Points climbed to an all-time season high last week at Gulf Greyhound Park

Points climbed to an all-time season high last week at Gulf Greyhound Park as week five of the nine-week meet concluded. The added matinee honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King did not hamper the increase that saw points jump from $418.45 the previous week to $502.01. According to Gulf Greyhound General Manager Sally Briggs the weekend wagering was higher than previous weeks. That increase along with the exclusive monies awarded during the TX racing meet makes a booking at Gulf Greyhound a highly sought after commodity.
Libby-Watt kennel trained by Jake Ung’s is still forging ahead of their rivals in the top spot for the fifth week in a row. The majority of the greyhounds shipped from Iowa when the meet ended in November. The kennel arrived with a well-balanced list that has carried them through. Among their stars is Atascocita Nazz that is TX bred and will be eligible for the upcoming $50,000 Texas Showdown next month. The kennel boasts several top ten contenders including JS Drews Money, CTW Watch Me Fly, BGR Wolverine, Bossman Jake and Atascocita Nazz. The Libby-Watt kennel won 12 races last week adding to the season total of 49 wins from 262 starts. 
Terri Suggs was right on Ung’s’ heels last week with her athlete’s competing from Rocket Racing. Suggs won 11 races including a victory with a returning fan favorite Hashtag Dangrite. The impressive male continues to impress with his sub-thirty second times. He raced at Gulf last year before making a home at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Casino where he shipped from. Dangrite along with kennelmate Hashtag Ajax are among the top ten. Sugg’s week moved the kennel into a tie for fourth place for the season with 27 wins from 244 starts. 
Nick James kennel is currently in second place for the meet with 32 wins from 244 starts. The Craig Edwards trained kennel houses several top grade stars including Britney Eureton one of the kennel’s TX bred pups eligible for the upcoming stakes. JS Jail Bait and Turbo Noah from the kennel are also among the top ten. 
Currid kennel is currently in third place with 30 wins from 248 starts. Trainer Chey Kuriata has no shortage of top grade TX athletes on the roster. KB’s Dagger, JT’s Mr Crowley and JT’s Live Wire are the kennel’s top dogs ranking among the ten best for the meet. Currid has the most active racers and has plenty of TX bred pups to choose from for the upcoming stakes.
New to this year’s roster is Parker-Magic City kennel currently tied for fourth place in the kennel standings. With 27 wins from 229 starts trainer Bill Nihan trains Turbo Dante that boasts a 57% win record this meet. That total ranks Dante with the third largest win percentage among the top ten athletes.
Dalton-Raines kennel ranks sixth with 26 wins from 214 starts. Although sixth in the ranking the kennel boasts the current top dog KBF Country Gal. She has the highest win percent with an impressive 80% win record from 5 starts. Country Gal came from Tri State and has come alive for trainer Joe Osborne that has watched her win four of her past five starts in TX. Racing Wishes that also competes from Dalton-Raines has recorded a 60% win record this meet.
Although he is no stranger to the greyhound industry long time TX breeder Kirk Harlan is at Gulf for the first time with his own booking. The kennel has recorded 24 wins from 215 starts and boasts a 43% in the money record, which is the second highest behind Libby-Watt with 46%. The Harlan roster includes a majority of TX bred athletes including the well-known Slatex contenders. L Redstreak and Slatex Triton are among the kennel’s top grade athletes under the care of veteran trainer Sissy Sabell.
Ken Slovick trains Rosebud-Nova kennel that complete the kennel standings with 23 wins from 229 starts. The Limmer family which owns the kennel, are long time TX breeders and kennel operators. One of the kennel’s hopefuls for the upcoming TX stakes is FL stakes contender Dancin Doocy that was raised and is owned by Peter Limmer. Doocy’s home track is in St. Petersburg FL where the Nova kennel also has a booking.
The kennels will be selecting their top stars for the $50,000 Texas Showdown that begins February 9th. Thirty-two greyhounds will compete in three rounds with no cuts. The top eight point getters after the Feb. 17th round three will move to the stakes final held during the season finale Saturday night February 23.
For more information visit gulfgreyhound.com and listen to the weekly podcasts on the home page featuring all things Gulf Greyhound and a little more with host John Paul Faour.