Palm Beach Weekly Wrap Up 8/14/2016

Another fantastic week of racing at the Palm Beach Kennel Club! Lets take a look at the top stories we witnessed:

Rivalry Put On Hold For All The Right Reasons

The anticipation for the rivalry races between the co-season track champions from last year Ethel Is Here & Atascocita Camry is at an all time high.  To see two of the best middle distance racers in the country go toe to toe on the Rhonda Course is something special for sure. The last two races between them were very tight, with both greyhounds each taking one of them.

Another round of battle was set to wage in Sunday's Matinee.  Camry looked like she had upgraded to V8 power on this day, as she flew out of the box and built an insurmountable lead that nobody could touch.  This bout was headed to her team at Suncoast Racing.

Then the announcement over the mic from track announcer Dale Simons shocked the patrons of South FLA when the contest was declared a No Race.  This is a very rare occasion and set the Internet on fire wondering what in the world had just happened.

What the viewers had not seen on camera was that one of the racers coming around the first curve completely checked that turn and started running the wrong way in the middle of the race.  Anybody in the sport will tell you this is a very dangerous situation for all greyhounds involved.  Imagine two high speed locomotives racing towards each other on the same track is the best way to put it.

Palm Beach had seen instances like this before and was prepared for it.  A year ago, they installed a system called a Safety Lure that protects the athletes for situations like this. Basically what the lure does is collapse with a push of a button, stopping the racer from wanting to chase it.  This happened on this day, as the wrong way running greyhound was easily scooped up by one of the lead outs and nobody watching at home even noticed.

When Palm Beach officials say they are putting the safety of the greyhounds first, they meant it and it showed during this time. PBKC should absolutely be applauded for their efforts on this day in what could have been a very dark time for the sport.   In actuality, it's just a minor inconvenience that we just have to wait a few days to see the rivals meet once again, as the race will be redone later in the week.

Lester Raines Kennel Headed To "The Beach?"

With a kennel opening happening after Blu Too closed up shop last week, the rumors have been swirling on who will be moving their team down to South Florida.  A front runner has emerged and it's Lester Raines.  The 2015 Southland Kennel Champion has been a force in the game for a very long time, including dominating runs with his team in West Virginia over the last three decades. He also owns the top sprinter at Southland last season and National Championship Finalist Flying Fired Up.

This would be an absolute grand slam for Palm Beach if this happens, which I'm being told from multiple reliable sources is highly likely.  Raines puts mega dollars into his team and would bring superb talent to this track. Stay tuned to this very intriguing story.

The New King Of Royal Racing

With the closing of the Blu Too Kennel, all of their talent switched over to Royal Racing and the effects are paying off immediately.

Blu Too Tarmac in his first race with his new team on Wednesday sizzled a 29.39 secs victory in impressive style.  The 22 time winner gives Royal a legit stakes contender and one of the most popular greyhounds at the track.  Big Mack attack seems to like the new royalty he is getting.

Sentinel & Moose Continue To Roll

This seasons co wins leaders continue to be "Sensational" Sentinel from Ryan Racing & GV MooseIsLoose from the Douglas Kennel.

Sentinel rolled to an easy 29.57 secs victory in Friday's Matinee, which track announcer Mike Jameson stated in his race call that it didn't look like he was even trying that hard with how much he was cruising.  Not to be outdone, "The Mooooooooose" got loose in the finale by recovering from a terrible box break to narrowly get the comeback win.

With 7 wins already this season, these are your two early favorites to represent Palm Beach in the National Championship without a doubt.

The Fastest Billboard Ever Does It Again!

Our home office in San Francisco was sent into euphoria once again on Saturday night, as our name sake BetOn BetAmerica got her second win of the month on the super sprint course.  She just keeps reminding our loyal patrons that we are a great place to play. Keep on rocking!

Labor Day Puppy Stakes Coming Up!

It's that time of year again, as the $20,000 Labor Day Puppy Stakes Tourney gets underway this Wednesday afternoon. We'll have our Preview out before it all gets rolling, with predictions from us and other prominent members of the greyhound racing industry for you.  Who will take the top prize this time around as PJ St Pierre from Rader Racing did last year?

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