Palm Beach Weekly Wrap Up 2-20-2017

*Derby Semifinal Winner Fraulein Morgan*

How can you beat a week where one of Palm Beach's biggest stars gets featured on Fox News & one of the oldest tournaments in the country was a fantastic watch?  You can't!

Here are the top racing stories we watched over the past 7 days at "The Beach."

Janice Dean The Greyhound On Fox News!

It's been a few weeks in the making, but the national news ran the story we've all been waiting for.

Janice Dean the greyhound made national headlines this week, as she was featured on the hit morning show Fox & Friends last Monday.  The greyhound named after the meteorologist on the show was featured after she had won the $50,000 He's My Man Classic and won by 13 lengths in the Derby 2nd Round.

As we've been saying for months now, the real Janice Dean has been following our coverage closely with the success of her namesake on our social media feeds. Besides giving me a shout out on the show, she also declared she's thinking about coming down for the Derby Final next Saturday!

I heard a few comments after this came out that this is the first time in nearly 20 years that there has been something positive about the industry on national television.  If that's true, I am very grateful that I was a part of putting this together. I hope that the media will start to see that this truly is a sport that many around the world care deeply about and is worth covering just like every other sport.  Can you imagine the coverage this greyhound will get if she wins the Derby and goes for a Triple Crown in the St Pats Invite next month?

Congrats to the Brindle Kennel, Palm Beach and the sport as a whole on a momentous story.

If you missed it, here's a link to the feature:

*Wicked Twista*

Derby Finalists Announced

After four rounds of intense tournament action, the eight Finalists for the 86th running of the $50,000 James W. Paul 3/8th Mile Derby were announced on Sunday.  They include:

Fraulein Morgan  ~ Janie Carroll Kennel

Janice Dean  ~ Brindle Kennel

Wicked Twista  ~ North Shore Kennel

O Ya Maybelline  ~ Janie Carroll Kennel

Barts Wanna Bet  ~ Douglas Kennel

RY's Priscilla  ~ Brindle Kennel

Barts RealSmooth  ~ Douglas Kennel

Go Bon Kickstart  ~ Royal Racing Team

The Final will be contested this Saturday February 25th in the Matinee 12th Race! We'll have new pictures of all eight finalists on our feeds all week leading up to the big finale. All important post draw will be this Thursday.

Derby SemiFinals

Before the Finalists could be announced, we needed one more round of greyhound action to decide who would move on.  16 hounds lined it up Saturday afternoon, with only 8 allowed to move on.

We finally got the jaw dropping long shot we were waiting on, as Barts Wanna Bet from the Douglas Kennel shocked the tourney by taking the first semifinal at an astounding 19-1 odds. The three year old veteran transfer from Derby Lane needed a huge win to advance to the Final and did just that, going box to wire in a personal best 37.91 secs!

Replay: http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gPB%2420170219A12

In the 14th, a star studded cast that included Janice Dean, hot shot Wicked Twista and season wins leader Fraulein Morgan lined up in what many considered to be a Finals preview.

Ultimately, it was the "Fabulous One" Morgan who was impossible to catch, as she rocketed out of the starting box and wouldn't relent as she took home the semifinal victory in a fiery 37.56 secs.  This was Morgan's 25th win on the season, putting her up an astounding nine W's in the track championship chase.

Here's the replay:

http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gPB%2420170219A14



Old Smokey Still Getting It Done

Turning four years old for a greyhound racer is like turning 40 for a professional athlete. Your skills just aren't what they used to be when you first got in the game.  That is true for everybody else except for PJ Smoke Em Out.

The pride of the Agganis Kennel at nearly 5 years old is still getting it done at the highest level in South Florida.  "Smokey" won yet another Grade A start this past Saturday, as he went box to wire for his 6th victory of the season.

Smoke Em Out has had a decorated career at "The Beach" which has included three Stakes Finals and nearly climbed the Grade Ladder as a pup, winning his first five starts way back in 2014.



Trainer Bob Dawson has worked with Smokey his entire career and has nothing but praise for his veteran star.

"All heart, I love this boy," Dawson told us.  " He has ran against the best speed dogs in the country here and gives it his all every race.  Just look at his career record, it speaks for itself."

Look for Smokey to make an unheard of 200th start at Palm Beach when he lines it up later this week.

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