Palm Beach Weekly Wrap Up 2-12-2017

A week that saw tears, fantastic racing and a lot of celebrating made Palm Beach again the center of the greyhound universe.  Fans said goodbye and happy retirement to a legend and the 50K Derby tournament is just as exciting as advertised.

Lets look back at the weeks top stories at "The Beach."

Ethel Is Here Officially Retired

"In all the years we have been doing these retirement ceremonies, this one was the most emotional."

This was Track Handicapper and nearly 40 year employee of Palm Beach Jeff Prince's quote after a retirement celebration that will be remembered forever.

Ethel Is Here was officially retired during Friday's Matinee after a career that was absolutely unmatched. If you felt you had never seen a greyhound quite like her, it's because you probably haven't. She leaves with a 2016 Derby Championship, a Track Championship last season and a Track Record time of 37.13 secs on the 660 yard Pat C Rendezvous oval.  No other greyhound since He's My Man back in 1988 could say they have accomplished all of those at the same time.

Long time trainer Monica Smith was very proud of the accomplishments of Ethel.

"Ethel is a very special and beautiful greyhound!" Smith told us.  "She was an amazing little girl who always gave it her all.  She was very, very spoiled that's for sure."

If you missed the retirement festivities, here is a replay of the entire ceremony:

 

 

What's next for Ethel?  She is now on her way to owner Monte Jacobs' Farm in Claflin, Kansas where she will be preparing for her new life as a future mama.  The "Blue Bomber" was a tremendous athlete and a thrill to cover for the past three seasons.  Good luck Ethel! Your fans including myself will certainly miss you.

Derby Qualifying

This 50K tournament couldn't be anymore exciting if it tried.

The 86th running of the James W. Paul 3/8ths Mile Derby got rolling this week with much anticipation on who would be the next ruler of the middle distance.  As expected, He's My Man Champion Janice Dean (pictured) from the Brindle Kennel breezed through her first two rounds and is your current points leader heading into the final round of qualifying.

All the real Janice Dean from Fox News could say on her Twitter feed after watching her namesake throttle the competition was "Wowza!!!"

Any player that won the superfecta in Dean's race was also jumping for the moon, as the winner took home a cool $10,654!  One of the bigger super payouts I've ever seen since I've been covering this place.

Replay : http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gPB%2420170211A15

O Ya Maybelline from the Janie Carroll Kennel also has been impressive, scoring two opening round wins as well.  She has now won 7 out of 8 starts all time at Palm Beach in the 660 yard distance.  She will go head to head with "The Weather Machine" this Wednesday in the 3rd round of this tournament.

Season wins leader Fraulein Morgan picked up a victory and a place, putting her in prime position to make her first stakes final at Palm Beach.  The "Bachelorette" has 24 wins now on the season with the next best behind her way back with 17.

The third round of the tournament fires back up this Wednesday.  The Final will be held on Saturday February 25th.

World Series Of Poker Back at Palm Beach

The WSOP tour is back in South Florida, with multiple tournaments starting last Thursday.  Look for the best poker players in the land to take over "The Beach" all the way until the conclusion on Feburary 20th.

Most importantly though are that the award feature races are back as well!  The first blanket was handed out on Thursday, as Pete Carroll from Rader Racing took home the kickoff feature.  Look for these races to be featured all tournament long.

That's all we have for this week.  We'll see you next time for the Wrap Up!