7.7.08
So far the reports of the two litters in training with Brad & Paula Sholtz are very encouraging.    For the most part things have gone well in the field, the whirly and the initial handslips around the track.   Soon they will head into the box and then I will start to find out about speed.   I am confident in both of these females and hope to have some nice pups for either the Nationals or the track in a few months.

FF Little Leon, who I sold at the last meet, has started out well at Twin River.   He broke his maiden right away and has a couple 2nd's in grade J.   He has nice early speed and I hope he develops into a nice greyhound up there for his owners.   Speaking of Twin River....my girl FF Eclipse is running great.   In 35 career starts she has hit the paysheet 24 times and recently won in grade B and then ran 2nd in her first BB race.    I also had another nice win at Tri-State by FF Arvada.   Arvada's littersister recently broke in at Tri-State and promptly won her maiden race and was 3 of 3 in the money when she was injured in her 4th race.   She is off for now but should return.      FF Loan Shark is doing well at Raynham and has settled into a solid C/B dog.   He has good early speed but is a bit short for the Raynham surface.

I've had some recent bad luck too.   Mesa Gillette was injured at Raynham.   He is 3 1/2 years old and never been off in his career after 135 starts.   The injury is not serious but it's too early to tell if he will run again.    FF Bingo, working her way back from a minor injury, injured her ankle and has been retired.    She will be a brood for kennel owner, Leon Ooton.     On a sad note, Anguil, a less than two-year old male that I co-own with Phil Carpenter was diagnosed with an advanced tumor and had to be put down to relieve his pain.

My updates have been few and far between lately as I have had less time for greyhounds because my job has been busier than usual.   Hopefully I can get back to regular updates soon.

Points on Recent Checks
Tri-State   $80.65
Palm Beach  $57.33
Orange Park  $72.21
Twin River  $151.95
Raynham  $56.70
Southland  $81.56
Orlando  $27.28
 

5.26.08
It's been awhile since the last update.    FF Loan Shark didn't do much in the Juvenile qualifying at Raynham after the first round but went box to wire in a very fast time in his next race for a nice win.   Littermate FF Lighting has won twice in the past couple weeks at Palm Beach to move up to grade C.    I am still waiting for littermate, FF Little Leon to school on.   I sold him at the last NGA Meet and I want to see how he does.   I believe he was headed to Twin River to race but he has not schooled yet.

I sold two dogs in the past few weeks - both to guys named John!
ICU Evette was sold to John Lowe.   Evette was the first dog I ever purchased when she was racing at Hollywood in 2003.   Evette was a nice racer and then produced very well for me as a brood.   Her first litter is doing very well and the reports are good on her 2nd litter in training.    It was very hard for me to sell Evette.   She is the reason I ended up meeting Brad & Paula Sholtz who have done so much for me in the past 4 years.   She also had sentimental value to me but I have 10 of her daughters and I was not going to breed to her again so  I wish John Lowe the best of luck with her.   I am confident she will still produce well.   She will be 7 years old next month.    The other sale was FF Pepper Jack sold to John Reedy, Jr.   That sale was completed this week and Jack will be racing for John tomorrow for the first time.   Good luck John in his first race for you at Flagler.   It was nice doing business with both of you...best of luck!

FF Angelina ran her first maiden race at Tri-State this week and ran a nice 2nd.....a good start. 
FF Express is running well at Derby Lane.    She has hit the paysheet in 9 of her last 11 races.   She has one more race left at Derby Lane in two days and then is heading to Southland.    I think her style will really allow her to do well on the Southland track.
FF Boots is also doing well at Orange Park....she is 12 of her last 15 on the paysheet.   I just love dogs like these two that give you lots of heart and effort every time they race.
FF Pistol Pete moved to Orlando and then won his first race at the new track! 
FF Amazon won again at Orlando and has really taken to this oval and to Kathy LaCasse, her trainer.

Track News:
I recently noticed that Orlando is the latest track to join track data which makes it much easier to get entries and charts than using their old website.    Below is the link to the new track data page for Penn-National (Orlando).  

http://www.trackinfo.com/trakdocs/hound/pn/

Points on recent checks:
Tri-State    $85.06
Palm Beach  $61.63
Orange Park  $59.61
Twin River  $145.93
Raynham $79.93
Orlando  $28.20
Flagler  $54.84
Derby Lane $62.64

5.5.08
A nice week of racing this past week:
FF Loan Shark grabbed a quick lead and settled for place in the first round of qualifying for the Raynham juvenile.
FF Eclipse won grade J at Twin River and then placed two times in a row in grade B.   She is 9 of 12 in the money since her return from injury.
FF Arvada won at Tri-State to jump back up to grade A. 
FF Love Letter won grade M at Palm Beach in her 2nd start.

I sold ICU Evette to John Lowe....thanks again John!

I updated the For Sale page with a graded racer for sale at Palm Beach.

The early reports from Brad & Paula Sholtz about the dogs I have in training are quite good.   I am very excited to see them progress to each new stage.

FF Emerald is back with Tony Mills for some rest and re-work.   Tony had originally finished this litter.     Thanks for your help Tony!


4.27.08
FF Little Leon ran well at the Nationals this week.   He won his first round race in a nice 30:32 time.   In the finals he encountered trouble on the first turn and ran a solid 4th.   It was not the race I was hoping he would run in the finals but I was still very proud of him.   This was the first dog I have ever run through the meet and it was a fun experience.   Thank you to Wes & Lesley Parvin for raising him and taking him through the meet.   He was purchased in the auction for $5000.   I was told he went to a kennel at Twin River so I look forward to watching how he does.

I have updated the 'for sale' section with a proven brood.    ICU Evette is for sale.   She is from the Husker Angel damline which has produced numerous outstanding racers for the Sholtz.   Evette's first litter is running at Twin River, Mardi Gras, Derby Lane and Orlando.   

FF Lucky Louie won his first schooling race today at Naples by 13 lengths so I hope he find this new track to his liking.   

4.20.08
It's been way too long since I updated this site.   The last few weeks have been extremely busy.   I was gone one week on vacation and coaching little league baseball has started up again 3 nights per week.   Throw in two fantasy baseball drafts and trying to work a full-time job plus following each of my greyhounds and well, not much time to write.    At least that's my excuse! 

Farm News:
I had two litters in the past few weeks.   Fuzzys Tanner had 5 males on 4/7/08 out of Flying Hydrogen.    They are with the Parvins in Oklahoma.   Fuzzys Charlotte had 8 pups (5M 3F) on 4/9/08 out of Evening Memory.   They are with Brad & Paula Sholtz.   I have two litters that have just been kenneled to begin training.   These are the first litters that Brad & Paula have ever finished for me so I am very excited to see how things go.  

On the track.....Recent Winners:
Mesa Gillette won his 23rd career race in 123 career starts up at Raynham to move back up to grade A.  
FF Dancer  won twice this month in both grade D and grade C at Palm Beach.
FF Amazon won her first start at Orlando since moving over from Ebro.
FF Pink Panther broke her maiden at Victoryland - Pink is co-owned by Phil & Brian Carpenter.
Supernova broke his maiden at Victoryland yesterday - Supernova is co-owned by Phil & Brian Carpenter. 
FF Boots won again at Orange Park
Frappuccino Pup won at Southland
FF Loan Shark won grade C at Raynham and continued his strong start.


On the move.....
FF Lucky Louie has moved from Palm Beach over to Naples in the Blanchard Kennel.   He suddenly picked up a bad habit at Palm Beach and quit running hard through the turn.   A big thank you to James Blanchard for his willingness to give Louie a try and see if he can work through his struggles.   

FF Emerald has gone from grade A down to grade D at Mardi Gras.  She is headed back to the farm next week for some rest and evaluation.   She is still not even 2 1/2 yet so I have plenty of hopes that she will return again as a solid dog.

NGA Meet
It's time once again for the semi-annual NGA meet.    I really wish I was going again although whenever I go I get the urge to buy dogs.    I have plenty of pups on the ground so I don't need to add any more to my list.    I am actually having one dog run through the meet with Wes Parvin.   FF Little Leon is an August pup and so far he has looked pretty good at both AGP and the NGA track.    He has drawn in for Monday in the 1 hole.    I am excited to see how he does.   Of course I have my hopes up but it will be tough to run against the big boys in Abilene.     Leon is a littermate to Loan Shark, Lightning, Lucky Louie and Lethal Larry who are all at the track already.   

It's that time of year when points drop in Florida and West Virginia too. 
Points on Recent Checks:
Palm Beach   $61.98
Orange Park  $64.90
Tri-State  $84.33
Twin River  $157.41
Raynham  $65.85
Southland  $83.99
Mardi Gras  $87.02
Flagler  $55.48
Derby Lane  $79.39

3.23.08
Happy Easter!
The World Classic is well-underway at Mardi Gras.   This is always one of my favorite stakes races of the year.   The final will be run next Saturday but after the semi-finals tonight, the field has been named.

Flying Stanley
Soprano Drive
Corda Would
Starz Jenko
Hallo Gold Acre
Magic Penny Ante
Bigfoot's Bust
Sly Star

Flying Stanley is simply amazing to keep running at this level for so long.    Soprano Drive has looked fabulous and is my personal favorite that I am rooting for since I really like Tony & Judy Mills.   Corda Would is extremely fast but a little on the aggressive side when racing.   Hallo Gold Acre is a fabulous home-track dog.   Magic Penny Ante and Bigfoot's bust are invaders from Tri-State and both are fabulous racers.   And Wayne Strong gets both his entries into the final as Sly Star made it along with Soprano Drive.    I don't know a lot about Starz Jenko but he won earlier tonight so he has the speed to be in this race.   A lot will depend on post-position but any dog in this race can win it.

Tri-State News:
FF Angelina will be on her way from Keota to Tri-State in the next week or two to join her sister, FF Arvada who continued her winning ways advancing up to grade A in her 10th career start by beating a grade B field on Thursday night.

Tri-State    March 20, 20008  Evening     
3rd Grade: B Distance:  550 Condition: Fast
FF Arvada          61    5  1  1  1     1  2     1  3.5   30.71  10.30  Start To Finish Ins
Polo Wv            75    8  2  2        2        2  3.5   30.96   3.20  Winning Effort Ins
Suicide King       74.5  1  8  4        3        3  5.5   31.08   1.50  Up For Show Mid
Kiowa Powered      59    3  3  3        4        4  6     31.12   7.10  Settled For 4th Mid
Amf Badinfluence   59    2  5  5        5        5  8.5   31.32  13.20  Early Trbl Same Pace
Witty Chet         73.5  4  7  7        6        6  13    31.63  55.90  Collided 1st Turn
Craigie Okeeliz    64    7  4  6        7        7  16.5  31.88   6.10  Collided 1st Turn
E's Fire Power     73    6  6  8        8        8  25.5  32.49   6.50  Coll Stumb 1st Turn
Mc Millon Kennel, W.T.BK., F, 07/15/06, LONESOME CRY - IZA DIMMERSWITCH

Raynham News:
Veteran, Mesa Gillette won again on March 9th to return up to grade A.  Newcomer, FF Loan Shark, is off to a nice start and has advanced to grade C.   Check out his chart lines below.   Thanks Joe and Scott for helping him off to a nice start.

FF LOAN SHARK   BK.   M   2006-08-11   DODGEM BY DESIGN   FLYIN LEWINSKY K   39098                       
2008-03-21  E 8  RT  550  F  31.80  66.5  3  1  1 2 1 2 1 2  31.80  2.30  Box To Wire Inside    C
2008-03-15  A 3  RT  550  M  31.73  67.5  1  1  1 5 1 1 1 11 31.73  1.00  In A Romp Inside      M
2008-03-09  A 3  RT  550  F  32.07  68.5  8  1  8   8   8 7  32.57   .60  Ridden Very Wd 1st    M
2008-03-03  A 3  RT  550  F  31.39  68    6  1  1 5 1 4 2 1  31.45  1.10  Almost Lasted Midtrk  M
2008-02-27  S 4  RT  550  F  31.81  68    3  1  1 5 1 3 2 1  31.88        Caught Late Inside   Scl
2008-02-24  S 8  RT  550  F  31.81  67.5  5  1  1 5 1 5 1 3  31.81        Quick Command Inside Scl

Maiden wins in the last two weeks:
FF Princess Pam broke her maiden at Orange Park on 3/16/08.
Anguil broke his maiden at Dairyland on 3/12/08.

Other Puppy News:
FF Ping Pong is schooling in at Flagler and rand 2nd today.   He should get started soon in official races.
FF Pepper Jack is also schooling at Flagler and also ran 2nd today.
FF Pink Panther, co-owned by Phil Carpenter, and 2nd in her first schooling race at Victoryland.
FF Amazon won again to move up to grade C at Ebro.

Farm News:
Brad & Paula Sholtz will be finishing two litters for me starting around April 1st.   I am very excited to have them finish dogs for me as usually they only raise em' to 12 months old but things worked out this time to have them finish these 12 pups as well. 

Points on Recent Checks:
Tri-State:      $120.91
Palm Beach $  71.62
Orange Park$  74.20
Twin River   $155.85
Raynham    $  59.12
Mardi Gras  $  89.51
 

3.8.08
FF Arvada wins again at Tri-State to move up to grade B.   She is off to a very nice start. 
Not a lot of wins this week but many of my dogs hit the board so it was still a good week.  
Mesa Billy was sold to Michelle Edgar.    I wish her the best of luck with him.

Points on Recent Checks:
Palm Beach $74.91
Orange Park $71.93
Tri-State $151.59
Raynham $65.44
Derby Lane $83.09



3.1.08
I have lots of updates since my last write-up.   First of all, I listed a brood and some graded dogs for sale on the 'For Sale' page.    I hate to part with these dogs but with over 30 pups on various farms and two bred females, it will help raise some cash flow. 

Many of my new-to-hit-the-track pups are starting to race and are off to a solid start.  Below are some updates:

First off, FF Arvada, named after the city in Colorado that I grew up in, is off to a great start at Tri-State.  She is 4 of 6 in the money with 2 wins.     She is with the Patrick McMillon kennel and will be joined by her sister, FF Angelina, in a couple weeks.   These pups were raised by the Sholtz's and finished by the Parvin's.

Dodgem By Design - Flyin Lewinsky K litter update:
FF Lightning and FF Lucky Louie have run solid at Palm Beach.  They are with the Jim Douglas kennel and they have done a nice job getting them started.  Lightning went box-to-wire out of the 8 hole earlier this week to win his maiden race and Louie has a couple 2nds in grade M so far in 5 trips.  FF Loan Shark has schooled twice at Raynham and too big leads in both races.  Once he held for the win and once he was picked up in the stretch to run 2nd.   I expect him to be a nice dog up at Raynham.   FF Lethal Larry won his maiden race earlier today in his 2nd attempt at Orange Park.    FF Love Letter has struggled in 3 schooling attempts at Phoenix.   FF Little Leon is the best in this litter and he will be run through the meet in Abilene.   If he does not run well or sell well in the ring, then I will send him to Twin River or Tri-State.    Overall, this appears to be a nice, solid litter!   Thanks to Wes and Les for whelping, raising and finishing them.

Dodgem By Design - Fuzzys Phantom litter update:
FF Pistol Pete and FF Princess Pam went to Orange Park with Leon Ooton.  Pistol Pete broke his maiden in his 2nd attempt and Pam tries again tomorrow.   FF Pepper Jack and FF Ping Pong are not started yet at Flagler and FF Philthy Phil will head to Florida in a couple weeks from Oklahoma.   Three pups in this litter I co-own with Brian and Phil Carpenter.   Two of them are at Victoryland and should be on soon.   The other one, Anguil, is at Dairyland and schooled real well.   He runs his first maiden race out of the 1 hole on Sunday March 2nd.   This litter was also whelped, raised and finished by Wes & Les. 

I am real happy with the new kennels I am working with at Palm Beach (Douglas) and Tri-State (McMillon).  Thanks guys!

The more experienced graded dogs continue to run fairy well too.    Mesa Billy won again today to move back up to grade A at Flagler.   FF Express has run very well in grade A at Derby Lane.   She has 3 2nd place finishes in a row in recent weeks.    It's good that she has gotten very hot as the points have picked up in Florida! 

I am very excited that FF Eclipse is back on the track at Twin River.   She schooled this past week and ran 1st and 4th in two schooling races.   I would love to get her back on track.   She is with Ken Richard who does a tremendous job with Brad & Paula's racers at Twin River.    Speaking of them, keep reading Paula's website as she has some very nice racers up at Twin River right now.

I had a nice conversation with Jim Hambleton today.   I have heard good things about Jim from multiple sources for a couple years now - even before he moved to Abilene.   I had never had the chance to speak with him but did that today and it was fun.   Best of luck Jim with all your pups....I really like some of the bloodlines he is working with right now.

On the breeding front, Fuzzys Charlotte was bred in early February to Evening Memory.   Fuzzys Tanner was bred a few days later to Flying Hydrogen.    FF Sapphire, who I really like as a brood, came in season but I will likely pass her.   I don't want to breed 3 females in the same month.    She is still very young and will have plenty of opportunities
to breed to her in the future.    Also, Frank Bean and I recently bought a young pup (May 07) at the Dan Lafferty farm.   Frank chose the name Garnet Titan.   He is out of Trent Lee - Kebo Kiley.    

I have had two litters out of ICU Evette and in total I have 10 females and 1 male.   Brad & Paula leased her from me for her most recent litter and they had a whole bunch of males and only 1 female.    Oh well, I am very happy with my females from Elway Drive and Evette so far.  

Lastly, a special thanks to Lesley with GPA-LA.   She has been a great help to me in the past in finding homes for my ex-racers and continues to be great to work with.   Thanks Lesley!

Points on recent checks:
Palm Beach $72.38
Orange Park $73.92
Tri-State $149.44
Raynham $60.78
Mardi Gras $96.36
Derby Lane $82.59

2.11.08
It's tax time.   I have been working on my taxes related to greyhounds for the past few days.   It's never fun but it must be done.   The good news is that the last 10 days of racing have been amazing for me!   I needed a nice week like that.  It was one of my best weeks ever in terms of winners...especially unexpected winners.

2/1/08-2/10/08 Highlights
Mesa Billy won grade C and won grade B at Flagler.
FF Dancer won grade C and won grade B at Palm Beach.
Mesa Gillette third in grade B and won grade B at Raynham.
FF Emerald ran 3rd and 4th in grade A at Mardi Gras.
FF Express won grade B at Derby Lane.
FF Bingo won grade D and ran 2nd in grade C at Orange Park.

Some of the young pups that I recenlty sent to the track are beginning to school.   Hopefully more updates on them in the near future.   So far I think the Flyin Lewinsky litter out of Dodgem will be better than the Fuzzys Phantom litter out of Dodgem.    One of the Lewinsky pups will run through the meet.  He is the fastest of the litter.  His name is FF Little Leon.   There should be some nice ones in both litters.


Points on recent checks:
Palm Beach $70.98
Orange Park $76.68
Mardi Gras $86.17
Derby Lane $86.69
Southland $96.04

2.6.08
Some days it sure is fun to be in the greyhound business.....other days, not so much.  But today was one of the fun days.   Mesa Billy (Dodgem By Design - Mesa Cyndi) is a dog I purchased from Mark Adams when he was just a pup.   He was raised by the Robans in Florida.   Billy went to Palm Beach and won a couple races but after that never really did much at all.   Phil Marsella moved him to Flagler and I really felt he was fast enough for Flagler but you just never know how it will work out.   Lately Billy has sure found his break and stride.   He has won two in a row including grade B today and he will take his show up the big boys in grade A next time out.  Below is a link to see his race.

Mesa Billy 2-6-08 #1 Grade B

Also today, FF Express (Elway Drive - ICU Evette) ran a grade B race at Derby Lane and won.   Another one on their way to grade A!!   That makes 2 out of 4 pups already in grade A from this first ICU Evette litter.   This litter was raised by Below is the link to her race.

FF Express 2-6-08 #5 Grade B

Also today, two young pups out of my last Flyin Lewinsky litter schooled at Palm Beach.   They also ran on Sunday.

FF Lighting ran 3rd on Sunday and 2nd today.  
FF Lucky Louie ran 4th on Sunday and won convincingly today.   

So far so good for these two guys.

2.2.08
In the past month, things have begun to turn around.   Many of my young dogs are really improving.  Mesa Billy has taken to his new track...Flagler.   He is 3 of 5 in the money with two wins including a 5 1/2 length win today.   

FF Dancer has become a solid racer at PB.  She is 15 of her last 19 in the money.

FF Emerald has become a very nice 3/8 dog at Mardi Gras.  She won two in a row in mid-to-late January including a grade A 3/8 race.   She recently tried a couple marathon races but goes back to the 660 course on Sunday.    I originally had listed her for sale on this site but given her recent improvement I will go ahead and keep her.

FF Express has similarly improved at Derby Lane.   She is up to grade B now and runs hard every time out.  
FF Exacta has not fared as well.   She struggled at Naples and now is racing at Orlando.   

Frappuccino Pup is returning from the active list for Frank Bean and myself.   
FF Boots also returned from her latest toe injury.   She returned last night in grade A and ran a very nice 3rd place.   She looked strong. 

Almost all of the young pups are at the track now.   FF Arvada ran her first maiden race today at Tri-State and ran 5th.   She is racing with the Patrick McMillon kennel.   FF Lightning and FF Lucky Louie are at Palm Beach and school on Sunday for the 1st time.   They both drew the 1 hole.  More updates to come as these pups start to race.

I am thinking about listing a litter for sale on the site.    I don't really want to sell them but feel selling one litter now would be a good idea to raise some cash flow to keep affording other litters.  The litter is the Aug 07 Marvyille Rumble - Fuzzys Charlotte litter.   Charlotte is one of my prized broods.   She is out of the repeat breeding of Fortress - Greys Betsey Ross.   She won multiple grade A races at Mardi Gras before an injury halted her brief career.    Watch the for sale section.

Fuzzys Tanner is in season and being bred to Flying Hydrogen.  I like some of the pups he is throwing.

Fuzzys Charlotte is also in season and will be bred to Evening Memory next week.   Evening Memory does not get many breedings any more but I love the way he has crossed with Fortress females and the Lear Jet bottom line in the past.    Plus his litter sister produced Fortified Power when bred to Fortress so it feels like a good cross.

Points on Recent Checks
Victoryland  $60.00
Palm Beach  $69.36
Derby Lane  $73.92
Mardi Gras   $83.35
Sarasota  $30.17
Raynham  $57.94
 

1.5.08
Happy New Year!  I sure have been slow to update this site lately.  There has not been that much news with my dogs and things were busy during the holiday season.

My favorite racer...ICU Moose retired this week.   He retired in good health after 205 career starts, all on the Jacksonville circuit.   Thanks to Leon Ooton for doing such a great job with him keeping him healthy for so long.   This was one of the early graded dogs I bought from Brad & Paula Sholtz.  I had contacted Paula about buying a dog named ICU Morgan and he was not for sale.   She suggested his brother, Moose, who was running grade M at Orange Park.   I watched his replays and loved his hard trying style right away.   It was one of my best purchases ever.    Later, I also owned Moose's sister ICU Code Blue.   She was a nice racer too but not durable like Moose.   Thanks for selling him to me Paula...he became my favorite.  By the way Happy Birthday to Paula Sholtz!  I think she turned 33 today.

Congratulations to Joe Frenette and Scott Scharff for once again winning the kennel championship at Raynham.   I think Scott has won it 3 years in a row.   He does an amazing job.   Well, Joe does provide some nice Fuzzys dogs too.  LOL.

Palm Beach News:  On another sad note, one of my favorite kennels was sold in the last few weeks.   Satin Kennel, owned by Jeff Burkhart was sold.   Satin was the 2nd kennel I ever ran with when I started buying dogs about 4 years ago.   Jeff taught me a lot back then and I am grateful to him for always taking my dogs and for being such a great communicator.   I will miss working with him but I expect to remain friends.    The kennel was bought by Phil Marsella.   Joy Mayne is still the trainer and she has FF Dancer running very well.    She diagnosed a cramping problem with Dancer and treated it and she has run much better since then.     Mesa Billy will be moving to Phil's Flagler kennel.

I have 18 pups headed to multiple tracks in the next 10 days.   Most of them I own fully but I have partnered with Phil Carpenter on 3 of the pups from the Fuzzys Phantom litter.   All the dogs are listed in the graded dogs section of this site with the track they are going to race at.

Points on Recent Checks:
Derby Lane $84 per point
Palm Beach $63 per point
Raynham $53 per point
Sarasota $24 per point
Mardi Gras $92 per point

 

12.8.07
Dogs on the move:  FF Marco moved to Victoryland but has not drawn in yet.   He should draw in any day. FF Exacta moved to Easy Does It Kennel at Naples.   She schools on Sunday and should like this track much more.   She is a solid dog but Derby Lane was a bit over her head.   Her sister FF Express continues to run well at Derby Lane. 

Injuries:   A broken toe has sidelined FF Boots at Orange Park.   FF Eclipse is returning from a short stint on the inactive list at Twin River and schools on Monday.   I could sure use this girl to get healthy.

Winners:  Mesa Billy won two in a row last week at Palm Beach (M and J).   Billy has shown tremendous speed when he gets the front but he has not shown a willingness to pass dogs when he gets behind early in a race.   In his grade J race he passed another dog for the first time so hopefully he will continue to develop as certainly has plenty of speed.

Mesa Billy          76    8  5  2        1  1.5 1  3.5   30.08   2.90  Made Move Far Turn 
Later Much Tink55.5  2  3  1  2   2        2  3.5   30.32    8.00  Factor Thruout, Out
Tb's Blazinglory  66.5  4  6  3       3        3  4.5   30.40    2.00  Steady Pace Thruout
Rt Justgotlucky   67.5  1  4  4       4        4  7.5   30.62    2.50  Coll 1st, Held Pace
Hi Noon Hotrod 63    5  8  7        6        5  9      30.72   7.00  Coll Brk, Gaining  
Saramin              64    6  7  5        5        6  10    30.78  14.00  Bmpd Brk Stayed Back
Cc's Beauina       56    3  1  8       7        7  12.5  30.97  14.00  Blocked 1st Turn, Md
Juniper Grace     59    7  2  6        8        8  17.5  31.32  17.00  Bmpd 1st Turn, Ins 
Satin Kennel,  Inc., Red Fawn, M, 05/02/06, DODGEM BY DESIGN - MESA CYNDI

Mesa Gillette won his 20th career race at Raynham today and 8th grade A race.   He has 102 lifetime starts and continues to run well.

FF Bingo blew away the field in her grade C race today at Orange Park after finishing 2nd two races in a row.   She broke and rushed better than I have ever seen her rush.   If she keeps breaking like that, she'll be in grade A before you know it.

FF Emerald switched over to 3/8 at Mardi Gras and in her 3rd time around the long course, she flew down the stretch from 5th to 1st in grade C.   She takes her heavy closing style to grade B on Sunday.    Based on these results she could become a nice 3/8 dog.

8th Grade: TC Distance:  660 Condition: Fast
FF Emerald         55.5  5  2  5         4        1  2     38.36   7.20  Forced Bk Persevered
Star Nisha          59    7  3   2         2        2  2     38.49   5.20  Steady Drive Mtk   
Florida Dreamer 60    8  1   1  4     1  1    3  2.5   38.54   4.10  Lost Large Lead Ins
Do It For Fun     73    6  6   3         3        4  3.5   38.59   4.60  Late Loss On Rl    
Hallo Astonish    63    2  5   7         6        5  3.5   38.60   3.60  Pinched Bk Early   
Nite Time Player 55.5  1  4  4        5         6  4     38.65   7.90  Gradual Loss Mtk   
Mo's Flight Risk  62.5  4  8  8        7         7  7.5   38.89   6.40  Outrun Early Mtk   
Ranco Scattered  68    3  7  6         8         8  11.5  39.15  11.50  Crowded Early Outrun
Marriott Kennel, R.F., F, 11/20/05, ELWAY DRIVE - ICU EVETTE

Training Update:   I have 16 pups ready to head out to tracks in the next couple weeks to a month.   They are headed to the following tracks.

1 Twin River      (kennel pending)
2 Tri-State         (McMillon Kennel)
1 Raynham       (Suncoast Kennel)
3 Orange Park   (Ooton Kennel)
3 Palm Beach   (Satin Kennel)
2 Phoenix          (Boyle Kennel)
1 Victoryland     (kennel pending)
1 Dairyland       (T's Racing Kennel)
2 Mile High        (Robert Feathers Kennel)

11.19.07
FF Bingo returned to action at Orange Park with an impressive schooling win and an impressive win in grade D.   She is even faster (in a two dog race) than her littersister, FF Boots, who has won multiple grade A races.   But Bingo does not have the early speed that Boots has.    She keeps getting hit at the turn and ends up sore or injured.  I am hopeful she can turn into a nice 3/8 dog in time. 

One of my old veterans, FF Dolphin retired this week.   She ran 99 career starts at Southland and just recently fell below 60% in the money.   Six months ago she was in AA but the last couple months she just seems to not have any gas left in the tank.   She is almost 4 years old and is being brought to Mid-South Greyhound Adoption this week.   She will be snapped up quickly during a meet and greet.   She will be a great pet.   Speaking of veterans, ICU Moose wins again in career start 195 at Orange Park.   I just love this guy!

Mesa Billy went box to wire in his 2nd schooling race at Palm Beach and won by 8.5 lengths.  He also recorded the fastest time of all schooling races that day.   It got me real excited but Sunday he ran his first official race and it was a completely different story.  He appears to run well on the front and not as well from behind.   Lets hope he continues to mature as he certainly has some speed.

FF Marco is moving to Victoryland.   He will be running with R&L Kennel.  The kennel is owned by Lou and Ron Montgomery.   They seem like real nice people and I have heard good things about their trainer.   I look forward to getting Marco at a new track.  He was still 16 of 30 in the money at Orange Park and did not grade off but he just seemed over his head and we're hoping a step down in competition plus a track that favors rail runners will be good for him.

I got some great pictures last night from Paula Sholtz on all my pups on the farm.   They are great photos!  Thanks Paula.  If I ever get my Photoshop re-loaded (after my computer crash) then I could add some to this site.

I added one brood to the for sale page:  LNL Lucky Lady.   Lady was a grade A racer at Palm Beach and her littermates all ran grade A at Derby Lane.    Some of them were very nice (Zanzibar, Thundering Home, Boogie Nights, etc).   Her littermate, Do The Mambo, has two nice litters at Orange Park.    I really want to breed Lady and would consider some sort of lease deal or shared deal for a pup but I just can't afford to breed all my nice broods.  It comes down to choices.

I'm still enjoying the new Greymatter site.  It's so much fun to use and get data!  http://66.236.122.233:8080/tracklink/

11.10.07
I LOVE the new 'Greymatter' site by TrackData.   It's like having the old rosnet back with race lines from many tracks that were previously unavailable.    You can get full lines from dogs at top tracks like Lincoln, Tri-State, Wheeling, Orange Park, Derby Lane and many more.   You can also get lines from other tracks that were previously not in a national database (Sarasota, Orlando, Birmingham and Victoryland).   It's really a great tool.   If you have not seen it, go to www.trackinfo.com and click on 'greymatter'.   They appear to still be building the site and some of the features look great.   I've had a lot of fun the past few nights looking up dogs from the Spring NGA Meet, former racers, top dogs around the country and more. 

Mesa Gillette turned 3 years old a couple weeks ago and keeps running strong.  He has a win and two 2nd's in his past 4 grade A races at Raynham.  He has been the best commission earning dog that I have ever owned.    My youngest racer, Mesa Billy begins his racing career in tomorrow's schooling at Palm Beach.   My oldest dog, ICU Moose has now run 193 career races and won again last week at Orange Park.  He just loves to run and the 'ol veteran keeps hanging tough.    He will likely retire soon.

FF Marco has done ok at Orange Park but the competition is just a bit tough for him.  He is 16 of 30 in the money at Orange Park and we are looking to send him to Victoryland if I can find a good kennel to run with.

Through retirement of many racers, my list of graded dogs is down to 14 now.   Luckily I have 19 more pups in training right now.   I am hopeful some of them can become really nice dogs.  So far the reports are still pretty good on the Fuzzys Phantom litter and Flyin Lewinsky K litter.   I finally got some news that one of the Lonesome Cry - Iza Dimmerswitch females looks like they can run a bit and then she broke a quarter bone and is out for a couple months.    

I listed a couple graded dogs for sale on the site.  

10.21.07
Check out the links page on this site.  My goal for this page is to make it a "one stop shop" for all key greyhound sites that I visit regularly.   I can access it from any computer and easily have all my key sites at my fingertips quickly   I hope you like it too.  If you have any suggested greyhound sites that are not included, please let me know.  It has a lot of the same information as it has always had but I re-organized the format and added some quick links to track results from tracks that use "track info" as their system.  I always hate when I go to the Twin River or Raynham site to get entries and results that you have to go through many multiple clicks just to get your information.  These quick links take you directly to the entries/results page.  

The good news at Southland is that Frappuccino Pup has come back to form recently. Frapp won grade C and grade B in the past two weeks and then ran 4th in her first grade A race in awhile. It's good to see her back in form.   The bad news is that my nice young, potential star to be, FF Sapphire, broke her leg and will need to retire.    She was 7 out of 7 in the trifecta to begin her career and was passing a dog for the lead and an easy win when suddenly she took a bad step and faded back. 

FF Boots won again in grade A and ran a couple 2nd's as well.  She is running very well and has been one of the top dogs at OP this past month!   Other track news:  Mesa Billy is unofficial schooling at PB and should go on the active list soon.  The Evette girls are still running well.  FF Eclipse is 6 of 8 at Twin River and FF Emerald is 7 of 10 at Mardi Gras.   Things tend to go in streaks in this business and lately I was in one of the bad streaks but in the last two days all my dogs seemed to get hot again.   In the last two nights, I had two grade A wins by FF Boots and Mesa Gillette as well as wins by FF Express, Greys Snow Hawk and most other dogs hit the pay sheet too.

I sold Fuzzys Phantom to Brent Burns.   Thanks again Brent.  You bought her at just the right time because after the Nationals, I suddenly had lots of interest in her.    I'm sure it helped that her littermate had nice pups running through the meet.    ICU Evette has been leased for her next litter.   I also added FF Sapphire to the list of broods for sale.  She should make a nice brood.

Farm Reports:  I am getting real good reports from the Parvins on some of the nice dogs in the Dodgem - Fuzzys Phantom litter and on the Dodgem - Flyin Lewinsky K litter.    They are both still young so I hope things keep improving.  The Lonesome Cry - Iza Dimmerswitch litter is struggling.  They have not done well overall.    At least 4 of the 8 will not make it as racers.   The other 4 are still in the kennel.   I am hopeful I can get something good from the litter but not happy with the reports so far. 
 

9.25.07
Two Orange Park winners this week:
1) She did it!!  FF Boots won her first grade A race.   In her 18th career start she ran a blistering time of 30.57.   She followed that up with a 30.56 running 2nd by a nose in her start yesterday.   She has really turned out to be a nice dog.   Boots is an amazing story.  She arrived at Orange Park and showed tremendous promise back in February but broke a bone in her foot and was off for two months.  She returned and worked her way up to grade B and won but in that race broke a bone in another foot.  Again, off for two months.   I hope she can stay healthy and keep putting up wins!   2) ICU Moose, my old veteran, won grade D at Orange Park in his 181st start.     I sure love that old guy.   He is sending notice that he is not done yet as he almost won in grade C in his next start running a nice 3rd.  The common thread on these two dogs - both bred and raised by Brad & Paula Sholtz.

Another old veteran, Mesa Hilda, retired on Monday.  She ran 158 career races at Derby Lane, Tampa and Orange Park.  She retired in perfect health and never had a serious injury.   She will be heading to someone's couch soon and Leon says she will be a great pet.    Leon gets a lot of mileage from older dogs....something many kennel owners will not do.   He takes them off for a rest when they are not sharp even when they are in grade D and 4 years old.  Hilda and Moose both benefited form this type of treatment and both came back sharp after resting.  It certainly prolonged their career and kept them both healthy. 

As my oldest "Mesa" dog retires, my youngest "Mesa" dog was shipped yesterday to Palm Beach to begin his racing career with Satin Kennel.  His name is Mesa Billy.  He was whelped, raised and finished by the Roban farm in Florida. 

FF Sapphire is 6 for 6 in the money at Southland.  She was a 1 dog purchase from Tony Mills.  She has a littermate named Swamp Root that is breaking in at Derby Lane.  He looks very impressive.   Sapphire has another gear as she is flying home late in races.   Southland appears to be the perfect track for her style.

As I look around I feel I am lucky to be working with so many good people in the greyhound industry.   I regularly hear horror stories about the experiences that some people have had.  Although I've had a few of those myself, in general I am thrilled with the group of people I am working with.  I strive to find good, honest people that are good at what they do.   Thanks to everyone who raises my dogs, races my dogs, sells me dogs and gives me great advice.

I have 23 pups to place in the next 3 months once I hear how good they are.  I hope to use many of my current kennels but I am always looking to expand in a strategic manner.  I am interested in learning more about racing at Phoenix.   I like the idea of diversifying and racing in other states.  It appears Arizona might be a good option but I don't know any kennels or the nuances of racing in that state.  If you have any information you want to share, feel free to email me as I would love to hear from you.

Fuzzys Phantom is still for sale.  I was originally asking $2000 but the market is telling me that price is too high.   A few weeks ago I sold a brood for $1500 which was more than I thought I would receive and then Phantom has sold for less than I expected.   So much for my ability to estimate correctly.  lol. 

Football season is once again here and I love this time of year.  I have always been a big NFL fan and enjoy watching as many games as I can find time for.   I always watch the Broncos who look to have potential this year but so far are 2-1.    Jay Cutler will someday be a superstar quarterback.....just not sure if it's this year or not.  

In a proud Dad moment, I watched my 8 year old son play his first flag football game.  He is a small, fast kid and he broke two plays for touchdowns and was the high scorer in the whole game!   I was more excited than him!

9.10.07
FF Marco finally broke his maiden at Orange Park with a win on Sept 3rd!   This poor dog has been through a lot and just making it back to racing was a big accomplishment.   Now, on his 15th try he finally broke his maiden and he did it with style.   Leon has worked hard to get him back in shape and he has slowly improved.  If he can run more races like he did last week then he might actually turn out ok.   For now, congratulations to my partner on Marco, Philip Carpenter.  It is great to finally get the W!

FF Boots has returned and run well at Orange Park.  She has stayed in grade A since returning and earlier tonight she ran one length behind Platinum Perfect around the whole track to finish 2nd.  Platinum Perfect just won the 2007 Classic at Orange Park so it's nice to see Boots run this close to a stakes dog.  I am hopeful she can pull off her first grade A win soon.  

FF Eclipse won again at Twin Rivers - back to back wins to start her career.  I sure like that at a track like Twin Rivers.  Thanks to Brad & Paula who helped me get this one dog in with Ken Richard.   It's often hard to get new kennels to try your dogs and you were both very helpful in setting me up with him.   He does a real nice job.

I sometimes follow Joe Frenette's dogs up at Raynham and you have to check out Fuzzys Rebel.  He has won 4 straight grade A races and is turning out to be a monster.  He looks great right now.   Joe also has a new puppy breaking in named Fuzzys Blue Bird - won his maiden by 17 lengths and is very impressive so far.   

My 16 month old pup, Mesa Billy is nearly ready to head to the track.  He will be going to Palm Beach in a couple weeks.  I have purchased a few dogs from Mark Adams over time and have had good luck.   In fact, my best dog for the past year has been Mesa Gillette who won again this past weekend.

I am still waiting to hear updates on all my young pups in training.  I will have 23 dogs to place all at the same time come later this fall.   The Fuzzys Phantom litter just went into the kennel and I should start hearing schooling results in a couple weeks.  The Lewinsky litter has one pup that just joined the kennel.  The others will follow soon.  My Dimmerswitch litter is at various stages of development at two different finishers.   All 23 of these pups are July or August.

This time of year I always start thinking about the fall meet.  Unfortunately I am unable to go again this year due to work commitments but it will sure be nice to have replays online this time to watch the races and see the hot, young pups. 

8.29.07
Lots of good news at the track lately. 
FF Sapphire broke her maiden at Southland in her 2nd try and I really like her style so far in schooling races and two official races.  She is willing to pass dogs on the outside and inside, whatever is necessary to get past them.  That is a trait I love to see in my dogs.  FF Boots and FF Bingo are both back on the active list at Orange Park.  Boots is coming back from a broken bone in her foot.   In her first race back she drew in with a tough grade A field but really ran well.  She ended up 4th but I really liked her effort.  She only has a handful of career starts.   If she can stay healthy then she should become a real nice dog.  Bingo ran her 1st schooling race on Monday and ran well.  She goes back on the active list this week. 

My ICU Evette litter continues to do well.
FF Express is 5 out of 5 in the money at Derby Lane
FF Exacta is 4 out of 5 in the money at Derby Lane
FF Eclipse won her 1st maiden attempt at Lincoln this week
FF Emerald schools for the first time at Mardi Gras tomorrow.  
Overall I am very happy with her first litter.  They are out of Elway Drive.   Evette was the first dog I ever purchased when I got into racing when she was young and racing at Hollywood.  It is fun to see her 1st litter do so well.

FF Diamond, FF Domino and Canterbury Tails all retired in the past two weeks.   All three are going to adoption groups soon.

Two days ago Fuzzys Charlotte whelped her first litter of pups (Maryville Rumble).  She had 4m and 2f.   All appear to be healthy, nice sized pups.     I have had lots of requests about selling these pups but at this point I plan to keep all of them.

My Lonesome Cry-Iza Dimmerswitch litter is now in training.  They are split between Ferrell Pearson's and Wes Parvin's place.  Also, my first litter from Fuzzys Phantom just started training.   It's too early for any real updates on any of the pups in both of these litters. 

8.12.07
Thanks to Chris Grieb for taking such great pictures of my dogs at Orange Park.  His great pictures allowed me to re-do my homepage with great photos of FF Marco and FF Boots.  He takes fabulous pictures for a fair price.  You can check out his website at www.followthathound.com.

I want to thank Global Greyhounds for hosting an auction this weekend and also thank Country Roads Kennel for purchasing Fuzzys Banshee and Jim Jackson for purchasing Take A Holiday.  I hope they both make great broods!!

On the track I have exciting news to share about my young racers:
FF Express is has two wins in two starts at Derby Lane....on to grade C.
FF Exacta has a win and a 3rd in two starts at Derby Lane. 
FF Sapphire won two schooling races in a row at Southland and runs her first maiden later this week. 
FF Eclipse has started schooling at Twin River but will likely need a bit more time. 

Frappuccino Pup returned from the inactive list and ran a nice, hard-trying 3rd for Frank Bean and myself at Southland.   My old veteran Mesa Hilda returned and has hit the board twice at Orange Park.  Hilda has 158 career starts and keeps running hard.  ICU Moose is in the same situation.  The 4 1/2 year old boy has 179 career starts and keeps coming up with good races.  Leon Ooton does a great job with the older dogs by keeping them happy, healthy and well-rested. 

At Tampa, FF Diamond picked up a win and Fuzzys Banshee ran three nice races in the past 12 days.  Unfortunately the terrible news came this week that Tampa will be closing it's doors.  There is lots of discussion about this topic on Global and American Greyhounds.  It's hard to really figure out what is going on but either way I feel sorry for the kennel owners who invested to start racing there just 40 days ago.  I wish Dave and April Beeler and the rest of the kennels good luck as they battle this situation.  Tampa has been consistently paying better than expected (points in the 40's) so this comes as quite a shock.  I am sure it will benefit Derby Lane as handle was being split between the two tracks.  I sold Banshee and I need to find a place for Diamond to race.   

I am expecting pups from Fuzzys Charlotte in about two weeks.  Paula thinks she could have 8 or more.   I am likely going to keep Fuzzys Tanner, mostly because she is so young and sell Fuzzys Phantom who has had two litters of pups that are 13 months old and 4 months old.   She is still young enough to have two to three more litters and should be in season within two months or less.   Watch for her "for sale" listing soon.

7.22.07
It's been about three weeks since my last update....much longer than usual.  There has not been much news to report.   Fuzzys Charlotte appears to be pregnant so I can't wait to see how many little Rumble's I get.  

Mesa Gillette continues to hit the board time and time again for me at Raynham in grade A.   He does not win too much but hits the pay sheet 65% of the time....not too bad.  At Southland my two dogs, FF Dophin and FF Tiger, are starting to show some age.  They are in grade C and D respectively.  And Frappuccino Pup is off with a minor injury right now.  I just sent in another dog to Southland named FF Sapphire.  I bought her from Tony Mills at tattoo age.   Tony really liked her in schooling so I am hoping she can turn out nice.

Speaking of new dogs breaking in, my ICU Evette litter is about to get started.  The first two school on Tuesday at Derby Lane.   The one at Lincoln should be close behind and unfortunately the other one was sent to Hollywood/Mardi Gras.  I have no idea what is going on down there.  First they announced they have closed for a month and now I am hearing rumors that the points may drop when they do resume racing but I never really know what to believe for sure.   I plan to call my kennel owner in the next couple days to see what is really going on.

I have had some retirements in the past month too.  Fuzzys Tanner had to be retired due to a nagging hip injury.  She retired very young and in grade A at the time.  I would like to breed to her but I can only have so many broods that I can afford to breed so I have not decided yet.  I may try selling her in the near future.   She will be headed to Oklahoma this upcoming week.   If you have an interest in her, please drop me a note.   I also had to retire my oldest racer, ICU Shotput who graded off at Sarasota.  I am looking for an adoption group for her now.   And FF Snapper also is done racing at Tampa.

FF Marco is finally breaking in after a tough beginning to his career.   At first he did not look too good but he has run 3rd and 2nd in his last two maiden races.   Leon Ooton has spent considerable time with him and I hope he can turn out to be a solid racer.  Marco was bought from Donna and Francie at 9 months old.  He is co-owned by Phil Carpenter and myself.

6.30.07
During the last few weeks I made a trip back to Colorado to see some family.   I had a chance to attend races at Mile High Greyhound Park.  I've been there many times as a kid growing up but I was still amazed at how nice the facility is.  The track itself is now rather boring as the infield is used as a practice field for the local pro soccer team but the clubhouse facility is huge and in great condition.  In fact, it seemed nicer than Derby Lane to me which I just visited two months ago.  The sad part was that it was a ghost town.  There were very few people at the track and the handles have fallen significantly in the past three years.  Colorado has a rich history in greyhound racing but it appears to be coming to and end sooner than later.

Earlier this week I bred Fuzzys Charlotte to Maryville Rumble.  I am hoping Charlotte becomes one of the cornerstones of my breeding program.   She is tremendously bred and was a very nice racer at Mardi Gras. 

FF Marco is schooling at OP.  He is the king of 5th's so far having run four straight 5th place races and has looked very green.  I am hopeful he will improve.  FF Bingo ran a huge race and looked like her old self in winning grade D this week.  Her sister FF Boots dominated in her grade B race and won easily in the fastest time of the night.  Unfortunately she broke the same right rear foot that she has previously broke in that race.  It is a different spot and it should heal up but I am concerned about her durability.

TK Seeitoldya is schooling and about to get active again at Flagler.  Fuzzys Banshee is about to go on the active list at Palm Beach.  She is a grade A hound but has recently developed an odd habit of checking the first turn even when in the lead.   She slows down.  I may have to try her at another track and see if it will continue.  She has raced for a long time and had not done this until some recent starts before coming in season and now she is doing it again after her season.  Fuzzys Tanner moved to Palm Beach along with FF Dancer from Raynham.  Domino, Diamond and Snapper are about to begin racing at Tampa.  Mesa Gillette dropped down to grade B for the first time in 6 months and promptly posted a 9 length victory in his first grade B race.   FF Dolphin and FF Tiger are both active again at Southland but not running all that well.  Frappucciono Pup is running well but has not drawn in and may be off the active list for some reason.

I am excited to see the first ICU Evette litter break in and they should start schooling soon.  They are spread out at 3 different tracks.  Also, FF Sapphire, a pup I bought from Tony Mills as a young pup is looking good and will be headed to Southland in a few weeks.

6.8.07
OP News: FF Boots won again at OP.  Leon sure has her running well upon her return.  She won a grade C race and barely missed having the fastest time of the night by less than a length....on to grade B tomorrow.   Her littermate, FF Bingo, is schooling back and ran 2nd in her schooling race.  These two girls both broke their maiden on the same day and then both broke the same foot in their next race.  I hope they can both stay healthy.  Canterbury Tails won grade D 3/8 and ran a heckuva nice race.   FF Marco who was injured in a dog fight a few months ago is completely healed and being unofficially schooled by Leon.  Leon is really taking his time with Marco but he likes what he sees so far.  Look for him to official school in the next couple weeks. 

FF Denver and Lady Devils Pup retired this past week.  Both of them had injuries that would prevent them from racing again.  They will be off to find a good adoption home soon. Greys Snow Hawk is up to grade A at Sarasota and ran 3rd in his first grade A race.  Bill Nihan has done a great job with him....as usual. 

Four of my ICU Evette litter left for the track this week.  FF Eclipse is headed to Lincoln to race in the Richard-Tutalo kennel.   FF Emerald is off to Mardi Gras to race with the Chuck Marriott kennel and FF Express and FF Exacta have arrived at Derby Lane and will be racing in the Wayne Strong kennel.   One littermate is still in training.  Hopefully this will turn out to be a nice litter.  Thanks to Brad & Paula for raising them and to Tony Mills for finishing them.  Tony is a great communicator so I always knew how they were progressing at each step in training.

Congratulations to Frank Bean.  I sold 1/2 interest in Frappuccino Pup to him.  It works out great for both of us.  I get to keep watching and rooting for her and he now gets to do the same.  Plus, Frank will keep her for breeding when she is done racing.  Best of luck to you Frank!

FF Domino, FF Diamond and FF Snapper are headed to Tampa from Flagler next week to race in the Dave Beeler kennel.   This is Dave's first kennel booking but I have known him since he got involved with racing and I am confident he will do a great job.  Good luck Dave with your new kennel. 

5.28.07
An exciting Monday of racing this week.  The big race was the $120,000 Palm Beach Grand Classic.  Dreamy Blossom had dominated each of the qualifying rounds and looked hard to beat in the finals.  I was personally rooting for her or Kansas Ruler.  Ruler is a dog I have followed since he was a pup at The Woodlands and he was racing with Jeff Burkhart and Joy Mayne in Satin kennel.     He ran a great 2nd place in the last qualifying round running down Switzler Jammin in the stretch.   I have seen many great stakes favorites lose in the final and this was a very though field that included Kansas Ruler, No Booth For Gary, Switzler Jammin and of course, Flying Stanley.    Blossom got into early trouble and looked to be in real trouble as Jammin took a big lead.  But no matter how much she was knocked back, she just kept coming and caught Jammin at the wire in a thrilling final race.  Kansas Ruler closed hard and took 3rd.   I love watching good stakes racing.

I continue to get good reports on the Elway Drive / ICU Evette litter being finished by Tony Mills.  One of the girls will head to Lincoln in a couple weeks.  Two of the girls will head to Derby Lane next week and I am still deciding where to send the other girl that is almost ready.  The last littermate was pushed back a bit and starts schooling again next week.

It was a nice week for my dogs.  Frappuccino Pup dropped down to grade B at Southland and won in convincing fashion and then followed that up with a 3rd place effort in grade A.   She has been a consistent performer during the past year at Southland.  Also at Southland, FF Dolphin returned with a nice 3rd place effort in grade A.  I love watching her run. FF Boots returned to the active list and won grade D and ran 2nd in grade C.   She had broken her foot just after breaking her maiden.   It is nice to have her active and moving up the ladder.  Her sister, FF Bingo, was the better of the two girls and she broke a foot shortly after her sister.  She had a minor setback as she was preparing to return and could be out a couple more weeks.   Greys Snow Hawk loves Sarasota.  He is 4 out of 5 in the money since arriving from Tri-State including two wins.   Veterans ICU Moose and Mesa Hilda keep hitting the pay sheet.

I recently registered my July pups.  They are all named with the FF prefix.  The Phantom litter is named:  Ping Pong, Princess Pam, Pepper Jack, Philthy Phil, Pistol Pete and Pink Panther.  The Dimmerswitch litter is named Aruba, Angelina, Angelo, Arvada, Apple, Amazon, Apache and Andiamo.

I am coaching my 8 yr old son's baseball team this year....what was I thinking.  Just kidding...it is quite fun.  We have games and/or practice every two days for the next month.    That will keep me quite busy. 

5.19.07
It is amazing how things are changing right now, especially at the low end tracks.  I spoke to a kennel owner today who runs at Orlando.  He told me that it is hard right now for his kennel and others to get enough dogs.  With Flagler and Mardi Gras open year round now and with Tampa opening soon and going year round plus the seasonal opening of Wonderland, Seabrook, and Belmont, the lower end tracks are struggling for dogs.  With breeding down it only makes sense during this time of year.  It obviously won't be this way come labor day when the seasonal tracks close down but this was not an issue last year at this time so it does represent a shift of sorts that could continue for awhile depending on if these lower end tracks all stay open. 

ICU Evette's first litter (Elway Drive) continues to do well in schooling at Abilene Greyhound Park.   They have been out of the 5/16 box twice so far and their times appear very good relative to other schoolings on those days.  I am trying not to get my hopes up too much but things are very encouraging right now based on these reports.  I am still deciding where to send them.

Some of my veterans are still running strong.  ICU Moose was just about to retire but then reeled off a 2nd and two 3rd's in a row at Orange Park.  Greys Snow Hawk moved to Sarasota and seems to like it with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd to start.  Mesa Gillette continues to be my star as he hits the board 65% of the time and is running consistent top grade (A). 

Recently a few others are schooling back and are near returning to the active list:  FF Boots, FF Dolphin, FF Tiger, FF Diamond, FF Dancer.  Plus a few others are starting to sprint so I hope to get my active list going strong again in the next 30 days.

I have a lot of pups on the ground right now and may decide to sell a litter or a couple graded dogs at some point in the near future.  I will list them on this site if I decide to go that direction.

5.4.07
ICU Evette whelped 6 pups on Wednesday out of Dodgem By Design.  This time she had 1 male and 5 females.  I guess she likes having girls.  In two litters that totals 1 male and 10 females....10 to 1 ratio.   Thanks to Paula for staying up with her until 2:15am to ensure everything went smoothly with the new pups being born.  Her first litter is being finished by Tony Mills and they are just starting to school now.  He really likes how they are driving the turns and their overall aggressiveness.   I'll know a little more about speed in a few weeks.

Of the 23 active greyhounds I have, 13 were inactive as of last week.  Finally I am starting to get a few schooling back.   FF Boots has run 4th, 2nd and 2nd in three schooling races and she'll likely go back on the active list.    And FF Dolphin schooled back today at Southland but her chart didn't look like she did much.   Lastly, Greys Snow Hawk arrived at Sarasota and Bill said he's looked good in unofficial schooling.  Today he ran his first schooling race and won by 10 lengths with the fastest time of the schooling races.   I hope that's a good sign.

I always enjoy reading other greyhound websites.  Two of them that I regularly read had good write-ups this week about their respective visits to Abilene last week.  If you have not read them yet, check out the article about visiting Talentedmrripley written by Donna at the link below dated 4/30/07.  It's a great story.
http://bahamamamagreyhounds.typepad.com/

Also check out Mark Adams' write-up on his Abilene visit last week.  It's dated 5/1/07.
http://mesamark.typepad.com/

The final of the Mardi Gras World Classic is later tonight.  The final is a very strong field led by Flying Stanley and Bigfoot's Bust.  As in many stakes races it will come down to the break and early part of the race.  A handful of dogs could win it all.  I hope they have a clean race. 

It's been a slow week for me personally in terms of dog news. 
My highlights:
ICU Shotput won grade D at Sarasota
FF Snapper won grade D at Flagler
FF Denver won grade C at Flagler
I had nice 2nd place efforts this week by ICU Moose, Fuzzys Banshee and Canterbury Tails. 

Lots of news at tracks this week.  Tampa and Derby Lane are both going to year-round racing.   Tampa is busy getting kennels booked and the kennel buildings re-built.   Kansas finally got slots and will likely see Camptown re-open near Pittsburgh, Kansas.  

Slots are not the long-term answer to keeping greyhound racing.  They are, however, a short term solution to keep tracks open and dog people in business.  Eventually tracks will need to find a way to promote the racing product and get more fans or someday the slots will be all that is left at these facilities.  There is still plenty of time to fix some of it but for now I am just happy about some of the slots news from this past year.