< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of September 25, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski Sep 24, 2023 Blanchard Kennel’s Tenacity has seven victories, including five in a row, and a second in her last eight Grade AA trips for trainer Chris Maynard. Lester Raines Kennel’s LK’s Simone has three wins and a second in her last four Grade AA races for trainer Joel Roden. Kennel-mates GB’s Willow has three straight victories (M, C, B) while JS Bleu Fawn Do has back-to-back wins (B, A). Steve Sarras Kennel’s WW Beastly Wrath has two Grade TAA 3/8 victories in a row for trainer Mike Holguin. A Ray Kennel’s AMF All But Over has three straight wins (C, B, A) for trainer Joe Palmer. Patriot/Taplin Kennel’s TNT Steely Dan has back-to-back 3/16 victories (TB, TA) for trainer Cheyney Kuriata. Previous Next

< Back ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SPRING MEET Jim Gartland May 9, 2023 The 2nd edition of the Sunflower State Sprint was run during the 2023 spring meet. The race was open to meet eligible pups who had paid up an initial entry fee last January and then made final nomination and entry fee payments the Thursday prior to the meet. All in all 19 greyhounds went to post for first round qualifying. First round winners then went head to head in the stake final on Thursday while 2nd and 3rd place finishers from Monday made up the Flite I and Flite II of the second and final round. Jaws Racing placed a trio in the Sprint final including WW Payday, WW Mad Jack and WW No Romeo . The three were pitted against pre-race favorite, David Strong's Booker Dano . Dano grabbed the early lead jumping to a two length lead WW Mad Jack cleared in second, while WW Payday and WW No Romeo chased in 3rd and 4th. WW Mad Jack steadily closed ground on the leader, took over the lead by the stretch turn and pulled away to a four length win in a speedy 29.55, the meet's fastest time. Booker Dano maintained the place spot running 29.85. Payday and Romeo finished third and fourth respectively in 30.13 and 30.15. David Strong came right back grabbing the win in the Flite I with a littermate to Booker Dano. Hell Bent shot out to a big early lead and held on by a half length to secure the victory in 30.15 seconds. Jaws Racing's WW Ike closed for the place while Steve Sarras' Kebo Kelc e and Carl Tomblin's CET Topaz rounded out the finish. Lester Raine s sent littermates Nostalgia and Flamm a into the Flite II against Shannon Henry & Steven Boyd's SS Rollin Up and Carl Tomblin's CET Mist . In the end Raines' pair would finish one-two with Nostalgia rolling to a 10 length win in a quick 29.90. Another stake event will be offered at the Fall meet. That stake will be the 2nd edition of the Abilene Shootout and will follow along the same format with meet age pups being eligible and the $500 nomination fee being due by July 15, 2022. Jaws Racing (Julia Ward) brought their now recognizable auction format of selling full and part interest in pups back to the spring meet. Entering 40 pups in the sale, Ward sold 50% interest in 20 (one scratched) and full shares of 18 pups (one scratched) for a total of $245,750. The top selling greyhound was Jaws Racing's WW Steely Dan who went to Steve Sarras & Norm Rader for a cool $24,000 . Mizzen The Point , raced and owned by David Strong sold for $20,000 and went to Paul Bitterman as the 2nd highest sale of the meet. Half interest in Sunflower State Sprint winner WW Mad Jack went to Nikolas Sarras for $9,000 . 2023 NGA Spring Auction Stats Pups Consigned:62 Sold: 52 Buyers: 24 Total: $330,250 Avg: $6,350.96 Online purchases totaled $51,500 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0i1YfUAiM4 Previous Next

< Back ROUND1 OF BESTBET SPRINT CLASSIC Feb 17, 2020 Another great stakes race is upon us here at bestbet Jacksonville. The 2020 edition of the bestbet Sprint Classic gets underway this Monday February 17th and will follow the normal pattern of past. Round 2 will run on Friday evening February 21st and round 3 will follow on Monday February 24th. The semi-finals will run on Leap Day this year, Saturday February 29th, with a special all distance card and cash giveaways, followed up by the finals on Saturday evening March 7th where we see the return of our fan favorite Money Machine promotion. Don’t miss out on the great racing, fun, and cash we have in store over the next serval weeks here at bestbet Jacksonville. Now let’s take a closer look at the 8 full races of greyhounds that will be competing in the first round of the stakes. Round 1 of the bestbet Sprint Classic – Monday Evening February 17th, 2020 Race 2 – Back to 550 and back winning for super pup Super C Addison. No lead is safe as she finds her break and proves best late. Setting the pace and challenging all the way to the wire on the front end should be the well posted CTW Ax Paris, but don’t count out the always stalking threat LK’s Effingham and the I could surprise them all late runner Pat C Mythic. (5-1-7-6) Race 4 – Speaking up super pups, Pat Collins has a bunch right now including Pat C Adieu. The only solid grade A winning threat with 4 wins in 6 races. Easy pickings! Penrose Boss is no slouch either and should challenge late. The derby champ moves to 550 for this one and gets her best 8 box, but can she hang at the shorter course. And early Mo’s Tom will be a factor, but late we all know what happens. (7-6-8-1) Race 5 – Evenly matched up race here where all the action might just be taking place outside. Three solid grade A competitors all have a chance to win, but Easi Conroy get the slight nod. With 3 wins in 4 efforts, he is the choice. JW Sour Grapes might not win a lot but has been a pressing forced in 6 straight races. WW Independence will follow the leaders and factor in the outcome, but if you want a longshooter in this effort, eye the one dogs. Super C Trivia has the post and potential and will be coming on late. (6-5-1-7) Race 7 – Rounding back into form, Pat C Dragnet is poised to make some noise in round 1. Posted well inside and hot off of recent back to back wins he will be tough to beat when he gets the lead. Threatening the leader should be the solid grade A closers, Lee Danger and SE’s Dig, but both would rather be inside, instead of stuck outside at the break. That both from the outside. Surfin Sonny could be an early threat as well, but late he is not match for the closers as they approach wire. (3-6-7-2) Race 9 – There are always someone with a faster time, someone that looks more impressive, but winning is the name of the game and Pat C News has that in the bank! The win leader last year, and champ of several stakes’ events, he just knows how to get it done. A tremendous break and holding on late has done his well in the past. Expect more of the same. All out FIERCE competitor WW Blazin Crest is as fast as she wants to be and could GO BY late if she wanted to. LK’s County gal gets a look as well with good stalking speed and an ideal post position, and don’t sleep on rising star Dutch Hoagie either. This closer has jumped up the ranks recently and is at the top of his game right now. (3-7-1-4) Race 10 – Pat C Big Daddy shine brightest in this otherwise evenly matched up field. Winning 3 of his last 5 races in grade A, he clearly is the one to beat here, especially from a good inside post position. Trying to take him down will be the likes of the late driving threat Common Grounds, along with the on again, off again runners WW Whirlpool and Oshkosh Hoggy. (3-6-1-7) Race 11 – Another super pup for Pat Collins and this one is lightening fast! From a perfect post, this could get really ugly my friends. Last time out in the 8 box, a 30.20! Enough said! Solid grade A threats Phantom Petunia and Morgan Fairchild should challenge from the inside. Both have not run over 31 seconds in 6 straight races and have finished in the money in 10 of the last 12 races combined. LK’s Livin Lucky might be down a grade here but seems to be getting back into the mix and could surprise in the money tonight. (8-1-2-4) Race 12 – Rested and ready to roll, Lee Liam is back and looks like the rest of the field has been put on notice. This pup was on the way to the finals of the last stakes event, before being scratched and now appears to have picked right back up where he left off. He will not be alone here though as there is some serious speed around him. Signature Strut has 3 2ins in 6 races in A and a 30.27 last time out. Pat C Jacob is back from the 660 stake likes the rail, gets close here, and can also run in the 30.20’s. Let’s not forget the hot and cold running Ginger Bread Man either. His last effort is hard to ignore as he won by 10 from a similar post in 30.13 seconds. If they all come to run, this could be highly contested event. (6-5-3-7) Previous Next

< Back JERRY CRUCE OBITUARY May 14, 2021 Jerry D. Cruce of West Memphis Arkansas passed away at home in the early morning hours of April 26, 2021, surrounded by friends and family Jerry was born June 6th, 1946 in Perry, Florida . Jerry trained greyhounds starting in the mid to late 70’s working for the Don Klink kennel in Miami, Florida & then with the Tom Farrell Kennel in Jacksonville, Florida. He spent the last 18 years of his training career with the Bussmann-Balakas kennel at Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis Arkansas where he is was affectionately known as Papa Smurf. He loved the greyhounds & enjoyed working with them. He enjoyed, the people he worked with & around in the greyhound business, including the haulers & especially the farmers, who raised the dogs. He met his future wife Mary on a blind date in April of 71. They married on 9-15-84 & were married until his passing. He was predeceased by : his parents, John David Cruce and Christine Watson Cruce; his brother Lewis; and his parents-in-law, Eddie and Maria "Constance" Dicandia. He is survived by : his wife Mary Dicandia Cruce; his sons, Bart Falcone, Phillip Falcone and Quinde Falcone Jr. (Yolanda); his grandchildren, Quinde Falcone III, Kim Falcone, Taylor Falcone and Allison Sosne; his great grandchild Nellie Frey Sosne; his goddaughter Chelsea Whitman; his siblings, Reba Cruce Rogers (Freddie), Joseph William Cruce (Derry) and Richard Harold Cruce (Carol); and his sister-in-law Bessie Cruce. He is also survived by nieces and nephews. A funeral service was held on Saturday, May 1st 2021 at 2:00 PM at the Burns Funeral Home He was laid to rest at the Hendry Cemetery in Shady Grove, Florida Previous Next

< Back LK'S SANTORINI CAPTURES WIN TITLE Jim Gartland Jan 14, 2021 Although racing seasons were shortened as a result of the Covid pandemic, the race for the national win title continued and in the end it was another sprinter from the Lashmet farm, LK's Santorini, who took home the honors. That's back to back titles for John & Jill Lashmet of Colorado. Last year's winner was LK's Crush N It. The battle was closely contested right to the very end. Eight greyhounds were separated by only four wins in the final tally including last year's winner LK's Crush N It. Santorini had fewer starts than many of the other top finishers, but was able to capture 33 victories during the 2020 racing year. All of her victories came at Derby Lane. The runner-up this year was quite impressive too, as Killer Tolstoy earned 31 wins while racing at three different tracks, Naples, Dubuque and Southland. Once again, a handful of Caliente racers were in the mix as they often have many more opportunities for starts than most American racing offers. Santorini’s record for the year was 56-33-11-7-1, all at Derby Lane. She captured a couple of stakes including the Inaugural and the season ending Grand Finale. She snapped off numerous win streaks throughout the year including an impressive run where she went undefeated in eight straight starts from September 26 through October 30. Unfortunately, she suffered a minor injury shortly after that streak and was sidelined for almost all of November, returning for a start on December 9, just in time to finish off the season. Santorini is a home grown product out of Lashmet's own LK's Vespar-LK's Chardonnay, was raised in Eaton Colorado by the Lashmets and raced for the Lashmet Kennel trained by Ken Deacon. Runner-up in the win race, Killer Tolstoy, ran up a 65-31-10-6-3 record for owners Alan Hill & Kirk Harlan. Tolstoy managed to win 16 races at Naples and 15 races at Dubuque before moving on to Southland late in the year to finish second with 31 wins. Tolstoy is a son of Superior Panama-Killer Torina and had yet to get a victory at Southland by year's end. Interestingly enough, another greyhound owned by Kirk Harlan finished third in this year's race by capturing 30 wins racing at Caliente. The female by Flying Wolf Pack-Slatex Diamond accumulated a 60-30-11-7-7 record despite missing the last two months of the year due to an injury. Five greyhounds finished tied for fourth in this year's race, all with 29 wins. That list includes two more Lashmet racers in LK's Effingham and LK's Crush N It, Twilite Kennel's RPG Get You Back, and two other Caliente sprinters, Shopify and Yolo Sky. LK's Effingham and RPG Get You Back both raced at Bestbet Jacksonville, while LK's Crush N It finished his career at Derby Lane. Shopify is owned by Plum Creek and Yolo Sky is one of Jeff Blair's pups. Previous Next

< Back FF BISCAYNE CAPTURES TEXAS-BRED SPRINT STAKES Stan Pawloski Mar 9, 2020 FF Biscayne is a stakes champion. Late last year, the Wheeling-based greyhound traveled to Gulf Greyhound Park in Texas for the track’s two-month racing season in January/February. On the final night of racing, FF Biscayne captured the $50,000 Diane Whiteley Sprint Stakes. Not only did the sprinter roll to a box-to-wire 3 ½-length victory in the stakes final, but FF Biscayne shined throughout the short meet. In eight starts, she had 6 wins – all but one in Grade AA – and 2 seconds. Owner Joe Fusaro made the trip to La Marque, TX, from Minnesota for the stakes final Feb. 29. “I have been in the greyhound business as an owner since 2004 and this is my first major stakes win. I am super excited, thrilled and so proud of Biscayne,” Fusaro said. “To be there in person to watch the stakes final made it even more special. She was on her game and dominated the Gulf meet.” The stakes final, from the rail out, featured: 1—CTW Hard Bargain, 2—Granger Ghost, 3—Hi Noon Ricochet, 4—Cobi’s Stone Fox, 5—Ponda’s Smokey, 6—Slatex Goff, 7—FF Biscayne, 8—KB’s Safari. At the break, FF Biscayne – just like in the two qualifying round races – rocketed right to the front. At the first turn, she was up by 3 lengths and was never seriously challenged throughout the championship final. “Biscayne hit the lid and went right to the front – she was out and flying. She’s very tough on the lead and not short in the stretch,” Fusaro said. “I was confident when she broke on top, but you never count things until they happen. There were a lot of capable, outstanding greyhounds in the final.” Hi Noon Ricochet took runner up honors while CTW Hard Bargain rounded out the trifecta ticket. Completing the order of finish were Granger Ghost, fourth; Slatex Goff, fifth; KB’s Safari, sixth; Ponda’s Smokey, seventh; and Cobi’s Stone Fox, eighth. FF Biscayne, sent to post as the second favorite to Granger Ghost, paid $5.60 on a $2 win wager. The quiniela returned $46, the exacta $85, trifecta $350 and superfecta $1,682. The stakes event was open to any age Texas-bred greyhound. It was funded and organized by the Texas Greyhound Association in coordination with Gulf Greyhound Park. FF Biscayne raced out of the Libby-Watt Kennel at the Gulf and trained by Jake Ungs. At Wheeling, she competed in the Abrahamson Kennel and handled by Tom Engle. “I can’t say enough about the great job both Jake Ungs did with Biscayne at the Gulf and Tom Engle while she was racing at Wheeling,” Fusaro said. “They deserve a lot of the credit for her success.” Engle is equally thrilled by FF Biscayne’s stake victory. “I am so proud of Biscayne and very happy for Joe (Fusaro),” Engle said. “I thought she would like it at the Gulf.” Her six wins at the Gulf were by a combined 25 lengths – a 4-length average margin of victory. FF Biscayne opened her career at Mardi Gras in Florida in January 2018 – posting 3 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds and 2 fourths in 19 races before moving up to Wheeling in May. She had 6 wins, 3 seconds, 5 thirds and 6 fourths in 29 Wheeling trips in 2018. The sprinter competed at the Gulf Greyhound Park meet in January/February 2019 – posting 2 wins, 1 second and 1 third in eight starts. Upon returning to Wheeling, FF Biscayne finished the year with 12 wins, 5 seconds, 5 thirds and 4 fourths in 44 races. “The first time racing at the Gulf and at Wheeling, Biscayne was a good greyhound. The second time at each track, she was tremendous,” Fusaro noted. “She kept getting better and better and is still improving.” Fusaro mapped the breeding for FF Biscayne, an August 2016 greyhound out of Seldom Told-FF Taffy. “Biscayne was not a greyhound I purchased … I chose the breeding which makes her stakes victory even sweeter. FF Taffy and her brother, FF Code Red, one of the best greyhounds I have ever owned, were out of Sacred Drive,” Fusaro said. “It’s a Tony and Judy Mills dam bloodline which I like and continue to use. It’s been very successful.” Next up for FF Biscayne – Southland Park in West Memphis, Ark. “I was torn between sending her to Southland or back to Wheeling, but I wanted to give her a shot at the toughest track in the country,” Fusaro said. Previous Next

< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of August 31, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski Aug 31, 2020 Blanchard Kennel’s BWC Kreeli has back-to-back Grade AA wins for trainer Sarah Blanchard. Patriot/Taplin Kennel’s CTW Tira Misu has two straight Grade AA victories for trainer Joe Otto. A Ray Kennel’s Fiesta Viazul (TB, TAA 3/8) and AMF Bystander (B, A) have back-to-back wins for trainer Joe Palmer. Kennel-mate AMF Weirdo has three straight victories (D, C, B). Lester Raines Kennel’s Craigie Pirate has two wins and a third in his last three races (A, AA) for trainer Joel Roden. Imark Kennel’s Saber Bennett has back-to-back victories (B, A) for trainer Scott Purdy. Charter Kennel’s VJ Up Too Speed has two wins in a row (B, A) for trainer Jay Falcone. Rangel Kennel’s Pat C Dog Patch has three straight victories (D, C, B) for trainer Alex Hall. Previous Next

< Back RS'S PRIME TIME CAPTURES WVGOBA KEYSTONE STAKES Stan Pawloski Nov 30, 2021 Lester Raines Kennel’s RS’s Prime Time romped to victory Saturday afternoon in the final of the $65,000 West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association Keystone Championship at Wheeling Island. Breaking from the seven box, RS’s Prime Time rocketed out to an early lead and was never challenged in winning the 3/8th stake event by 5 lengths in 38.33. CET Dirty Gurly (Steve Sarras) took runner up honors while JA’s Moon Man (Code Red) rounded out the trifecta ticket. Completing the Keystone final finish were Mac’s Choo (A Ray), fourth; Mac’s Zhivago (A Ray), fifth; GLS Fast Food (Jacobs Racing), sixth; Macs Chapman (A Ray), seventh; and RS’s Blue Heaven (Lester Raines), eighth. RS’s Prime Time, sent to post as the overwhelming favorite, is owned by Kelly Jo Salem and trained by Joel Roden. Previous Next

< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of May 24, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski May 24, 2026 Steve Sarras Kennel’s Takeachanceonme has three straight victories (A, AA) for trainer Chuck DiGiovanni. Kennel-mate Neptune has two wins and three seconds in his last five outings (A, AA). Patriot/Taplin Kennel’s BL Community has back-to-back Grade AA victories for trainer Cheyney Kuriata. Kennel-mate JSP Paige Turner has two wins and a second in her last three trips (B, A). Blanchard Kennel’s Arkwild B Grinch has two straight Grade AA victories for trainer Chris Maynard. Xtrem Hess Racing Kennel’s JSP Adios Al has back-to-back wins (A, AA) for trainer Jill Spicer. Jacobs Racing Kennel’s DD’s Utter Chaos has two 3/16 victories in a row (TB, TAA) for trainer Natalie Looper. Previous Next

NGA Endorsed Adoption Groups - MO Back to Adoption Groups MoKan Greyhound Adoption Website Missouri, Kansas Prev Next

< Back 2024 WV BRED OPEN DISTANCE STAKE Jun 1, 2024 Congratulations to CG's Maggi for winning the WV Bred Open Distance Stakes race! Congratulations to owner Janice C. Abrahamson, trainer Todd Johnson, and the farm and kennel families of Abrahamson Kennel, LLC.! Congratulations to all the participants on an amazing stakes! Fantastic Finish! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGacJ2g7RZw Previous Next

< Back FULTON FUTURE STAR HAD A "NOSE" UP IN FUTURITY Shane Bolender Sep 8, 2020 He was the best young star during qualifying, nearly regardless of what metric you were using. Owner Kevin Fulton had a dual brother combination of young stars out of SH AVATAR that came into the 2020 Great American Greyhound Futurity with little history to go off of. FGF MATHIAS sure looked the part though. He was wasting little time climbing the grade ladder at Southland, earning a four race win streak a week or so before qualifying began and reached grade “B”. Once qualifying began, the “new puppy dust” started to wear off quickly and he was establishing himself to be one of the likely favorites to win it all. The first three rounds netted two wins and a second by a solo length behind youngster CTW BLACK FOREST who was one of the hottest greyhounds in those opening qualifying rounds. Those 40 points were easily enough to coast into the second set of three qualifying rounds. However, just like life itself, nobody really cares about what you did yesterday. What are you going to do now? The 76 pound brindle male responded in similar fashion. He won two of the next three rounds as well, finishing second this time to eventual fellow finalist AMOS DECKER, despite running into trouble early. Mathias nearly went last to first in such a style that you wondered just how fast and good is this young budding star?? His “little” brother (he is 3 pounds lighter), FGF BRANCH didn’t quite seem to have the talent his bigger brother did. In fact, the first three rounds were a bit shaky as he only earned 15 points with two third place finishes and a seventh. He survived the cut to the field and enjoyed the reset of the points to zero where he made the most of the second opportunity. We went undefeated in the final three rounds, being the only greyhound in the field to do so. Well, he hadn’t faced his brother in any of those three races, but he did beat fellow finalists SNL VIPER and AMOS DECKER. Plus he got a bonus in drawing the one box for the championship too. ELIZA FRASER (Gloria Dorsey Kennel) could be best summed up by saying she got stronger each and every race in qualifying. She was one of two females to make the championship field, but quickly dismissed any doubters about her skillset when she waxed a semi-finals field by just over seven lengths. The inside runner also drew a nice blue blanket for her run to the championship race, which would be her third straight start from the inside. The previous two attempts resulted in that big victory and a close second place effort. JS PRETTY FLY (Lester Raines Kennel) was one of two entries in the championship by trainer Monte Hoopes. Her racing style was a bit different from most in the field in the fact that she relied on a good break and even better rush to the first turn to do her damage. She never finished worse than 3rd in any of the six qualifying rounds and although she claimed two wins in those six starts, she had the lead in four of those six. SNL VIPER was the other Monte Hoopes trained entry in the championship and the 69 pound brindle male was boxed just to the outside of his kennelmate. And just like his kennelmate, this SH AVATAR sired youngster relied on his early speed as well. The more concerning part was that although he had the lead in five of his six qualifying rounds, he only held on for one win, which was in the opening round. AMOS DECKER was the second entry for trainer Natalie Looper who had the second most experience in the field with 23 starts (only kennelmate Eliza Fraser had more with 33). Unlike his kennelmate, he had the polar opposite of running styles. While Eliza Fraser liked the inside, Amos Decker loved the outside part of the track. Where Eliza relied on early speed for success, Amos more than not came off the pace. They both got their one win when it mattered the most though (last qualifying round) and all you need to do is have a seat at the table in stakes championships to have a shot. AB HUCK (Charter Kennel) was the third entry into the championship for trainer Stephen Ulrich. This 73 pound red male was probably the least talked about of the three entries thanks to the overwhelming success Branch and Mathias were having during qualifying. Although he won two of his six rounds, it was that last place finish in round 5 that almost sealed his fate out of the championship race. He had to win a tiebreaker against two other greyhounds, and the sole saving grace for him was a second place finish in the fourth round. This midtrack runner also drew on some more luck by drawing a six post for the championship race. SALUD BLACKJACK (Northshore Kennel) seemed destined for the championship race. In the opening round, he fell and finished last. The second round wasn’t much better when he finished fifth. His third place effort in round three earned him a total of 10 qualifying points after three rounds. He just missed not moving on at all. Fourth round action ended up with a seventh place finish, putting this 76 pounder in serious threat of not even making the consolation race. Then a fire struck inside him as he ran a very impressive 2nd to FGF Mathias in round five and then he obliterated a field by 6 ½ lengths that contained the likes of KB’S ROCKYBALBOA and CTW BLACK FOREST. This wide runner also drew the far outside post 8 for the championship. He was as hot as any coming into the finale. And what a finale it would be. When the box opened for the 2020 Great American Greyhound Futurity, nearly all the early speed came flying out of the box that you would expect. JS Pretty Fly, SNL Viper and FGF Branch had a three way duel going into the first turn with Salud Blackjack having all the room he wanted to rush up on the outside. Viper hugged the rail smartly to take control of the race through that first turn as well did Eliza Fraser. Blackjack had an incredibly clean trip around the turn and was closing on the leaders fast. FGF Branch got stepped on some from behind which broke his stride and ended his championship hopes. One greyhound everyone was looking for in the backstretch though was Mathias. And they found him, laying fifth but easily still within striking distance with half the race to go. And he needed 49.99% of it too. By the time the far turn came up, Blackjack had finally worn down Viper and Eliza Fraser couldn’t match his speed either. The one greyhound that could match that late kick was coming fast and quickly and that was Mathias. It would come down to those two in an epic stretch run. Blackjack swung toward the middle of track coming to the finish line, which had Mathias been a rail runner, could have resulted in an easier victory or path. Mathias swung a bit further outside in the stretch run which made the victory even tougher to come by considering the valuable ground he gave up in order to go to that part of the track. In one late last burst, Mathias pulled nearly even with Blackjack when the bright photo finish lights came up. It took a little while to know the results. The photo finish says it all. One greyhound is in extended gait crossing the finish line. The other, in contraction. The difference in a hundredth of a second and those two positions in their running strides resulted in a “win by a head” and a championship by FGF Mathias. If the race was just a hair longer than 583 yards, maybe a photo wouldn’t have even been needed. But then again, for us racing fans, we would have been stripped of this great finish if it would have happened any other way. FGF Mathias not only earned a championship, but showed the heart of a champion in the process. If this turns out to the be the last Great American Greyhound Futurity run, what a heck of a way to go out. Congratulations to all the connections for FGF Mathias, including the entire Fulton family, trainer Stephen Ulrich and kennel owner Rodney Cooley. HISTORICAL WINNERS – GREAT AMERICAN GREYHOUND FUTURITY · 1994 – DESIGN TIME (Bob Bradshaw) · 1995 – BEE LITE (Ron Beckner) · 1996 – BOMB THREAT (Bernie Colette) · 1997 – STAT US SKIPPER (J. Taylor & R. Sifferman) · 1998 – WW TIME WARP (Wayne Ward) · 1999 – HOTSHOT SALESMAN (Charles & Judith Moore) · 2000 – HAPPY VOYAGE (C. Don Godby) · 2001 – TOM S GREEN MILE (Tom Sugihara) · 2002 – WHIP LASH WINK (Jason Haynes & John Henry) · 2003 – SYSTEM MC ASICS (Jimmy King) · 2004 – ATASCOCITA LEROY (Atascocita Racing) · 2005 – ATASCOCIATE SMOKE (Atascocita Racing) · 2006 – FLYING BRITT (Flying Eagles Kennel) · 2007 – USS SAN JUAN (Ron Wiltse) · 2008 – FLYING TANADAK (Vince Berland) · 2011 – TIGER UP A TREE (Vince Berland)* · 2016 – ATASCOCITA SIG (George Ulmer)** · 2017 – KONOMI (Robert Hardison)** · 2018 – FIESTA MOUNTAIN (Jeff Blair) *** · 2019 – SALUD APOLLO (Jeff Blair & Michael Montoya)*** · 2020 – FGF MATHIAS (Kevin Fulton) *** 1994-2008 races run at The Woodlands * run at Victoryland ** run at Wheeling Island *** run at Southland August 29, 2020 – Evening (Great American Greyhound Futurity Championship) · Race: 3 Grade: SAA Distance: 583 Condition: F Fgf Mathias 7 7 5 4 1-ns 31.99 .80 SAA G.A.G.F. Champion Salud Blackjack 8 6 2 1-1 2-ns 32.00 7.30 SC Outdueled Late Wd Eliza Fraser 2 3 3 3 3-6 32.42 7.20 SAA Bmpd Str Turn Ins Fgf Branch 1 2 6 6 4-6.5 32.46 3.10 SAA Bmpd 1st Turn Mt Ab Huck 6 8 4 5 5-7 32.49 36.80 SAA Blckd Str Turn Ins SNL Viper 4 4 1-1.5 2 6-7.5 32.53 12.30 SA Bmpd Str Turn Rl Amos Decker 5 5 8 8 7-8.5 32.60 36.50 SA Bmpd 1st Turn Wd Js Pretty Fly 3 1 7 7 8-13 32.90 7.10 SAA Bmpd 1st Turn In s Previous Next