Greyhound Stakes at Southland and Mardi Gras on Monday April 22, 2013

Southland's Spring Futurity Stakes Round 3

Races 5 through 7 and 16 through 18 feature some of this year's best young greyhounds as they vie for a win in the third round of this series.

In Race 5, SE's Brother should be able to get the lead from the 2 box and will probably be chased by #5 Big Road. Or will it be the other way around? And will #8 Braska's Shasta be able to get a piece of the action or will #1 Zumway get his groove back and be the spoiler?

Race 6 has the speedy but inconsistent U Too Spiner in the 3 box with WW Fastrak Joe way out in the tough to overcome 6 box. #7 Elvara is even farther out, so I lean toward the classy #5 Wayward Angel to be in the exotics or maybe even first at the wire.

Race 7 is another race where the class seems to be on the outside in the form of #6 Kandue. #1 Identical Dream has been moving up in class, but has had some frustrating races lately. Will he be able to avoid trouble and show his speed in this one? And will #8 Scarlet Hill be able to repeat that 5 and 1/2 length win from the 8 box she had five races ago?

U Too Pure Silk has the 5 box and will no doubt have the bulk of the betting money in Race 16. This young fellow has dazzled with his speed and racing smarts ever since he started for Charter Kennel. There's a lot of early speed in this race, including #6 Track Dynasty and #7 Braska Digger. Expect to see a very competitive race with a very fast finish time.

Race 17 has speed and class combined in #1 Constant Dream, one of the Kelsos Fusileer-Lacy Jean pups. And up and comer #3 Aristotle Drive should be closing fast at the wire. Can he catch her or will #4 Dutch Hilary or #8 JHawksweatmyswag show his back speed and beat everyone to the wire?

Race 18 should belong to #1 Mike Ross, who has hit the quiniela in 12 out of 19 races this year. That's if he can stay out of trouble and outrun #5 Atascocita Gray, another classy speedster and #4 KF's Memorymaker whose times just seem to be getting faster with every race.

Handicap carefully, because anything can happen when young dogs are on the track.

Mardi Gras $10,000 Floridian Stakes Semi-Finals on the Late Card

The marathon showdown continues in races 7 and 8 at Mardi Gras as 16 greyhounds compete in the 3rd round of the distance stakes.

In the 7th race, expect to see #2 GoodLuckSterling, who has won his last two in this series, at very low odds, in spite of the 9-2 morning line odds. He likes the inside and he likes winning and has done it in 10 out of 21 races this year. #7 Wannadobadthings and #8 Casper Van Dien, classy but stuck on the outside again, may be able to stop him, but they'll need to catch a break with those post positions.

In the 8th race, #5 Santa's Clifton looks tough to beat. However, his litter mate, Santa's Ward in the 8 box might have some ideas on how to do that. And #4 Lucky Betty and #1 Kiowa June Jax might have one of their good nights when they show a little more speed than they have in the past and close for a piece of the action.

There are sure to be some surprises and good betting opportunities so get your free programs from Bet America and play your favorites at Southland on Monday's Twilight program. As always, safe trips and good racing luck to all the runners.

Congratulations to Trickapalooza, winner of the $20,000 Bob Balfe Puppy Stakes at Palm Beach on Saturday night. With an inside run, this son of Gable Sour Cream and Odd Garbo managed to prevail over the very talented Superior Kotton, PJ Timeless and Ol Stewball and win for Brindle Kennel. Judging by their performances, this year's puppy pack promises to be one of the best in recent years.