What Is The Best Palm Beach Racing Jacket?

We all have our favorites for one reason or another.

The racing jackets the greyhounds wear on game day never gets old.  Just putting the right number on gives owners the confidence they are going to win that day.  Some greyhounds just look so fresh in certain colors.  Or as a player, we all have our favorite number because we've won big with it at one time or another. I even think the athletes get a boost if they get their favorite jacket to wear.

History

The racing jacket really hasn't changed all that much since Palm Beach opened its doors way back in 1932.  They were a bit smaller back in the day but the colors have remained relatively the same.  In American greyhound racing, the colors are universal except Southland Greyhound Park who went straight neon with their colors a few years back.

The jacket has been a thing of lore in the sport.  Auctions very rarely sell them and when they do, you see them go for pretty high prices for a colorful piece of cloth.

The Jackets

So...which jackets are the best overall?  Lets take a closer look at all eight numbers and which ones we favor the most at "The Beach."

#1 - The Rail

More stakes victories have been won here than any other from this hole.  If you have a dead rail hound and they draw the 1, you have a tremendous chance of finding the winners circle.

The best box for super sprinting & middle distance at Palm Beach.  With the 8 box, the 1 is also one of the top boxes to fire from on the 545 yard Royal Palm Course.

There is something majestic about watching that fire red bolt out to the front.  A classic.

#2 - "The Deuce"

The other inside hole. Track Announcer Mike Jameson has made this royal blue jacket popular by calling out that the "deuce is loose" when the 2 takes the win.

The 2 is one of the best holes to draw for sprints. One of the last long winning streaks at Palm Beach was achieved in this jacket, as Turbo Razor from Rader Racing won his 12th straight start back in 2011 with the blue one.

#3 - "The White Tee"

The greyhounds just look so fresh and so clean in their white racing blanket.

Like they just came out of a Tide commercial, the ever sparkling all white jacket with the black 3 embroidery was just put on center stage two weekends back, as Char Vallon from the Douglas Kennel took the 20K Spring Puppy Stakes in this jacket.

The world record for a winning streak was broken out of this jacket, as Pat C Rendezvous back in 1994 ran into the history books with her 33rd consecutive victory to set the unheard of feat at the time.

JS SpeedyPebbles from owner Shannon Henry also made history in this jacket, breaking the Palm Beach record for most consecutive wins to start a career with 8 back in 2014.

Statistically the worst hole to draw in any distance, the greyhounds still look so fly with the all white look.

#4- "Lucky Green"

If you like this jacket, that most likely means you have won serious green on a long shot at some time in your gambling career.

The favorite blanket of Irish people and Michigan State fans everywhere, the green is a tough mid track assignment for most greyhounds but is a slick look in the Florida sunshine surrounded by all that green on the grass and in the palm trees.

Doesn't have a great track record for winning stakes titles, but Xtenshun from the North Shore Kennel did pull a stunner in this jacket, winning the 2016 He's My Man Classic from this hole at a 16-1 betting clip.

#5 "Black Attack In The Midtrack"

Not a whole lot of history with winning but how imposing is this jacket?  All black with the red number would have any Atlanta Falcon fan standing to cheer for. The dots on the side are also unique, with no other jacket having anything close to it.

Most recently All-American Storm Control from owner Steve Schlachter won the 2015 St Patricks Day Invitiational from this hole in a rooooooommmmp. B & B Racing also recently scored a stakes victory last year in the St Pats Invitational with Superior Tyson.

#6 -  "The Yella Dog"

Made famous by Track Announcer Dale Simons and his "Yella Dog up front" race calls.  The yellow blanket looks perfect in the basking sun of South FLA and has been rumored to be able to glow in the dark.

Atascocita Clo from the Suncoast Kennel recently won the 2015 Bob Balfe Puppy Stakes in this jacket for the 20K victory.

#7 -"Stripey Jacket"

The only official jacket with stripes.  This jacket makes the greyhound look faster with the three lines flying behind an athlete scorching the track at +40 M.P.H.  Can be a favorite hole for outside running specialists.

Atascocita Jolie broke the Marathon Course record in this jacket back in July of 2015, setting the current blazing mark of 41.23 secs.

#8 "The Outside"

One of the most favorable jackets to wear in the game.  A perfect jersey to wear at a track owned by the Rooney Family, as it looks exactly like it just came from a Pittsburgh Steelers official outfitter.

The only jacket that has an alternate, as schooling races at "The Beach" on occasion have an 8 jacket with a yellow number that is not worn during official starts.

Many stakes winners recently have worn this outside hole jacket in victory lane.  Janice Dean (pictured) in the 2017 He's My Man Classic, AllAboutTheFame in the 2016 Futurity & Rob Gronkowski in the 2014 St Patricks Day Invitational.

The forever "Queen of Palm Beach" JS SpeedyPebbles also doned the outside 8 in her 2013 Futurity victory.

Our Picks

1-8-2-6

We can't get over the presence of the red jacket.  Like Tiger Woods used to do on championship Sundays, the red just looks like a winner every time a superstar puts it on.  We'll go with the 1 jacket as the most stylish one of them all.

What's your favorite racing jacket at Palm Beach?  Leave your comments on this page as we'd love to see what you think of the stylish gear being worn each day in South FLA.