Top Greyhound Honors

FF Vespa captures 2025 win crown, Top Greyhound honors

By Stan Pawloski

            FF Vespa opened his racing career at Wheeling Island in November 2023 with four straight victories in Maiden and Grades D, C and B by a combined 35 ½ lengths.

            The early speedster looked like a force to be reckoned with around the 5/16th sprint course.

            Halfway through the 2024 racing season, however, FF Vespa only had five victories on his resume for the year. The second half was a different story as the youngster exploded for 14 wins – his 19 total victories in 2024 placed him third on the track leaderboard.

            It was just a prelude to what was to come in 2025.

            Last year, the sprint star came out of the box firing as he captured 10 out of his first 12 Grade AA races. FF Vespa went on to post a track-leading 28 wins on the year to earn Top Greyhound honors in 2025 at Wheeling Island.

            FF Vespa races out of the Code Red Kennel, owned by Joe Fusaro and Philip Carpenter and trained by Tom Engle.

            Fusaro and Carpenter are ecstatic and so proud of what FF’s Vespa achieved during the 2025 racing season at Wheeling Island.

            “We are thrilled to be the owners of the track win champion,” Fusaro said. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment for both Phil (Carpenter) and myself.”

            Carpenter added, “Vespa has been a joy to own and a phenomenal greyhound to watch over the last two years. He always gives an honest effort.”

            After FF Vespa finished strong to end the 2024 season, Fusaro thought something magical might be in the works for this past year.

            “We had high expectations for Vespa when the year started as he was hot when 2024 ended and he had just made the 2024 National Greyhound Association All-Star Team,” Fusaro said. “We didn’t expect a track win champion, but we knew he could be in contention.”

            In addition to FF Vespa’s 28 wins last year, the April 2022 greyhound out of Atascocita Gray-FF Biscayne had 13 seconds, 5 thirds and 3 fourths in 61 starts. He had a 6-race and a 4-race win streak, an 82 percent mark on the superfecta ticket and a 77 percent trifecta finish.

            “Vespa’s mother, FF Biscayne, was a stakes winning racer for me at multiple tracks,” Fusaro said. “She has produced many Grade AA offspring, but Vespa is the best racer of the group.”

            The key to FF Vespa’s success is getting out of the box and into his races quickly.

            “Vespa is at his best when he breaks well because he has a tremendous power rush to the first turn which can make him a dominant force when coupled with a good break,” Fusaro noted. “He was the most dominant during January and February but continued strong throughout the year. When he’s sharp with his break, he gets hot because he busts out to big leads against his competitors.”

            The early speedster posted a number of impressive victories in 2025 – by 8 ½, 8, 7 ½, 6, 5 ½, 5 (three times), 4 ½ and 4 (twice) lengths.

            Engle called Vespa a dream greyhound.

            “It’s been great running him the last two years,” Engle said. “Greyhounds like him don’t come around very often.”

            FF Vespa’s 28 wins were the most at Wheeling Island since GF La Duena captured 32 races in 2019. All-Americans AMF Ex President in 2011 and CTW Bronze Drake in 2012 had 28 wins.

            Going into the 2026 racing season at Wheeling Island, FF Vespa had posted an impressive 51 career victories.

            “Vespa has had an amazing career and is not yet 4 years old. When Vespa arrived in the kennel as a puppy I received a call from his trainer, Tom Engle,” Fusaro recalled. “Tom said ‘he is an alpha male in the turnout pen and just carries himself in a unique way. In my experience, greyhounds like this are usually very fast.’”

            “Tom (Engle) had not even seen Vespa race at the time of the call,” Fusaro said. “Tom has never said that to me about any other greyhound before or after that call and I have raced greyhounds with him for more than 12 years.”

            In 126 career races entering 2026, FF Vespa had 51 wins, 23 seconds, 17 thirds and 8 fourths.

            Two of FF Vespa’s littermates are competing at Wheeling Island in Grade A-AA – FF Vito Corleone and FF Vanguard.

            While FF Vespa topped the leader board with 28 victories, 23 other greyhounds won at least 13 races in 2025 at Wheeling Island.

            The 2025 Wheeling Island win leaderboard and kennel follows:

            28 – FF Vespa (Code Red)

            27 – Calmbefordastorm (Lester Raines)

            26 – WW Let’s Getiton (Wayne Ward)

            24 – Imark Kinslee (Imark)

            19 – XMC Honey Bean (Xtrem Hess Racing)

            17 – FGF Stella (Charter)

            16 – DD’s See Ya Soon (Steve Sarras), Believethehype (Jacobs Racing)

            15 – WW Look Out (Wayne Ward), JS Prettyboyswag (Lester Raines), Arroyo Autumn (Code Red), Arroyo Amanda (Code Red)

            14 – JS Hellonwheels (Lester Raines), GLS Dayinthelife (Jacobs Racing), Moreofthesame (Jacobs Racing), Miss Popular (Jacobs Racing), Forest’s Goal (Patriot/Taplin), JSP Makin Magic (Patriot/Taplin), FF Vito Corleone (Code Red), DD Cash N In (Steve Sarras), JSP Wood B Magic (Patriot/Taplin), DD’s Flashback (Jacobs Racing)

            13 – FF Whirlwind (Code Red), TNT Tarzan (Patriot/Taplin), Topcommand (Jacobs Racing), Arkwild B Wasila (Blanchard), Easi Mavis (Blanchard).