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Southland Derby Begins Tonight!
One of the most prestigious and longest running stakes events in the country kicks off tonight as the $60,000 Southland Derby takes center stage at Southland Park Gaming & Racing. An anticipated 88 greyhounds are expected to battle over four qualifying rounds to earn one of eight coveted spots in the championship race which is scheduled for Friday evening, July 3rd.
 
 Commentary provided by Shane Bolender, Director of Racing at Southland Greyhound Park.
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The Heat Is On!
It's here, the first leg of the Dog Days of summer promotion! You don't want to miss out on your chance at cold hard cash! To turn up the heat, we've also thrown in points you can redeem at the Greyhound Channel Contest site for Greyhound Channel merchandise or wagering credits.
Once you have taken the splash there is no need to continue to enter the promo code each month. If you don't make the qualifying wagers in June, you can still qualify for July and August.
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John Paul Faour: Play-By-Play
Announcing isn't just a career for John Paul Faour, also known as JP, it's a birthright. Born in La Marque, Texas, home of Gulf Greyhound Park, his father, the late Fred Faour, announced high school and college radio play-by-play in the Texas Panhandle and was eventually hired as Sports Editor of the Houston Chronicle from 1982 - 1992. His brother, Fred M. Faour, hosts "The Blitz" on ESPN Houston radio 97.5 FM. His mother, Patricia Monych, made history as the state's first female Sports Editor for the now closed Texas City Sun published from 1911 - 2004.
JP earned a degree in Fine Arts Theatre-Cinema from Texas Southern University in 2007. Acting in college and local theatre productions from 1989 - 1992 helped him transition to two film appearances. In 2001, he played "George" in "SICK", an acronym for Serial Insane Clown Killer. In 2011, he assumed the role of a police officer in "Renfield, The Undead", a story about Dracula's assistant. Although these two B slasher movies probably won't be available on Netflix anytime soon, the experiences were fun and JP earned a credit on Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com).
Photo: John Paul (Left) Ron Godfroy (Right)
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Kings or Queens?
Iowa Greyhound Park will determine royalty in the first multi-round stakes event of 2015. The King and Queen Stakes will feature 24 male and 24 female greyhounds that have had at least one official start at the track.
The males race against males, and females against females, with four of each making the final race. One is crowned champion. The purse is $30,000, with $12,000 to the winner, $6,000 to second and $3,000 to third. The race takes place on the regular course.
The three rounds of qualifying begin June 19, with the second round June 24. The field will be cut to the top 16 males and females. The third round is the matinee on June 28, which sends the top four of each into the July 4th final. Points are assigned for a race finish. They are 20-12-8-5-3-2-1-0.
SUPERIOR PRODUCT, a king, won in 2014, and ALLISONRACINTEAM, a queen, won in 2013.
The kings lead overall, 15-14. Can the females tie it up? Check out the King and Queen Stakes this year to find out!
Information provided by Gary Dura. For more from Gary, follow his Blog here.
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WVGOBA Open Stakes Final Recap
Longshots lit up the board in the Final of the WVGOBA Open Stakes at Mardi Gras (Tri-State) on Saturday.
The favorite, #8 JAX OXFORD (Abrahamson Kennel) at 5-2, rocketed out of the box to take a two length advantage out of the first turn. He was followed by his kennelmate, #3 JAX ARCHIE (Abrahamson Kennel), who was 12-1. Archie went by Oxford entering the far turn on the rail and began to pull away from that rival, then held off his pursuers to win by a length.
#6 CG'S MARLA (Abrahamson Kennel), a 14-1 shot, took the rail on the first turn to get into third going up the backstretch and followed Archie past the tiring Oxford, heading for home, but could not get by the winner.
The eventual third place finisher, #7 MAC’S BURGESS (McMillon Kennel) at 5-1, took the outside route throughout the race to run a steady closing race and only finished a length and a half behind Archie and a head behind Marla.
Congratulations to JAX ARCHIE and to the Abrahamson Kennel and trainer Jay Hawkins, for running first and second in this prestigious event!
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Puppy Power!
The best puppies at bestbet Jacksonville battled it out on Saturday night, June 6th, in the $12,500 Puppy Stakes. PAT C MORE EVER took advantage of his outside post and took the early lead. The youngest in the field, WW'S INSIDE INFO, tried in a valiant effort to run down the leader, chasing him down the stretch for second.
Congratulations to PAT C MORE EVER, the Pat Collins Kennel and all connections on claiming the 2015 Puppy Stakes title!
Photo Credit: GreyhoundNews. For more from GreyhoundNews follow their blog here
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3 More Weeks Left To Play!
For the last four rounds, Warren N has topped the leader board with Raymond H close behind. Last year's champion, Clinton M, remains in the top 5 and still has a chance to reclaim the title.
With 3 weeks left and only 8 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 1 of the Southland Derby!
Good luck to everyone playing!
 
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Commentary is provided by Vera Rasnake, Director of Media Relations at Derby Lane. She writes "Vera's News" for Derby Lane and is a frequent contributor to the Greyhound Review. Follow her on Twitter 
