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Greyhound Channel's Inside Lure - June 16th, 2016

Don't Miss Out On Upcoming Greyhound Stakes Races!

  • 6/16 $50,000 Southland Derby Round 2 @ Southland -LHS
  • 6/18 $40,000 St. Petersburg Derby Round 1 @ Derby Lane -LHS
  • 6/19 King & Queen Stakes Round 1 @ Iowa
  • 6/22 $40,000 St. Petersburg Derby Semi-Finals @ Derby Lane -LHS
  • 6/22 $50,000 Southland Derby Round 3 @ Southland -LHS
  • 6/25 $40,000 St. Petersburg Derby Final @ Derby Lane -LHS
  • 6/25 King & Queen Stakes Round 2 @ Iowa
  • 6/26 $50,000 Southland Derby Semi-Finals @ Southland -LHS
LHS designates stakes that are included in our Last Handicapper Standing Contest.
There's still plenty of time to take advantage of the first part of our Dog Days of Summer promotion! $100 and 1,000 contest points are up for grabs this month if you wager $500 at Derby Lane in June.

Wager $1,000 at Derby Lane in July to receive $150 and 3,000 contest points. To finish off the promotion, wager 2,000 at Derby Lane in August and receive $200 and 5,000 contest points.
 
To participate, enter DD2016 at Greyhound Channel. You only need to enter the promotional code once to participate in our Dog Days of Summer. You may participate all three months or you may play just one or two of the months. This allows you to tailor the promotion to your busy Summer schedule.

Stay cool and happy wagering!
 
Southland Derby
 
Be sure to tune in tonight as some of the top greyhounds go paw to paw in round 2 of the $50,000 Southland Derby qualifiers, battling to earn one of eight coveted spots in the championship race scheduled for Friday evening, July 1st.

2015 Hound Madness champion, COUNSELOR, overcame some trouble early on to pull off a win in round 1. BRASKA DALE still remains a threat even though he came in third in the first round.

Some other notable greyhounds are SE TALI SUNDANCE, FLYIN SUPERGIANT, BOC'S RING EM UP, DAILY PRAYER, NASHAPELLI, and 2015 Festival of Stakes Male Sprint Champion, CHASMO'S DUTCH.

Catch the round 2 action this evening starting in race 3!

King & Queen Stakes
 
The first multi-round stakes of 2016 at Iowa Greyhound Park will break a tie. The King and Queen stakes will begin June 19, with the final on Monday, July 4. It has taken place 30 times, with each side winning 15 each. It will feature 48 greyhounds – 24 males and 24 females. They will run in three qualifying rounds, with the top 4 in points from each group running in the final.

Qualifying round schedule:

Round 1- Sunday matinee, 6/19
Round 2- Saturday matinee, 6/25
Round 3- Friday evening, 7/1

The field will be trimmed to 16 males and 16 females in points after round 2. The top 4 in each will advance after round 3.

Queen KC DEVIOUS, from Stidham Racing, won last year’s title. The last king to win was SUPERIOR PRODUCT in 2014. Xtreme Hess Kennel has won all three single race stakes this season. DS RUMBA won the IGP Inaugural; XT’S WAR BUCKS won the Maiden Debut; and UB SIR MIX ALOT won the Memorial Sprint.

You can follow the standings here.

Information provided by Gary Dura. For more from Gary, follow his Blog here.
T.L. Weaver Memorial
 
It took 30.53 seconds to run the $8,000 T.L. Weaver Memorial Challenge on June 4 at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Another 88 seconds was needed to determine the winner. HUSKER MAGIC, the Abernathy kennel standout greyhound, capped a memorable week by winning the 20th annual event in a photo finish. The 2015 All-America team captain, Rural Rube winner as the sport’s top sprinter, and national win leader held off Alderson kennel’s YOLO SWAG by a nose – a decision that wasn’t announced for nearly 1-1/2 minutes until the finish-line photo had been reviewed.
 
“I was hoping she’d won it,’’ said Jim Abernathy, who operates the kennel with wife Kayruth Abernathy. “The 5-dog [YOLO SWAG] was coming hard. . . . When [HUSKER MAGIC] went to the front like that, it would have been disappointing if she wouldn’t have won.’’
 
 

Commentary provided by Don Jensen.
Creator Wins Belmont Stakes!
 
Last year, American Pharoah made history by winning the Triple Crown for the first time since Affirmed did it in 1978. Completing the trifecta of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes is a truly rare feat. One that only twelve horses have achieved, starting with Sir Barton in 1919.

While a Triple Crown winner wasn't in the cards this year with different horses winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Creator created his own history by being one of four to finish the Belmont Stakes by a nose. The Arkansas Derby winner came up from behind the early front-runner, Destin, for a victorious photo finish. Creator, Destin, and Lani came in the top three, with Creator paying $34.80 for the win.

Congratulations to WinStar Farm, Steve Asmussen, Irad Ortiz, Jr, and all connections!
 


Photo provided by NYRA.
St. Petersburg Derby

Saying goodbye will be difficult for Derby Lane kennel owner John Farmer, whose HIGHLYCLASSIFIED is expected to make his final stakes appearance in the $40,000 St. Petersburg Derby 660-yard series that begins Saturday night in St. Petersburg, Florida. HIGHLYCLASSIFIED, the 2015 Flashy Sir award winner as greyhound racing’s top distance runner and a member of the All-America first team, will be retired to stud at the end of the Derby Lane meet on June 30.

“It will be heart-breaking to lose the Flashy Sir award winner,’’ said Farmer, 51, who owns the kennel with 22-year-old son Sean Farmer. “I’d like to see him go out like (retired Denver Broncos Super Bowl-winning quarterback) Peyton Manning did.’’

The Derby will kick off for the 90th time with 32 greyhounds competing in four qualifying races. The first four finishers in each event advance to Wednesday’s final two qualifiers. The top four dogs in those events earn berths in the $30,000 Derby on June 25, while the remaining greyhounds square off in the $10,000 Consolation Derby the same night.



Commentary provided by Don Jensen, previously the publicity director at Charles Town Race Track for 40 years. He currently writes for the Tampa Bay Times and is a contributor to the NGA.
Revelation Runs True to Form in Razorback Classic Championsip

In normal, everyday greyhound racing, sometimes the fact that a greyhound or two in the race is simply better determines the likely winner. However, in stakes racing, especially championship races when you have a full field of talented athletes, it usually comes down to other intangibles that determine the victor.
 
MEGA REVELATION (David Blair Kennel) is obviously talented, although the start to her career may not have shown much of that. This brindle daughter of the great BELLA INFRARED spent nearly a year racing at Derby Lane to begin her racing career, and spent the first three months slowly crawling up the grading ladder in their sprint course. Despite the long stretch runs there, her lackluster break combined with late kick was a recipe for a lot of “board hits,” but wasn’t racking up victories often.

She switched over to the longer 660 course at the end of July in 2015 and within her third start won her first middle distance event. Although it appeared she found her distance, she spent the months of August and September falling back down in grade (at one point back to grade “C”) before a switch back to the 550 yard course was ordered. She went on to eventually win and get back up to grade “B,” but it was obvious her lack of a consistent good break was going to be a detriment over there.



Commentary provided by Shane Bolender, Director of Racing at Southland Greyhound Park.
The Outbound Train

Saturday evening, June 4th, was a good one at bestbet Jacksonville. Not only did we have the running of the 2016 bestbet Puppy Stakes, but we kicked off our Greyhound Summer promotion with loads of cash and prize giveaway, along with drink and food specials, and a DJ on the apron. Everyone was here and having a good time, but the focus shifted to the stakes race as it approached in race 11, and people were looking to cash tickets and take some money.

This race was a wide open affair. Normally, there is a clear cut favorite, especially in puppy races, but not this time around. Seven of the eight greyhounds in the field won 2 of the qualifying rounds and several had a stand out performance in one of those victories. Tonight was going to come down to who wanted to win.

As the lure rumbled through the far turn, you could hear the excitement in the bigger than normal crowd outside on the apron. Just a few more feet and pop went the box and we were off and running in the finals of the 2016 bestbet Puppy Stakes.

 

Commentary provided by Kelly Clark, Director of Simulcasting and Racing Standards at bestbet (bestbetjax.com).
For the last few rounds, Richard E has topped the leader board with David N close behind.

With just a little over 2 weeks left and only 7 more chances to play, we're starting to get down to the wire. Next chance to earn points is at Southland Park tonight for Round 2 of the Southland Derby, followed by Round 1 of the St. Petersburg Derby Saturday night, June 18th.

Good luck to everyone playing!
 
 
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