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< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of December 14, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski Dec 14, 2020 Blanchard Kennel’s HKF Friskyfranny has six wins and a second in her last seven Grade TAA 3/8 races for trainer Sarah Blanchard. Kennel-mates BWC Millie has two victories and a second in her last three Grade AA trips, TW Tonka has won three out of his last four outings (B, A, AA) while Rockdown Storm (B, A) and Fuzzys Annaconda (B, A) have back-to-back wins. Brad Boeckenstedt Kennel’s BGR Big Al has five victories and three seconds in his last nine Grade AA starts for trainer Frank Pellittere. Kennel-mate BGR Coyote Ugly has two straight wins (B, A). Lester Raines Kennel’s Rooftop Blondish has captured three out of her last four Grade AA races for trainer Joel Roden. Kennel-mate Kelsos Kitcarson has three victories, a second and a third in his last five starts (C, B, A). Jacobs Racing Kennel’s Abbi’s Gusta Win (AA) and Girl Happy (C, B, A) have won three out of their last four races for trainer Alisha Nichols. Xtrem Hess Racing Kennel’s Keeper Cry has captured three out of his last four trips (C, B, A) for trainer Jill Spicer. Kennel-mate UX Hoof Hearted has three straight wins (D, C, B). Previous Next

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< Back FF Vespa captures 2025 win crown, Top Greyhound honors Stan Pawloski Jan 19, 2026 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). Previous Next

< Back WVGOBA JUVENILE SET TO KICK OFF Stan Pawloski Sep 6, 2022 The $35,000 West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association Juvenile kicks off Friday, Sept. 9, at Wheeling Island with a field of 19 sprinters. The second round is set for Wednesday, Sept. 14, and the semifinals on Sunday, Sept. 18. The championship final will be Friday afternoon, Sept. 23. Entries by kennel for the Juvenile event follow: A Ray: Mac’s Forrest, Mac’s Monreaux, Mac’s Davin, Mac’s Jonquil. Code Red: CG’s Boy Blue, JA’s Goal, Arroyo Roxanne. Imark: CET Barracuda, CET Piranha, CET Fernando, CET Marlin. Rangel: LFR Lucky Clover, LFR Lucky Seven. Steve Sarras: CET Moto Moto, CET Tiger Boy, CET Sashaligotti, CET High Ball, CET Lilly, CET Foxy. The $65,000 WVGOBA Panhandle Sprint is planned for October. The first round will be Friday, Oct. 7, the second round on Wednesday, Oct. 12 and the semifinals on Sunday, Oct. 16. The championship final is set for Friday afternoon, Oct. 21. Previous Next

< Back $64,000 SPRINT CLASSIC PREVIEW Feb 13, 2020 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – No 550-yard stakes series at Derby Lane is more lucrative than the $64,000 Sprint Classic. With $25,000 going to the champion, the stakes will be high Saturday when one of the track’s premier events gets underway. Since Montague Maze of Moses-Crawford kennel prevailed in the inaugural series in 1976, 44 greyhounds have won the Sprint Classic. No dog has won it twice. That could change if defending champion LK’s Crush N It has his way again in the 45th edition. “I think he can do it if he gets right and starts breaking again,’’ Lashmet kennel manager and trainer Ken Deacon said. “He’s had almost 100 races against the best. “I gave him a little bit of time off. He’s back, and if he gets back to his sharp form, he has a chance of winning it again . . . without a doubt.’’ Thirty-two greyhounds have been entered in Races 4 (8:10 p.m.), 6 (8:39), 8 (9:13) and 10 (9:47). The field will be cut in half after Wednesday’s second round. Two final qualifiers will determine the eight-dog championship field on Feb. 29. Points are accumulated in each race by order of finish on a 16-10-8-6-3-2-1-0 scale. LK’s Crush N It was fabulous in 2019. His Sprint Classic title was the highlight in a season that featured four stakes championships, a national win title with 50 victories, and a pair of Derby Lane top-dog crowns. The 38-month-old male from a litter by LK’s Now R Never and LK’s All In captured the Sprint Classic with an unblemished record – winning all five races, including four qualifiers – to become the second dog in series history to claim the title in unbeaten fashion. The first greyhound to pull off the feat was 2007 winner Hometown Boy of Floyd & Porter kennel. LK’s Crush N It’s clocking of 30.24 seconds in the title race was the fourth fastest in a Sprint Classic finale. Lego Andrew, winner of the 2016 event for Floyd kennel, owns the best time of 30.06 seconds. A lifetime winner of 69 races and more than $103,000 in career earnings from 98 starts, LK’s Crush N It prepped for the Sprint Classic on Monday with a box-to-wire, 7-length victory in 30.44 seconds. LK’s Crush N It drew into Race 8 and starts from box 3. His kennelmate, LK’s Santorini, winner of the $18,000 Inaugural on Jan. 4, is another solid contender in Race 6 and begins from post 6. She is a 34-month-old daughter of LK’s Vespar and LK’s Chardonnay. Both greyhounds are owned by kennel operators and breeders John and Jill Lashmet of Eaton, Colo. “(LK’s Santorini) is running better than the big dog (LK’s Crush N It) is right now,’’ Deacon said. “She’s won six of her last nine races and has only been out of the money once in 10 starts (either first or second). I give her just as much as a chance (as LK’s Crush N It).’’ Lashmet, which ranked in third place in wins among the 14 kennels through Thursday, can become the first operation in 10 years to repeat as a Sprint Classic champion. Only four kennels have won at least two titles consecutively, the last being McAllister in 2009-10. Greymeadow (1998-2000) won the title three years in a row, while E.J. Alderson (1988-89) and Darby Henry (1983-84) were back-to-back champions. Deacon likes his chances to repeat, but he also has an eye on Shoot The Breeze of Floyd kennel. Shoot The Breeze, which has won his past three starts by a total of 24-1/2 lengths, has clocked the meet’s four quickest times on the 550-yard course, including 30.05 seconds on Feb. 3. The 28-month-old son of Derby Lane track record holder Trent Lee and Danicas Go Daddy is owned by kennel operators Randy and Pat Floyd. He drew box 8 in Race 10. “Shoot The Breeze is the best dog here at the track at the moment,’’ Deacon said. “He’s running hard. Everybody’s saying (there’s) a new sheriff in town. “But they run the races and things happen. He’s definitely the main challenger.’’ Deacon says getting off to a good start – both out of the starting box and in the series – is the recipe to success. “The break is 95 percent of it,’’ he said. “If you break, you get away and get around the trouble. Once you get a lead on a good Grade A dog, it’s tough to catch it. The post position plays a big part here. “I always want to win the first couple of races (in qualifying). If you win one of the first two (rounds), it almost guarantees you (to advance) with 16 points.’’ Previous Next

< Back NGA SPRING MEET SCHOOLING RESULTS - WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 Jim Gartland Apr 14, 2021 48 races scheduled: Dragged after every 10, no watering. Conditions: Sunny, cool, 43 degrees – Track: Fast (SCR = Scratched - HS = Hand Slip, no time) JAY RANGEL - (Race 1) 30.63, 30.40, 30.87, 30.97, 31.22, 31.39, 30.79, 31.59, 31.50, 31.23, 32.22, 30.98, 31.27, 31.60, 31.52, 31.77, 31.89, SCR SHANNON HENRY - (Race 2) 30.72, 30.69, 31.76, 31.02, 31.24, 31.61, 31.44, 32.49, 31.68, 31.55, 31.44, 31.62 DAVID STRONG - (Race 3) 30.41, 30.54, 30.62, 30.68, 31.19, 30.67, 31.01 SEASTROM KENNELS - (Race 4) 30.18 , 31.06, 30.63, 31.14, 31.00, 31.24, 31.34, 31.21, 31.39, 31.96, HS Previous Next

< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of October 11, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Oct 11, 2021 Blanchard Kennel’s Frappe has three wins and two seconds in her last five starts (AA, SAA) for trainer Sarah Blanchard. Kennel-mate Penrose Boss has won three out of his last four outings (AA, SAA). Lester Raines Kennel’s O Ya Trisha has four straight 3/16 victories (TA, TAA) for trainer Joel Roden. Kennel-mates Teaser’s Tickle (B, A, SAA) and Flute Able (B, A, AA) have captured three out of their last four trips. Jacobs Racing Kennel’s Abbi’s Eagle has three wins in a row (A, SAA) for trainer Louise Strong. Rangel Kennel’s JS Express Male has won three out of his last four races (A, AA) for trainer John Farmer. Kennel-mate JS Sugar Rush has back-to-back 3/8 victories (B, TAA). Patriot/Taplin Kennel’s GF St Martin has three straight wins (B, A, AA) for trainer Joe Otto. Wayne Ward Kennel’s WW West Wing has three victories in a row (D, C, B) for trainer Ron Otto. Previous Next

< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as May 23, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski May 23, 2022 Charter Kennel’s Jack Parkman (AA) and Seven Summers (TAA 3/8) have captured three out of their last four races for trainer James Campbell. Kennel-mates Barts Kissmyaxle (AA), Oshkosh Hermosa (B, TAA 3/8) and ADH Audie Murphy (B, A) have back-to-back wins while Oshkosh Nicole has three victories, a second and a third in her last five outings (C, B, A). Lester Raines Kennel’s JS Slush Fund has back-to-back Grade AA wins for trainer Joel Roden. Kennel-mate RS’s Power House has won three out of his last four trips (M, D, C). Steve Sarras Kennel’s Florentine has two straight Grade AA victories for trainer Jay Falcone. A Ray Kennel’s AMF My Boy Tank has three wins in a row (C, B, A) for trainer Joe Palmer. Xtrem Hess Racing Kennel’s Sabaton has back-to-back victories (B, A) for trainer Jill Spicer. Previous Next

< Back Double trouble as CG's Nail Biter and CG's Maggi capture NGA's Best Of Awards Jim Gartland Mar 4, 2025 With less racing opportunities, no real stake programs, and a much smaller pool of competitors, the NGA awards singling out the best of the best at each distance took on a new look in 2023. Historically labeled the Rural Rube and Flashy Sir awards, in 2023 honorees were simply tabbed as America's best sprinter and router. That tradition continues in 2024 and two Tri State racers from the same kennel and owner have been chosen as recipient's of the awards for this past year. CG's Nail Biter and distance star, CG's Maggi have been named as recipients of the two awards and will be honored at ceremonies during the spring meet on Thursday, April 17. A 2021 son of Jax Yardley-CG's Lady Bug , CG's Nail Biter finished with 36 wins for the year easily making him the top winning greyhound in America. He finished out of the money in only three of his starts all year. He had win streaks of 5, 7 and 8 (twice) over the course of the season and was easily chosen as the Best Sprinter for the year. He would finish the season with a 50-36-6-2-3 record and was also named Captain of the 2024 All Star team. Owned by Janice Abrahamson, Nail Biter was raced by the Abrahamson Kennel at Tri State . A much deserved award for this fabulous sprinter. Congratulations to Janice, and all the connections of CG's Nail Biter ! CG's Maggi was an almost unanimous choice for the best distance dog in the land award finishing the year with 14 wins (12 distance) at Tri State despite missing the last three months of racing. Moving to the backside in late March, she immediately went on a tear, winning nine of her first twelve starts including the $65,000 West Virginia Breeders distance stake. Maggi is a January 2022 daughter of CG's October-Jax Freida. She is owned by Janice Abrahamson and raced for the Abrahamson Kennel at Tri State. She finished her abbreviated racing year with a record of 37-14-4-3-6. Congratulations to the Abrahamson operation in sweeping the "Best Of" awards for 2024! These two will be honored at the awards ceremonies program at the Greyhound Hall of Fame on Thursday night, April 17, during the NGA's Spring Meet. Previous Next

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< Back Wheeling Hot Dogs ( as of May 15, all races 5/16 unless otherwise noted ) Stan Pawloski May 15, 2023 Blanchard Kennel’s Artex Pumbaa has three straight Grade AA victories for trainer Sarah Blanchard. Kennel-mate Arkans TMC Athos has back-to-back Grade AA wins. Patriot/Taplin Kennel’s SE Tap House has two victories and two seconds in his last four Grade AA races for trainer Joe Otto. Xtrem Hess Racing Kennel’s Xtrem Chicken has two wins and two seconds in her last four Grade TAA 3/16 starts for trainer Jill Spicer. A Ray Kennel’s AMF Gotta Go has back-to-back Grade AA victories for trainer Joe Palmer. Lester Raines Kennel’s Solomon Suntinca has two wins and a second in her last three 3/16 outings (TB, TA) for trainer Joel Roden. Kennel-mates JS Big Impact (B, A) and JS Atomic Dawg (B, A) have back-to-back victories while JS Oopsie Daisy has won three out of her last four races (D, C, B). Wayne Ward Kennel’s WW Dunkin Switch has captured three out of her last four trips (C, B, A) for trainer Ron Otto. Code Red Kennel’s Arroyo Ruger (TD, TC, TA 3/16) and FF Leroy Brown (M, D, C) have three straight wins for trainer Tom Engle. Previous Next