Joey Ice….UGR 2014 Greyhound of the Year
United Greyhound Racing’s top ten greyhounds for 2014 are shown below and rankings are based on the greyhound’s performance in our five polls released this year. A point system is utilized to reward greyhounds that have made multiple appearances in our polls, and have achieved high rankings. A No. 1 ranking earned 25 points, a No. 2 ranking 24 points…down to 1 point for a number 25 ranking. Bonus points (10) were awarded for a greyhound ranked 1st in any poll, for multiple appearances, and for a greyhound finishing in the top 10 in each of the last two polls. Here is an example: Joey ice finished 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 11th, and 1st. He received 112 base points, plus 60 bonus points for a total score of 172 points.
Complete Year End Poll Can Be Found — > HERE
Joey Ice (63 - 46 - 10 - 3 – 1) and Flying Titanium (50 - 29 - 8 - 3 – 4) separated themselves from the other greyhounds with appearances in each of our polls. The Iceman finished 1st twice and never dropped below No. 11. Titanium was outstanding all year as he never dropped out of the top ten.
Rwc November (44 - 26 - 5 - 1 – 1) finishes 3rd for the year as he appeared in the first four polls this year. TriState’s win leader had a winning streak of twelve races in the summer. Ds Libra (37 - 18 - 9 - 1 – 3), from Bluffs Run, won Team Survivor Series and was a finalist in the Iowa Breeders Classic. She appeared in three polls…twice in the top ten. Flyin Man of God (40 - 22 - 4 - 4 – 2) won an impressive 22 races at Wheeling before being injured in September. He was second in the George Kellas Memorial, and as of this writing, was still the win leader at Wheeling.
Atascocita Gray (44 - 20 - 5 - 4 – 3) won the Southland Derby in June, and was ranked No. 2 in the May/June Poll. The veteran Deco Glen Lee (50 - 24 - 9 - 10 – 3) has made the UGR Final Top Ten for the second straight year. Glen Lee appeared in the first four polls of this year, and is always among the win leaders at TriState. Boc’s John Luke (44 - 19 - 11 - 4 – 2) finished the year as one of the country’s hottest greyhounds. He won two stakes races at Bluffs Run, and finished in fourth and sixth in the last two polls. The 2013 All-American Kiowa Producer (35 - 17 - 7 - 2 – 5) is ranked No. 9, as he finished first and sixth in consecutive polls this year. A nagging injury slowed Producer down during the latter part of this year, but he still closed out his career with a nice second place finish in the Festival of Stakes Sprint. Lee Opera (64 - 37 - 12 - 2 – 1) from Orange Park takes the last spot in the UGR Final Top Ten. Opera dominated the Orange Park oval winning four different stakes races, and she is among the nations win leaders.
This is the final UGR poll for 2014…the next poll will be in March of next year.
The purpose of the United Greyhound Racing Top 25 Poll is to recognize some of the top performing greyhounds at the various tracks around the country. Additionally, it hopes to create interest, discussion, and debate within the greyhound community.
How the Top 25 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.
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 representing each of the tracks. The poll members rank the greyhounds they chose as the top five greyhounds presently running at their track. The greyhounds receive points depending on their ranking. The points are weighted according to Track’s Power Rating (TPR) designated by UGR. The TPR will be adjusted when necessary, as the competition level may change at some of the tracks during the year.
The second major component is derived from the UGR Rating Formula based on top grade win percentage, stakes race performance (first and second place), and consecutive wins. Consideration was also given to grade drops, and mixed grade races. Points are again weighted depending on the track’s TPR, and also adjusted for the greyhounds that had limited starts. UGR understands the subjective components of the poll, and plans to tweak the ranking system when necessary to make the poll as fair as possible.
Ten major tracks were included in this poll, resulting in approximately fifty greyhounds receiving a final score. The greyhounds were evaluated based on their performances from October 1st through November 1st, 2014. Greyhounds not racing in the month of October were not eligible. Any accolades or records from a prior period were not considered in this poll.
