Click Here for Poll Results--->2nd Quarter 2012.pdf
If you haven’t had the chance to watch Bella Infrared run, you probably should take the time to do so. This is a special greyhound that possesses terrific speed, desire, and most importantly the ability to win. Not surprisingly, Infrared again stands atop the newest UGR Top 25 Poll. In fact, Bella Infrared- at the time of this writing- has not lost a race since mid-March, and has won 17 in a row. The last win in this streak came in the Southland Derby on June 30th in a very convincing fashion. The win streak is even more impressive considering the level of competition he has faced at the Southland Greyhound Park. When you talk about all-time great racers, Bella Infrared (Kiowa Mon Many x Bella Ionic) arguably can be included in the conversation. Infrared is owned by David Blair and runs out of David Blair Kennel.
Bella Infrared’s impact on our greyhound sport is more than just his race record. Trainer Natalie Duncan relayed a story about a young 16 yr. old boy...DeMarcus...that goes to watch every Infrared race. He will call in advance to find out when Infrared is running. After each race, he gets to pet and spend some time with the super star greyhound. “It has reached a point where Bella Infrared recognizes the boy and becomes excited to see him” explained owner David Blair. David also tells of another story regarding a mother and daughter from Maine who drove approximately 1200 miles to watch Bella Infrared in the Finals of the Southland Derby. They originally called him, and left a message saying they would love to adopt Infrared when the greyhound is retired. They even made sure they introduced themselves to David the night of the race. These are the type of human interest stories that really highlight the greatness of our sport.
While Infrared’s accomplishments are the headlines, there are many elite greyhounds that have excelled on the track over the last few months. As you read on about the top 10 greyhounds in the poll, take notice of their sire. The two top sires in the May/June Review sire standings account for eight of the greyhounds in the top 10. Lonesome Cry has sired five of the top 10 greyhounds and Kiowa Sweet Trey is the sire of three, including the 2nd ranked talented P’s Gibbs. This statistic is certainly noteworthy since eight of the ten major tracks are represented in the top 10 greyhounds. Kiowa Mon Manny (Bella Infrared) and Coldwater Torres (Mw’s Morrigan) are the other two sires.
P’s Gibbs, (Kiowa Sweet Trey x Pk’s Wiggley) ,our 2nd ranked greyhound, is from Bluffs Run, and runs out of the Petzold Kennel and is owned by David Petzold. Gibbs has been on fire and has won 11 out of his last 14 races and possessed a 5 race win streak in late April and early May. He was also the Bluffs Run Greyhound of the Month in both May and June. Gibbs is very versatile as he has won from on the lead and from off the pace. .
Boc’s Top Choice (Lonesome Cry x Jewels Tango) represents Dubuque and earned the # 3 ranking. It’s all about early speed with Top Choice as he won the Dubuque sprint championship and is undefeated in the King and Queen Championship through three rounds. Boc’s Top Choice runs for the Boeckenstedt Kennel and is owned by Brad Boeckenstedt and Concepta Stapleton.
Ed Gardner’s Turbo Razor (Kiowa sweet Trey x Turbo Wind Blown) grabs the # 4 ranking. The Palm Beach star had most of the early part of the year off, but came back to the track in April and continued his winning ways. Razor has won 7 of 9 and is the track champion with 26 wins...despite being off for almost 3 months. He also won the Rooney Ale Stakes. The Kiowa Sweet Trey male possesses the early speed of his father and the staying power of his dam sire Flying Penske. Turbo Razor runs for the Rader Kennel and is part of the kennel’s powerful duo of Razor and Riverview Stevie. Stevie ranked tied for the number 9 spot with 11 wins in 15 starts and has an 8 race win streak in her resume. Riverview Stevie is another one of the Kiowa Sweet Trey’s ranked in the top 10 and is out of Cv’s Mama Mia. She is owned by Norm Rader.
Beverly Hillsboy from Flagler has won 8 in a row and 14 out of 17 which include some races at the Naples oval. The 80 lb. Lonesome Cry male has lost only one race since May 1st and that loss was by a ½ length. Hillsboy runs out of the DQ Williams Kennel and is owned by Tina Williams.
Slatex Plutonium, another of the Lonesome Cry’s and out of Slatex Station, garnered the 6th spot in the poll. Plutonium has shown consistency as he was also ranked 7th in the first UGR poll. Slatex Plutonium, running out of the Robert Thorne Kennel is the last dog to defeat Bella Infrared, and that was way back on March 19th. Plutonium makes his best run late and finished a closing third in the Southland Derby.
Flying Lone Wolf (Lonesome Cry x Flying Argyle), winner of the Derby Lane Gold Trophy and TL Weaver Memorial certainly has been impressive. The youngest greyhound in the top 10...at #7... shows 10 wins in his last 15 starts in grade A, and had a 5 race winning streak along the way. After having his winning streak halted, Lone Wolf bounced back with two consecutive wins. He has excellent box speed and a strong rush to the turn. He is owned by Vince Berland and runs for the McAllister Kennel.
Another red hot greyhound is J’s Robin (Lonesome Cry x Boy Trouble) from Orange Park. Winner of 12 of its last 17, this female ranks high at # 8. Poll member Kelly Clark stated “no greyhound has been more dominate the last month” and who could argue as Robin reeled off 8 consecutive wins in May. She also won the Orange Park Puppy Stakes in a track record time for the DQ Willliams Kennel and owner Jerry Simons. J’s Robin is a littermate to Beverly Hillsboy as DQ Williams has the two standouts dominating at both the northeast and southeast Florida tracks.
Rounding out the top 10 is Mw’s Morrigan (Coldwater Torres x Star ToWind) who is actually tied with Riverview Stevie for the 9th spot. He becomes the third greyhound running for the DQ Williams Kennel in the top 10, and is owned by Mark Williams.
All greyhounds were evaluated based on their performances from April 8th through June 30th. Greyhounds not active in the month of June were not considered, as the poll wishes to recognize those greyhounds currently performing at the highest level.
The United Greyhound Top 25 Poll is still in its infancy and has recognized many of the excellent performing greyhounds that may not otherwise get the attention they deserve. It will be particularly interesting to see how many greyhounds continue to appear in the top 25 poll on a regular basis. In this poll, only three greyhounds…Bella Infrared, Slatex Plutonium, and WW’s Kay Quarter, were also in our first top 25 poll.
Our second poll is also quite different in how the tracks were represented. In our first poll, Southland, Wheeling Downs, Bluffs Run and Tri-state dominated the top 10, whereas, in this poll many of the other tracks appear with greyhounds that were simply winning a high percentage of their top grade races. Wheeling Island’s top greyhound was Flesk Flyer at # 11, but the track did have 4 dogs in the top 25 and actually their other representative- Oshkosh Vani- was ranked 26th.
How the Poll Works
The UGR Top 25 Poll utilizes two score components plus bonus points/adjustments in three other categories to give each greyhound a final point total or score. All points earned are weighted according to the Track Power Rating (TPR) designated by UGR. Our TPR serves the same purpose as the strength of schedule component used in the current college football BCS rankings.
One score is derived from the greyhound’s individual ranking at their home track. It constitutes approximately two-thirds of the final point total. The rankings are done by poll members who rank the top 5 greyhounds currently running at their track. The ten major tracks are included in the poll, and therefore fifty greyhounds receive a score. The greyhounds receive points depending on their home track ranking.
The second major component comes from the UGR Rating Formula based on top grade win percentage, stakes race performance (first and second place), and consecutive wins.
The purpose of the United Greyhound Racing Top 25 Poll is to create interest, discussion and debate within the greyhound community. Additionally it attempts to recognize some of the top greyhounds performing at the tracks around the country. UGR understands the Poll is limited to the subjective nature of the parameters set to determine the rankings. We intend to tweak the ranking system whenever necessary to make it as fair as possible.