Palm Beach Weekly Wrap Up 10/9/2016

Another exciting week of greyhound action we saw at the Palm Beach Kennel Club and around the sport.   Lets get into the top stories we witnessed:

Hurricanes Matthew Closes Palm Beach

One of the biggest storms South Florida had seen in some time arrived this week with Hurricane Matthew.  With winds over 140 M.P.H. and it's eyes set squarely on the region, many people evacuated or boarded up in anticipation of this monster.  The Palm Beach Kennel Club also took precautions ahead of the chaos by closing it's doors this past Thursday in a rare sight that usually is only reserved for Thanksgiving & Christmas.

Miraculously the eye of the storm stayed off land and the damage in and around Palm County was minimal.  I was stunned to hear that the damage was so little that Palm Beach opened their doors at 10:00 A.M. and ran the regularly scheduled Matinee & Evening cards on Friday. Prayers for safety for our fur friends and people were certainly answered.

Anybody who doesn't think trainers or kennel personal put the safety of their greyhounds first were again sadly mistaken during this experience. Many stories of people spending all night on Wednesday with their athletes during the storm and making sure they were taken care of were spread all around social media. Very thankful this storm in South FLA was a miss and we are all back to business as usual.

Oaks Maddy Locks Up A National Championship Spot

What a month proud Palm Beach alumni Oaks Maddy as had over at Southland Park!

After taking the $100,000 Arkansas Bred Sprint Championship title last Saturday afternoon, Maddy won another stakes title yesterday with the 10K Kings Vs. Queens Challenge.  Along with winning more cash and a fancy blanket produced by United Greyhound Racing, Maddy also earned an automatic bid to the BetAmerica Daytona 550 National Championship coming up in January.  The former Rader Racing product won her 6th straight race and might be the most dominant runner in the country right now.

Crucial That The Best of The Best Go To Daytona

At the time this article went to post, owners of Oaks Maddy were undecided on if they should bring her to the National Championship.  Here's a few reasons why any owner should:

~You get $3,000 for just coming to the meet (comparable to a AA Southland victory)

~The minimum purse is $40,000 to the winner but has a chance to be much more

~Is one of the most watched broadcasts of any greyhound coverage the entire year

~The obvious one....you could win a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  Only Husker Magic & last years winner Need My MoneyNow can claim this status.  In my opinion, any races you might miss at Southland or any other track for a few weeks can wait for something that is much bigger. Hopefully Maddy's owners & other owners around the country that get invites take this serious because your greyhound or your team may only get one shot at this.

Having this championship is a tremendous boast for this industry and the sport needs everybody on board if it is to continue to grow. People clamored for this type of championship for years and now we finally have it.  Support it!

Stay tuned the next few months to see who the final 8 will be as we head towards the Daytona 550.

Moose Continues To Get Loose

Speaking of NC contenders, GV MooseIsLoose continued his quest for South Florida dominance by sizzling a 29.50 secs blowout victory in Friday's Matinee.  After hunkering down all Thursday during Hurricane Matthew, you could tell Moose was ready to rumble as he broke from the box and didn't let off the gas until the finish line. This was his season leading 11th season win with a ridiculous 64% winning percentage.

Moose keeps this up and the national committee will have no choice but to send him an invite.  Plus those Mooooooooooose calls on Belvedere & Congress Avenue are a blast to listen to.

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