfortably on top with 343½ wins ahead of second place Currid Racing (310½ wins) and third place Tri-State Kennel (279½ wins).
Currid Racing (09/19/15)
After finally experiencing a full week of exciting competition, Currid Racing claimed the Kennel of the Week honors by a narrow margin of $87 over Meteorite Kennel. With winning trips arriving on each of the five days of racing, trainer Freddy R. Currid could really be heard “talking smack” on Wednesday afternoon with three wins and then four more victories on Thursday evening. The final totals earned by the athletes accumulated to 10 wins, 13½ seconds, 6½ thirds and 8 fourth place finishes cashing in $6,228.76 worth of purse money. While the wins were spread out throughout all of the grades, Wild Impulse led the way with a top grade AA victory on Thursday night. Currid Racing sits comfortably in second place of the yearly kennel standings with 301½ wins ahead of third place Tri-State Kennel (271½ wins) while continuing their never ending pursuit of Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel (333½ wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (09/12/15)
Following two days off, the live racing action at Gulf Greyhound Park resumed with a special Labor Day matinee performance and D.Q. Williams Kennel picked up right where they left off with another dominating effort to run away with the Kennel of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. The wins came rolling in one after another with four wins on Monday afternoon, four more victories on Thursday evening and then five winning trips on Friday night. The final totals accumulated to 14 wins, 7 seconds, 6 thirds and 5 fourth place finishes cashing in $9,244.18 worth of purse money. Top grade AA wins were plentiful as some of the best athletes on the Texas Gulf Coast continued to strut their stuff with Miss Jakie & Real Good Feelin winning on Monday afternoon, Kiss This & Seldom Told finding their way to the winner’s circle on Thursday night and Need My Moneynow put an exclamation point to the week with a victory on Saturday evening. D.Q. Williams Kennel (327½ wins) will be difficult to catch in the yearly kennel standings as we progress into the fall season with second place Currid Racing (291½ wins) and third place Tri-State Kennel (265½ wins) in pursuit.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (09/05/15)
The ride throughout this past week resembled a nauseating roller coaster experience of highs and lows resulting in a shortened week of competition with only three days of live racing. Emerging from the craziness was Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel, taking the Kennel of the Week honors. Trainer Craig Edwards had his athletes firing on all cylinders with 10 wins, 5 seconds, 3 thirds and 4 fourth place finishes out of 42 starts to earn $8,338.01 worth of purse money. Top grade AA victories were plentiful from some of the best 550-yard athletes on the Texas Gulf Coast with Real Good Feelin winning on Sunday afternoon, Seldom Told’s triumphant return on Thursday evening and Need My Moneynow outdueling Sakkara Bowie on Friday night. D.Q. Williams Kennel continues to lead the yearly kennel standings with 313½ wins with second place Currid Racing (282½ wins) and third place Tri-State Kennel (260½ wins) in pursuit.
Currid Racing (08/29/15)
As the top three kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park dominated the action around the La Marque, Texas racing oval, there was still a recurring theme as Currid Racing found their way to the Kennel of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. Trainer Freddy R. Currid continues to use the basic formula of more starts equals more money propelling the successful 2015 campaign of Currid Racing for another week and their pursuit of front running D.Q. Williams Kennel in the yearly kennel standings. With 67 starts, the athletes from Currid Racing earned 13 wins, 9 seconds, 9 thirds and 10 fourth place finishes accumulating $7,575.55 worth of purse money. There were two special nights that jumped off the page when track announcer John Paul Faour sounded like “a broken record” repeating the name of Currid Racing over and over again with five wins on Thursday evening August 27 and four more winning trips on Saturday evening August 29. The victories were scattered up and down the grade ladder but leading the way was hotshot pup Bob’s Kado with his monumental effort on Saturday evening defeating track win leader Need My Moneynow in his top grade AA debut.
Currid Racing (08/22/15)
If you watched the action this week at Gulf Greyhound Park, there was a bit of a change as Mother Nature provided a lot of rain to the Texas Gulf Coast including enough to cause the cancellation of the Thursday evening performance. Despite the shortened week, the money making formula of “the numbers game” was put on display by the athletes from Currid Racing to earn the Kennel of the Week honors. With winning trips over all three of the competitive distances, the high point of the week came on Friday evening earning four victories which helped to accumulate final totals of 9 wins, 10 seconds, 5 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes out of 56 starts to cash in $8,085.07 worth of purse money. Saturday evening proved to be very special for Fun for All earning his first top grade AA victory in 43 career starts at the Gulf catching future Hall of Famer Sakkara Bowie with a spirited stretch run. Trainer Freddy R. Currid continues to lead his athletes to a very successful 2015 campaign in second place of the kennel standings with 266½ wins in pursuit of first place D.Q. Williams Kennel and their 292½ wins.
Lingle Kennel (08/15/15)
A majority of the kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park enjoyed a profitable week but emerging from the pack to claim the Kennel of the Week honors were the athletes from Lingle Kennel and trainer David Lingle. With an efficient and workmanlike effort, Lingle Kennel made the most of their 55 starts with 11 wins, 6 seconds, 9 thirds and 5 fourth place finishes to cash in $7,433.70 worth of purse money. Top grade AA victories around the 550-yard course were plentiful with Nino’s the Dom on Sunday afternoon and a pair of winning trips from Kells Diablo and Sakkara Bowie on Friday evening. Taking a look at the yearly kennel standings, Lingle Kennel is in fifth place with 224 wins chasing fourth place Meteorite Kennel (230 wins), third place Tri-State Kennel (240½ wins), second place Currid Racing (257½ wins) and frontrunning D.Q. Williams Kennel (286½ wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (08/08/15)
Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel in 2015, D.Q. Williams Kennel, has earned the Kennel of the Week honors for the second consecutive week barely squeaking by the outstanding effort given from the athletes of Lingle Kennel by a margin of nearly $44. Despite going winless on Wednesday afternoon, the athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel recorded multiple victories on the other four days of competition to build final totals of 10 wins, 5 seconds, 4 thirds and 10 fourth place finishes cashing in $7,615.87 worth of purse money. Trainer Craig Edwards can argue that he has the hottest greyhounds over two of the distances at Gulf Greyhound Park with Real Good Feelin running away to a win Thursday evening around the 550-yard course and a pair of the victories on Sunday afternoon and Friday evening from the Greyhound of the Week, Kiss This, around the 660-yard course. Looking at the yearly kennel standings, D.Q. Williams Kennel is cruising along in first place with 276½ wins ahead of second place Currid Racing (251½ wins), third place Tri-State Kennel (234½ wins) and fourth place Meteorite Kennel (226 wins).
Tri-State Kennel (07/25/15)
The week of competition around the racing oval at Gulf Greyhound Park played true to form as the top half of kennel standings enjoyed a very profitable experience. It has been said time after time about the basic winning blueprint stating “more starts equals more opportunities to cash in” and the athletes from Tri-State Kennel trained by Leon Giguere followed that formula perfectly to earn the Kennel of the Week honors. By using the most starts for the week (74), Tri-State Kennel filled up the purse sheet repeatedly with the highest amount of wins in the kennel compound (12 wins), 9 seconds, 11 thirds and 10 fourth place finishes to cash in $8,422.92 worth of purse money at the bank. Winning trips arrived from all three of the distance courses on a consistent basis throughout the week with the highlights of three victories each on Sunday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Friday night. Tri-State Kennel currently sits in fourth place of the yearly kennel standings with 212½ wins pursuing third place Meteorite Kennel (218 wins), second place Currid Racing (239½ wins) and leading D.Q. Williams Kennel (256½ wins)
Currid Racing (07/18/15)
The word “hot” can describe two items currently on display at Gulf Greyhound Park. First of all, that three letter word is literally melting in the heat of another summer in the great state of Texas while trainer Freddy R. Currid continues to have his athletes from Currid Racing sizzling around the La Marque, Texas racing oval and outdueled a fantastic week from Meteorite Kennel to earn the Kennel of the Week honors for the second consecutive occasion. Finding their way to the winner’s circle on each of the five days of intense competition, the highlights arrived on Sunday afternoon with four victories and three more winning trips on Thursday evening. When the dust settled, the final totals accumulated to 11 wins, 11 seconds, 11 thirds and 7 fourth place finishes earning $7,548.62 in purse money. Leading the way was impressive youngster Bob’s Cara with a top grade AA triumph on Thursday evening July 16 while other victories arrived from all three of the distances offered on the Texas Gulf Coast from the rest of the troops. While Currid Racing continues to sail along in second place of the yearly kennel standings with 230½ wins, the gap has been narrowed in the pursuit of first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (246½ wins).
Currid Racing (07/11/15)
Enjoying another profitable week of competition around the La Marque, Texas racing oval were the athletes from Currid Racing trained by Freddy R. Currid outdueling an excellent effort given by Tri-State Kennel for the Kennel of the Week honors. With victories on each of the five days of racing, the highlight of the week came on Thursday evening July 9 scoring a total of four wins. The final numbers accumulated to 10 wins, 9 seconds, 12 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes to cash in $7,872.36 worth of purse money at the bank. Despite having no top grade AA victories for the week, Currid Racing used an invasion of athletes from Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis, Arkansas to lead the way with Bob Woolf over the 660-yard course and Jonah Ryan, Kay Robertson and Volbeat (full brother to former top grade AA competitor Korn) around the 550-yard course. Heading into the second half of the year, Currid Racing remains solidly in second place of the yearly kennel standings with 219½ wins, ahead of third place Meteorite Kennel (197 wins) and fourth place Tri-State Kennel (195½ wins) while continuing to have their sights set on front running D.Q. Williams Kennel (239½ wins).
Currid Racing (06/27/15)
Once again, the kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park had to scramble for their share of the purse “pie” with another shortened week of four performances following the cancellation of the races Saturday evening due to electrical problems. There is a saying, “the cream always rises to the top”, which can summarize the results of the week of competition as Gulf Greyhound Park’s top two kennels enjoyed prosperous weeks. Accomplishing the rare feat of eclipsing the five figure mark in purse earnings were the athletes from Currid Racing led by trainer Freddy R. Currid to claim the Kennel of the Week honors over the nice effort from D.Q. Williams Kennel. Things started off in fine fashion for Currid Racing with three wins on Sunday afternoon but then came the highlight of the week with five winning trips on Wednesday afternoon. The momentum carried forward with four more victories on Thursday evening and three wins on Friday evening to bring the final total to 15 wins, 9 seconds, 4 thirds and 10 fourth place finishes cashing in $10,611.38 worth of purse money at the bank. Leading the way was hotshot pup Bob’s Cara with a victory on Wednesday in the second round of the Diane Whiteley Sprint Championship. Not to be outdone were Whisperinthewind with a victory in a mixed grade TAA race on Wednesday and a top grade AA triumph from Wild Impulse on Thursday night. Following this successful week, Currid Racing (200.5 wins) solidified their second place position in the yearly kennel standings ahead of third place Meteorite Kennel (188 wins) while continuing their pursuit of front running D.Q. Williams Kennel (219.5 wins).
Currid Racing (06/13/15)
Trainer Freddy R. Currid has led his athletes to a very successful campaign so far in 2015 and has added another Kennel of the Week award to his resume`. Despite starting off the week in slow fashion with only one win on Sunday afternoon and one win on Wednesday afternoon, business picked up nicely to finish off the week with two wins Thursday night, three wins Friday night and three more winning trips Saturday evening. The final totals accumulated to 10 wins, 11 seconds, 8 thirds and 6 fourth place finishes out of 66 starts around the La Marque, Texas racing oval to earn $7,695.30 worth of purse money. With victories up and down the grade ladder around the 550 and 660-yard courses, the leader of the pack was hot shot pup Bob’s Cara who claimed her second consecutive top grade AA victory on Sunday afternoon. Following this successful week, Currid Racing sits in second place of the yearly kennel standings with 183½ wins and continues their pursuit of front running D.Q. Williams Kennel and their 203½ wins.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (05/30/15)
Despite leading the pack on top of the yearly kennel standings, it took five weeks including the entire month of May before trainer Craig Edwards and his athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel earned the Kennel of the Week honors. After a slow start to the week with only one win on Sunday afternoon, business picked up nicely with two wins Wednesday, three wins Thursday, four wins Friday and finished off the week with three additional winning trips Saturday evening. The totals accumulated to 13 wins, 7 seconds, 5 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes cashing in $8,502.06 worth of purse money. Top grade AA victories were plentiful with Hey Hey Daddy, Miss Jakie, Need My Moneynow and Pippi winning over the 550-yard course and Twinkle Twinkle around the 660-yard course. Following this successful week, D.Q. Williams Kennel (184.5 wins) continues to be “the one to catch” as Currid Racing (166.5 wins), Meteorite Kennel (157 wins) and Tri-State Kennel (152.5 wins) continue their pursuit.
Meteorite Kennel (05/23/15)
Returning to the Kennel of the Week spotlight for the second consecutive is trainer Tommy LaRosa and his athletes from Meteorite Kennel. It’s difficult to imagine that over the course of five performances totaling seventy races the battle for the weekly bragging rights literally went right down to the wire as Meteorite Kennel edged out Currid Racing by the narrow margin of $13.58. After a successful beginning to the week with two wins on Sunday afternoon and three more wins on Wednesday afternoon, the trips to the Gulf Greyhound Park winner’s circle became scarce with only two additional winning efforts over the next three days but the pups still found their way onto the paysheet on numerous occasions. The final numbers for the week added up to 7 wins, 18 seconds, 8 thirds and 11 fourth place finishes accumulating $7,516.53 worth of purse money to cash in at the bank. Meteorite Kennel (151 wins) continues to sit in third place of the yearly kennel standings in pursuit of second place Currid Racing (159½ wins) and first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (171½ wins).
Meteorite Kennel (05/16/15)
A full week of racing competition concluded with an exclamation point following a special Saturday matinee performance as many went home in a happier mood watching American Pharaoh continue his bid for the elusive Triple Crown after rolling to victory in the Preakness Stakes. As for the athletes of the Texas Gulf Coast, the results proved to also be true to form as the upper half of the kennels on the yearly kennel standings enjoyed much of the success for the week. Emerging on top of the heated battle was trainer Tommy LaRosa and his athletes from Meteorite Kennel to seize the Kennel of the Week honors despite a week resembling a roller coaster ride. After a slow beginning with only one win on Sunday afternoon, business picked up quickly with three victories on Wednesday afternoon as well as Thursday evening. Following a hiccup on Friday evening by only finding the winner’s circle on one occasion, three more winning trips arrived on Saturday afternoon to bring the final totals to 11 wins, 12 seconds, 8 thirds and 10 fourth place finishes cashing in $7,656.22 worth of purse money. Meteorite Kennel currently sits in third place of the kennel standings with 144 wins pursuing second place Currid Racing (147.5 wins) and front running D.Q. Williams Kennel (160.5 wins)
Currid Racing (05/09/15)
If once is good then twice is nice, right? For the second consecutive week, trainer Freddy R. Currid watched his athletes from Currid Racing continue to fly around the La Marque, Texas racing oval on their way to claiming the bragging rights of the Kennel of the Week honors. The positive momentum at the conclusion of last week carried forward to start off the new week in excellent fashion with five wins on Sunday afternoon and was followed up with a very consistent stream of victories scoring at least two winning trips during each of the remaining performances. The final totals accumulated to 14 wins, 6 seconds, 8 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes earning $8,642.00 worth of purse money. With victories throughout all of the grade levels and across both the 550 and 660-yard distances, Greyhound of the Week Whisperinthewind led the way with her second straight top grade AA victory on Friday evening. Turning to the race in the yearly kennel standings, Currid Racing (142.5 wins) solidified their second place position ahead of third place Meteorite Kennel (133 wins) and fourth place Libby Racing Kennels (125 wins) while also closing gap on leading D.Q. Williams Kennel (152 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (04/25/15)
Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel, dominated the action by giving a very consistent effort through a majority of the week and then put a resounding exclamation point on the finale including winning both qualifying rounds of the TGA 660-yard Spring Classic to claim the Kennel of the Week honors. Despite being matched in the number of wins for the week by Lingle Kennel, the athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel filled up the paysheet very nicely to run away from the rest of the competition. After the dust had settled, the numbers accumulated to 13 wins, 11 seconds, 5 thirds and 6 fourth place finishes earning $9,975.09 in purse money. Leading the way with a pair of top grade AA victories on Sunday afternoon and Friday evening was the Greyhound of the Week, Need My Moneynow. Hey Hey Daddy also contributed with a career best time over the 550-yard course on the way to victory Wednesday afternoon and then there were the two qualifying round winners in the TGA Spring Classic Saturday evening, Twinkle Twinkle and Real Good Feelin. This latest effort from D.Q. Williams Kennel (135 wins) extends their lead over second place Meteorite Kennel (120 wins) and the battle for third place between Currid Racing (115.5 wins) and Libby Racing Kennels (115 wins).
Lingle Kennel (04/18/15)
At the conclusion of another week of intense competition on the Texas Gulf Coast, there was a distinct sound of the “Boomer Sooner” fight song from the state of Oklahoma that could be heard throughout the kennel compound as kennel owner/trainer David Lingle and his athletes from Lingle Kennel emerged on top with the Kennel of the Week honors. The colors of crimson and cream from the OU flag could be seen shining brightly as Lingle Kennel used a spectacular beginning to the week with four wins on Sunday afternoon and three more winning trips on Wednesday afternoon to jump out quickly and put away his rivals. The final numbers accumulated to a total of 11 wins, 5½ seconds, 7½ thirds and 7 fourth place finishes out of 54 starts to cash in $7,947.28 worth of purse money at the bank. Leading the way with top grade AA victories over the 550-yard course were Kells Diablo on Sunday and Sakkara Travis on Thursday evening. Currently, Lingle Kennel (97 wins) is in fifth place of the yearly kennel standings engaged in a three way battle for that spot with Tri-State Kennel (96½ wins) and K-Rod Kennel (95 wins).
Libby Racing Kennels (04/04/15)
It was quite a battle for the Kennel of the Week honors heading into the Easter holiday weekend as a margin of less than two hundred dollars separated a trio of kennels. Riding the wave of an excellent beginning to the week with four wins on Sunday afternoon and three additional wins on Wednesday afternoon, trainer Troy Tinney and his athletes from Libby Racing Kennels emerged on top over Meteorite Kennel and D.Q. Williams Kennel. The final totals accumulated to 10 wins, 4 seconds, 7 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes out of 52 starts to cash in $7,470.33 worth of purse earnings. Leading the way with top grade AA victories were Atascocita Keane and Atascocita Kojak on Wednesday over the 550-yard course and Filosa on Thursday evening around the 660-yard course. While continuing their pursuit of front running D.Q. Williams Kennel (113 wins), Libby Racing Kennels (102 wins) remains engaged in a heated battle for second place in the kennel standings with Currid Racing (99.5 wins) as fourth place Meteorite Kennel (97 wins) is closing quickly.
Meteorite Kennel (03/28/15)
Since trainer Tommy LaRosa made the move to become the trainer for Meteorite Kennel, the results speak for itself as the athletes have responded in excellent fashion throughout the first third of 2015 sitting in fourth place of the yearly kennel standings with a total of 86 wins. Focusing on more recent times, Meteorite Kennel found their name being called repeatedly throughout Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening to emerge on top of a tightly contested battle and claim the Kennel of the Week honors. With a total of four kennels eclipsing the seven thousand dollar barrier, Meteorite Kennel proved the best with 11 wins, 5 seconds, 7 thirds and 9 fourth place finishes out of 61 starts to earn $7,777.71 worth of purse money. Although most of the winning trips were spread up and down the grade ladder, Greyhound of the Week U Too Alexis led the way with her second consecutive top grade victory around the 660-yard course on Sunday afternoon.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (03/21/15)
Have you experienced the feeling of “de-ja-vu”? It appears that trainer Craig Edwards and assistant trainer Christina Chambers can add their names to the list as D.Q. Williams Kennel mirrored their performance from the previous week to take the Kennel of the Week honors for the second consecutive occasion. Even Mother Nature joined in providing an excessive amount of rainfall on Saturday forcing the cancellation of the races that evening leading to another shortened week of competition around the La Marque, Texas racing oval. Similar to last week, the winning trips were scarce during the early portion of the week but the athletes put the hammer down on Thursday and Friday evening to finish with a flourish leading to final numbers of 10 wins, 7 seconds, 5 thirds and 5 fourth place finishes accumulating $10,397.75 worth of purse money. Leading the way with top grade victories were Seldom Told on Sunday afternoon over the 550-yard course and Firefly on Thursday evening around the 330-yard super sprint course. With this excellent performance, last year’s Kennel of the Year at Gulf Greyhound Park strengthened their grip on top of the kennel standings with 99 wins ahead of the intense second place battle between Currid Racing (85.5 wins) and Libby Racing Kennels (85 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (03/14/15)
After feeling the pressure from the two time Kennel of the Week, Libby Racing Kennels, and being equaled on top of the kennel standings, the reigning 2014 Kennel of the Year at Gulf Greyhound Park, D.Q. Williams Kennel, performed admirably during another rain shortened week to re-establish their command and take home the Kennel of the Week honors. Riding the wave of “the Pocket Aces” of Need My Moneynow and Seldom Told dominating the 550-yard course while Coco My Way is quickly establishing herself as one of the top athletes around the 660-yard course, D.Q. Williams Kennel continues to accumulate the higher purse amounts from the top grade contests. Despite going winless to begin the week on Sunday afternoon, business picked up nicely on Wednesday and Friday building final numbers totaling 9 wins, 9 seconds, 7 thirds and 7 fourth place finishes to eclipse the five figure mark in purse earnings cashing in $11,314.18 at the bank. D.Q. Williams Kennels (89 wins) now holds a comfortable lead over second place Libby Racing Kennels (81 wins) while third place Currid Racing (80.5 wins) is right there in the hunt.
Libby Racing Kennels (03/07/15)
Once is good, twice is nice, right? Libby Racing Kennels and trainer Troy Tinney have found their way into the Kennel of the Week spotlight for the second consecutive week as a majority of the kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park enjoyed a profitable time during a weather shortened week. A similar theme of economics was the name of the game using the least amount of starts for the week among the other kennels. Ending the week on a high note with three wins Saturday evening, the final totals from the athletes accumulated to 7 wins, 5 seconds, 8 thirds and 2 fourth place finishes out of 36 starts to earn $8,446.55 in purse money. Leading the way with top grade victories were Ugo Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon around the 660-yard course and Trey Chic on Saturday night with a quick trip around the 330-yard super sprint course. Following these two successful weeks, we now have a tie on the top of the kennel standings as Libby Racing Kennels pulled even with D.Q. Williams Kennel at 80 wins while third place Currid Racing continues their pursuit with 71.5 wins.
Libby Racing Kennels (02/28/15)
After earning the Kennel of the Week honors during the first full week of competition in the early portion of January, it has been a long seven weeks since the athletes from Libby Racing Kennels have been able to return to the spotlight. At long last, the wait is over as trainer Troy Tinney and Libby Racing Kennels have staked their claim as the Kennel of the Week once more at Gulf Greyhound Park. Using a very consistent, yet economical approach with only 48 starts, the athletes racked up 11 wins, 8 seconds, 4 thirds and 7 fourth place finishes to cash in $9,938.36 at the bank. Leading the way with top grade victories were Trey Chic on Sunday afternoon around the 330-yard super sprint course and a strong come behind run over the 550-yard course from Crabby on Thursday evening. The battle on top of the kennel standings has intensified after the conclusion of two months of racing around the La Marque, Texas oval with second place Libby Racing Kennels (73 wins) narrowing the gap on first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (75 wins) while at the same time putting some distance ahead of third place Currid Racing (64.5 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (02/21/15)
Gulf Greyhound Park’s 2014 Kennel of the Year and the top kennel so far in 2015, D.Q. Williams Kennel, used an excellent beginning to the week to catapult themselves into the Kennel of the Week spotlight for the fourth time in five weeks. Despite finishing second to last week’s Kennel of the Week, Currid Racing, in total wins for the five day period, trainer Craig Edwards led his athletes to 11 wins, 6 seconds, 11 thirds and 9 fourth place finishes out of 60 starts to eclipse the five figure plateau in purse earnings cashing $10,231.20 at the bank. Top grade AA wins were plentiful with Pippi on Sunday matinee, Sun Shinny Day across the 660-yard course Thursday evening and a pair of victories on Sunday afternoon and Saturday night from the Greyhound of the Week, Need My Moneynow. D.Q. Williams Kennel continues to lead the way with 68 wins so far in 2015 followed by Libby Racing Kennels (62 wins) in second place and a strong charging Currid Racing (57.5 wins) in third place.
Currid Racing (02/14/15)
A very profitable week was enjoyed by a majority of the kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park as a new face steps into the spotlight for the first time in month with Currid Racing earning the Kennel of the Week honors and putting a halt to the three week run enjoyed by D.Q. Williams Kennel. By using the simple formula of more starts equaling more opportunities to cash in, trainer Freddy R. Currid and the rest of the Currid family played “the numbers game” to perfection using 65 starts to earn 8½ wins, 11½ seconds, 9 thirds and 5 fourth place finishes accumulating $8,867.37 worth of purse money. Currid Racing (43 wins) is enjoying a successful 2015 campaign so far in fourth place of the yearly kennel standings in pursuit of third place Meteorite Kennel (48.5 wins), second place Libby Racing Kennels (52 wins) and first place D.Q. Williams Kennel (57 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (02/07/15)
Although there was no live racing due to Super Bowl Sunday, the shortened time frame still created another exciting week of competition with the top half of the kennels at Gulf Greyhound Park dominating the action. That being said, the theme remained the same with D.Q. Williams Kennel hitting the “trifecta” earning the Kennel of the Week honors for the third consecutive week. Riding the wave of momentum from an excellent performance of four victories Thursday evening, trainer Craig Edwards led his athletes from D.Q. Williams Kennel to 9 wins, 4 seconds, 8 thirds, and 4 fourth place finishes out of 49 starts to cash in $8,321.18 worth of purse money at the bank. Leading the way with top grade AA winning journeys was the unbelievable come from behind victory of Need My Moneynow on Thursday evening and a box to wire effort from reigning Christmas Classic Champion, Sun Shinny Day, over the 660-yard course on Saturday night. The race on top of the kennel standings remained “status quo” as D.Q. Williams Kennel (50 wins) and second place Libby Racing Kennels (47 wins) equaled each other with nine wins for the week. Third place Meteorite Kennel (42 wins) narrowed the gap on the top two with an excellent week scoring 12 wins of their own.
D.Q. Williams Kennel (01/31/15)
D.Q. Williams Kennel and trainer Craig Edwards have moved into the very familiar spot on top of the 2015 kennel standings after another outstanding performance from their athletes to earn the Kennel of the Week honors for back to back occasions. After pulling away late in 2014 to become Gulf Greyhound Park’s top kennel, D.Q. Williams Kennel posted double digit wins for the second consecutive week to jump over Libby Racing Kennels. Taking full advantage of the first full week of competitive action covering five performances, the final totals accumulated to 11 wins, 4 seconds, 8 thirds and 9 fourth place finishes out of 58 starts taking $8,434.89 worth of purse earnings to the bank. Leading the way were the top two greyhounds on the Texas Gulf Coast, labeled as the “Pocket Aces”, with a pair of victories from Seldom Told on Sunday afternoon and Saturday night while Need My Moneynow took care of business on Thursday evening. Wrapping up the first month of the year, D.Q. Williams Kennel (41 wins) leads the way ahead of second place Libby Racing Kennels (38 wins) and third place Meteorite Kennel (30 wins).
D.Q. Williams Kennel (01/24/15)
Through the first four weeks of 2015, a trend has developed as a different kennel has earned the Kennel of the Week honors with last year’s top kennel at Gulf Greyhound Park, D.Q. Williams Kennel, taking their turn by putting on quite a show to dominate the racing scene. The winning trips came rolling in consistently throughout the week ultimately adding up to 12 wins along with 4 seconds, 4 thirds and 7 fourth place finishes out of 43 starts to cash in $8,574.60 in purse money. Top grade AA victories were plentiful with Seldom Told on Wednesday afternoon, Need My Moneynow on Friday evening and I Got Stung on Saturday night. After this tremendous week, D.Q. Williams Kennel (30 wins) has put some distance between themselves and third place Meteorite Kennel (21 wins) while at the same time applying pressure to front running Libby Racing Kennels (31 wins).
Tri-State Kennel (01/17/15)
Resembling a game of “musical chairs”, a different kennel in each of the three weeks of 2015 has found their way into the Kennel of the Week spotlight with Tri-State Kennel taking their turn earning the weekly honors. Despite another shortened week of competition due to the miserable weather at the beginning of the week, Tri-State Kennel played the numbers game to perfection with the most starts in the kennel compound (50) and accumulated 8½ wins, 7½ seconds, 7 thirds and 3 fourth place finishes to cash in $7,447.28 worth of purse money at the bank. Leading the way with a top grade victory on Saturday night over the 330-yard super sprint course was LD Fly Red Tail to go along with a very consistent performance from the rest of the athletes trained by Leon Giguere. The jostling on top of the kennel standings continues with Tri-State Kennel moving into third place (15½ wins) pursuing second place D.Q. Williams Kennel (18 wins) and frontrunner Libby Racing Kennels (22 wins).
Libby Racing Kennels (01/10/15)
The early hustle and bustle for the top spot of the kennel standings continued into the second week of 2015 with trainer Troy Tinney and his athletes from Libby Racing Kennels charging to the lead. With a consistent performance earning at least two victories on each of the four racing days, the totals at the end of the week added up to 9 wins, 4 seconds, 4 thirds and 8 fourth place finishes out of 41 starts to cash in $8,681.41 worth of purse money at the bank. Top grade AA victories were plentiful with Atascocita Act winning his debut over the 660-yard course on Wednesday before leaving for the Daytona 550, Atascocita Clap winning his top grade debut on Thursday evening, Buzz Williams came flying from behind to win Friday evening and Atascocita Kojak splashed his way to the winner’s circle through the mud on Saturday evening.
Lingle Kennel (01/03/15)
Although the Kennel of the Week honors only covered two days of racing to begin a new year, there is always a mad scramble by each of the kennels in the Gulf Greyhound Park compound because each wants to see their name on top of the kennel standings at least once. Starting off 2015 on the right note is Lingle Kennel and trainer David Lingle. With 21 starts covering the Friday and Saturday evening performances, the athletes from Lingle Kennel earned 5 wins, 3 seconds, 5 thirds and 2 fourth place finishes to cash in $4,037.68 worth of purse money for the two day period.