Palm Beach Weekly Wrap Up 5-7-2017

*Fraulein Morgan*

What a gigantic week for racing!

With near record crowds at both Churchill Downs and the Palm Beach Kennel Club for Derby Saturday, it seems everybody in the country has the racing fever this year.  Along with Florida lawmakers again saying no to casino expansion and decoupling of racing, it was certainly a week to be remembered in the Sunshine State.

Lets take a look back at the last seven days and the top racing stories we saw in South Florida.

Derby Day

Track Announcer Mike Jameson has stated this is easily one of the biggest days of the year at PBKC and it showed on Saturday.  People packed America's favorite greyhound destination early and stayed late to the tune of $1.1 million dollars in Handle for the Matinee & Evening race cards.

Is it just because of the Kentucky Derby that Palm Beach always does well year after year on this date? Yes and no.  The Derby helps racing all around of course as handles skyrocketed at all tracks around the country Saturday. But it is that little extra that The Club does that brings the people around the area back each year.

The ever popular hat contest, handicapping contests put out by our friends at 95.9 FM The Palm where players competed for a free vacation, entertainment for the kids etc.  Oh and how about the superstars that graced the Matinee card with a record 11 Grade A features for fans like me to drool over.

A fantastic day for everybody that is like a holiday for racing fans around the country each year.

Anti Racing Folks Having The Worst Year Ever

2017 just isn't the year for the anti racing yahoos.

After losing dramatically in West Virginia last month that would have ended greyhound racing there, Florida lawmakers again firmly denied casino expansion and decoupling with the wrap up of their legislative session over the weekend.

After finding success initially with closing tracks and spreading falsehoods about the industry, anti everything groups like Grey2K are stuck in neutral simply because the truth is out there about them and the positives that the sport brings.  Social media which once hurt the greyhound industry because of inactivity has been firing on all cylinders this year, with everybody on board to protect the greyhounds and game we love.

Let me ask this....how many times is this decoupling nonsense going to come up in Florida?? It's been at least 9 years and counting we go through this same song and dance with a different bills with different numbers attached and every year it's defeated.

It's obvious the state and its people want no part of messing with a 2 billion dollar a year industry, so can decoupling finally be buried for good?  All you have to do is look at Derby Day to see how successful these businesses are and the contributions it brings to the state. STOP wasting our time!!!

Congrats to the Florida Greyhound Association and team for sending the antis back to square one yet again. #Undefeated

Cant Stop The Moooooooooose!!

The Moose is so ridiculously awesome.

After taking a four month vacation in paradise over the winter, Gv MooseIsLoose looks as good as ever right now.  He won yet again on Derby Day, firing to the lead as he always does and taking the 29.70 secs victory. The pup who burst on the scene last summer winning nine of his first ten starts is the best box breaker at the club and has his eye on scoring 20 W's on the season.  A huge fan favorite and a must watch every time he starts.

Replay of his Derby Day win:

http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gPB%2420170506A09

Top 10 Rankings For April Revealed!

Our monthly Top 10 Rankings for April came out last week.  Fraulein Morgan continues to lead the way with her sensational 32 victories on the season.  Biggest mover was the Hot Prospect Gal (pictured) from the Agganis Kennel who soared all the way up to our 2nd spot after tearing up the Royal Palm Course all month long.

New superstar Char Vallon who just recently scored a victory in the 20K Spring Puppy Stakes made her debut on the list at #5.

Here's the entire list if you missed it:

https://extra.betamerica.com/palm-beach-top-10-rankings-april-2017/

Huge Prices For Greyhounds At The Spring Auction

The spring and fall auctions in Abilene, Kansas is a huge deal in the industry.  Think of it like the four major sports when their free agent periods starts.  Ready for race action puppies are put up for sale to the highest bidder, with many of the top hounds going for staggering prices.

This trend continued last week, as the top puppy for sale was sold to owner Tom Ferris for the crazy price of $70,000!! That deserves a whoa.

Most of the highest priced hounds will go directly to Southland Park in Arkansas to compete, but you will see some talent come down to Palm Beach to begin their careers.  Many of the Puppy Stakes Finalists last month were bought in the Fall auction, showing that talent is absolutely there if you pick your dogs carefully.

Here's the final results from the auction:

http://www.ngagreyhounds.com/images/userfiles/file/20170504152503_6_S17AucRes.pdf

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