Mesa Racing, Inc.

musings from Mark

these are just some thoughts from the spring meet. They're not in any particular order, none of them are meant to promote or slam anybody else's dog, brood, stud etc. Just my observations
That won't stop some from taking offense but you know how much I care about that...

the first pups of Rhythmless looked awesome. It appears that Jimbo Scott finally has an heir apparent

The Lonesome Crys, Dodgems and CTW Legendary pups all looked really, really good. So did the Joe Hearns pups I've seen recently

the crowd at the auction was much lighter than in the past. It's a darn good thing that so many kennel owners wanted to good dogs for their bookings.
Some of the big buyers were Norm Rader, Charter, Steve Sarras, Green and Kathy Smith, C&C, Bob Rider, Joe Frenette and several others that I don't really know

the one auctioneer, Craig, is a really nice guy. But he is the worst Greyhound auctioneer that I've seen. I just quit bidding when he walks up to the podium. In addition he competes with his own ringmen, gets them confused as to where he is and is basically not the guy on the gavel you want to see when you walk yours into the ring. Somebody in the NGA needs to carry the word that he should slow down. The only person he is satisfying right now is himself

got a chance to visit out at Brad and Paula Sholtz's place on Thurs night. Had a chance to jabberjaw with Joe Frenette (Fuzzys dogs) while I was there. I couldn't have asked for better company than those 3. Sitting under the Abilene stars drinking beer and eating some incredible ham sandwiches...ahh, the good life

hung out with my buddies John Melillo and Rod Connell again. Just can't have more fun than I have with those guys. My face just hurts from days of laughing

finally got to meet Karen Heise. George is a lucky guy. Karen is a sweetie. I picked up Silver Condor from George while I was in Abilene. She is now in TX. Thanks George

Rod and Sue Boatright are always good company and we spend lots of time with them during the meets. They took on a second farm and are looking for board dogs. If you need something boarded in KS give them a call.

chatted with Gay Friedli, Helen Stout and Tom and Brant Taplin. Gay and Helen have always done an excellent job raising my pups. Helen's Switzler Jammin's (she bred and raised him) were outstanding
Got to see Tom Taplin take a 3 generation Taplin picture with Brant and Brant's son. You'll get to see it in the Review amongst the winners photos. Nice!

watching Ketih Dillon walk around at 94 is just amazing. He still drives. Keefer, Understood, Downing, Perceive, Bold Footprint...so many great Greyts have belonged to that man

two broods went for $10,000 each during the auction. Dr Marty Tanner bought one and Larry Birnbaum's Everything Enterprises ended up with the other

The Trent Lee pups were amazing in that so many came back for finals. Wow, it was very noticeable. That dog is going to end up in the Top 5 before it's all over

Fine Silver's pups were a disappointment to most. Maryville Rumble had a good showing. Lots of early foot coming from Rumble. Take your distance girls that way if you are looking for an import

this was the best weather I've ever seen at a nationals. No rain, bright and sunny, close to 90 two days. Amazing for Abilene

Wes Parvin, KB, David Peck, Steve Boyd, Helen Stout, Brad Holombeck, Alan (and Tammy) Piper and more guys than I can remember...sold some awfully nice Greyhounds during the auction

buyers are finnaly starting to get smart during the auctions. They are buying dam lines and breeders instead of the usual "stud name only" that has been in the past.
They also snubbed a couple of sellers whose pups haven't done well at the track after past auctions
I keep saying the same thing: it's the BITCH, stupid. The stud only helps her along, for the most part. And that's only if you cross her right in the first place

got a chance to see Ripley in the hotel lobby. I took him for a walk outside. For a dog his age he really looks wonderful. You'd never know he is as old as he is

when I was a teen in the horse business I used to go to QH auctions with one of my dad's buddies. He was a huge buyer and reseller and ran a riding stable and show horses too. The pros in the business would come up and give him advice that the amateur doesn't get before the auction. That's pretty much also true in Abilene. If you think you can see two schoolings and have an inside track to that dog you're not as smart as you think you are

got a chance to see Patty and Rodney Cooley and their son. That boy is as nice as his folks are. And the rascal is growing like a weed.

Kevin Doyle resigned from the NGA board for Florida. Hal Gill was promoted into that slot. Hal is a businessman and I think he will be an excellent addition to the board

spoke to David Hays about the Slammer pups he and William are schooling for me. They start on the TGA track soon. David and William both like the female real well and the male is a bully in the turnout pen. I love that! He doesnt fight on the track but tries to be king of the hill with his peers.

I'm forgetting alot of stuff and tons of people. I apologize in advance. I have a good memory but it's short   hahahaha

Greetings from sunny Southern California!

Just got back from Abilene last night. As usual, it was Greyt fun!! Got to see so many good friends and if I had laughed any more my face was going to fall off.
Either today or tomorrow I'll add some comments and bullet points from the meet. It was an interesting one for sure.
The auctions were vastly different than they've been in the past and I'll explain that a bit. If you'd like more in depth impressions about it feel free to give me a call.
I just wish they held the meets more than twice a year and everybody else echoes the same sentiment

Mesas Advantage won another Grade A for owner Frank Bean. This Lonesome Cry son has turned out to be a really nice Greyhound.
Young Skip Potter's girl, Taylor Swift, Lonesome Cry-Mesa Cyndi, won Grade C at Derby Lane to move up the food chain. Congrats to Skip, a really nice young man
Mesa Guide and Mesa Bethann will both be moving from their respective tracks to the Steve Sarras kennel at Wheeling. Steve has done extremely well since moving to WV from Raynham and he spent some serious money buying good dogs at this meet to bolster that kennel even further
I can't recommend him enough. Between Rodney and Patty Cooley and Steve if you guys are looking to run dogs at Wheeling those, in my opinion, are the people to run with.
I also like Joe Douglas's operation there. Those folks pay attention

Temperature wins maiden by 8; Bethann wins another TA 3/8ths; Advantages streak broken

Mesa Temperature, I've been telling you guys for months to buy her, broke her maiden by 8 lengths in the 5th race today at Palm Beach Kennel Club.
The Tempo Petrocelli-Mesa Cyndi daughter has more early speed than her brother Tempo who broke maiden by 5 last week.
But she has both speed AND bottom and that's a darn good combination.
Mesa Bethann, Craigie Whistler-Tnt Stardust, won another Grade A TA 3/8ths at Sarasota. It will be interesting to see where she goes when Sarasota closes. The girl has a ton of late speed and lots of heart. She is owned by Kent, Gary and Scott of WV.
Mesas Advantage, Lonesome Cry-Dress Up, had his 2009 in-the-money streak broken. This guy is a money making machine! In 2009 he was perfect 14-for-14 on the paysheet. What's remarkable is that 3 of those races were stakes competition.

Mesa Tempo breaks maiden by and is SOLD

Mesa Tempo, my up and coming distance boy took advantage of race trouble today to break his maiden. Watching the replay I suspect he'd have won that race anyway but I'm really pleased to see him pull away at the wire. Confirms my theory
He was SOLD to Jim Jackson and will stay with Rader Racing

Pups for sale out of stakes producing mama

Ok, everybody wants a stakes dog. That and All American is the ultimate goal in Greyhound racing.
So, I'm going to offer you the potential to get one.
Here are two sets of pups for you from stakes racer Mesas Advantages' mama.
We all know that Advantage ran 3rd in the $25000 VL Spring stake.
But did you remember that his sister made a big splash at an NGA meet? Forgot that one, huh?

Lot 1> 1m-1f March of '08 so they are 13 months old. They are sired by Slammer out of Dress Up. I bred them specifically for the early speed money tracks.
They are being trained by William Hays in Waco. They were raised by Jimmy Brymer the same guy who raised Advantage.
These guys are $2300 each, $4500 for the pair

Lot 2> 1m-1f, October '08. entire litter, UNNAMED...if naming your own is important look at these youngsters
The sire is Wheeling superstar BB Be Cool, a Slammer son that I believe will be a producer
These guys are also being raised by Jimmy
They are $900 each, $1700 for the pair

Call me and I'll tell you how to trasnfer the funds. Then you are on your way to added money stakes races.
It's a Greyt feeling!!

HAPPY EASTER; stakes and other results

Happy Easter to all and to our Jewish friends I hope your Passover was healthy and happy also

Frank Bean had two Mesa dogs in stake finals yesterday.
Mesa Delite ran in the finals of the $25,000 Bob Balfe Puppy stakes at Palm Beach.
She was the youngest and least experienced of all of the finalists.
Drawing the dreaded middle, the 5 box, sure didn't help anything. The result was about as expected.
However, I was extremely proud of her and continue to be. She was tied with 2 other dogs as second highest point earner. That's huge for a youngster like this. She wasn't really a Grade A until stakes competition. Then she earned 2 wins, 1 second and 1 third to gain a place in the finals.
Watch for more Greytness from this beautiful red girl.

Mesas Advantage was the second Mesa stakes finalist yesterday. The Lonesome Cry son made the finals of the Victoryland $25,000 Spring Stake.
Man, he was in tough! I was hoping he'd send home a check of some sort but the odds were definitely against him.
The nice thing about Advantage is that he always, always tries.
That's what he did last night in Alabama and got the show finishers 3rd place check.

Mesa Tempo, one of my Tempo Petrocelli maidens working in at Palm Beach, ran a super race last time out. Today the youth came out of the one hole, got clobbered and gained ground down the stretch to earn DH 2nd, just 1/2 length behind the winner, a longshot.
This guy has a marathon stride. He's going to make someone a bunch of money. I wish I could keep him but when my company was downsized my entire department was eliminated.
So the Greyhounds are going to other owners and to future successes. That makes me happy too.
Mesa Changes, litter sister to Delite, came third in her maiden at Mardi Gras this weekend. She belongs to John Reedy
And Bruce De Gilio's Mesa Doubletiger, Odd Tiger-Mesa Jessie, scored another win at Orange Park
Good boy!!

two Mesa stakes finalists today

Mesa Delite, SBF-Karmic Destiny, is in the $25,000 Bob Balfe Puppy Stakes today at Palm Beach.
Tonight Mesas Advantage, Lonesome Cry-Dress Up runs in the finals of the $25,000 Victoryland Spring stake tonight
Both pups are now owned by Frank Bean, Jr.
Delite was raised and trained by the Roban girls in Ft White, FL. From whelp to finish, they did it all
Advantage was raised by Jimmy Brymer, started by Ken Biehle and finished by Hector Hernandez.

I have been trying to tell you that there are a couple of dogs either at the track or soon to be going that I feel are outstanding buys.
Mesa Tempo is one. The son of Wheeling super sprinter Tempo Petrocelli, Tempo is clearly destined for Greytness in distance racing. Anyone who watched him come from far back in his last race knows how special this guy is going to be. We're already discussing how soon to put him on the backside and where.
The Oshkosh Slammer-Dress Up pups being trained by William Hays in TX have excellent potential. They are half brother and sister to Mesas Advantage and it's the best bloodline cross Dress Up has had.
Look at her sister Flying Lawrie, and close female relative Flying Amy and you'll see why I bred her to Slammer
if I didn't believe in these dogs I wouldn't be touting them to you.
Don't miss out on them.

Racing updates; dogs for sale

Mesa Alpha Tiger, Odd Tiger-Mesa Jessie, won Grade C at SOKC for owner Frank Bean
Mesa Alphabet, Oneco Spirit-Mesa Meadow, grabbed second place in her Grade C at NFM. She is a littermate to hotbox Grade A Mesa Budget
Mesa Tempo, Tempo Petrocelli-Mesa Cyndi, encountered mucho trouble and still closed to 4th in his maiden feature last night at PB
Tempo's sister, Mesa Temperature, showed signs of getting experience and "getting it" as she hit the paysheet for a 2nd place in her maiden contest
Mesa Billy, Dodgem-Mesa Cyndi, half brother to Tempo and Temperature, also did a 2nd last night

I've gotten several calls and emails with congratulations about Mesa Delite and the many other Mesa dogs that are winning and making money all over the country
This week I've heard more "I should have bought Mesa****" than ever. I keep saying the same thing: you can buy Tempo or Temperature for $2500 each. They are bound to make you money
The CTW Legendary pups should be monsters. Talked to KB this morning and he sold Back Taxes's Kiowa Sweet Trey litter to one of the top kennels in the country. They love them
And the Oshkosh Slammer-Dress Up pups are pretty much a lock to make new owners proud.
So rather than lament the fact that you missed out on another opportunity step up to the plate and get your own winner.
If a pup or dog in training is not the quality it should be, if I don't honestly think you can make money with it I'd be keeping it and taking the chances myself.
What are you waiting for????

more Deeeeee-lite on the horizon; racing updates

When Norm Rader told me a few races ago that " a light turned on in her head" I knew things were looking up for Mesa Delite
I told owner Frank Bean and have been cautiously optomistic since.
Yesterday the Stans Boy Flyer-Karmic Destiny daughter showed what she was made of. The big red girl took advantage of first turn trouble to shoot to the rail and grab the as much ground as she could.
She closed hard on the winner but couldn't catch the lead dog. All of this was in SA level competition
As the breeder I was really pleased by the tremendous effort she put out. Makes me feel like I've done my job.
Delite goes into this weekend's semi finals as one of the top point earners. Competition should be tough

Debonair Diego, Lonesome Cry-Tawmay Rafferty, a Mesa bred dog, scored big with a 7 length win in Grade A at Southland. Diego is owned by Helen and Jim Hambleton of Solomon, KS
Mesa Bethann, the Craigie Whistler daughter who has made a name for herself in TA 3/8ths races at Sarasota, just sent home the third place finishers check this week
Mesas Advantage, sporting a perfect 11-for-11 record 4-3-4, in Grade A company at Victoryland, is making his presence known in Alabama.