Heats for the Black Top were held last week with the top two dogs from each qualifier progressing onto this week’s final showdown.

Drawn well in box eight Snozz will be hard to beat so check out their odds at SportsBet

The fastest qualifier from last week was Jason MacKay’s speedy son of Bombastic Shiraz, Snozz, the veteran dog in red hot form of late winning three of their past four starts.

Snozz ran a scintillating 29.51 in the heats beating home race favourite Daydream by over three lengths after jumping from box eight and will be wearing the pink rug again on Saturday night.

Appearing in his 11^th Group race final, Snozz is yet to win at this level having placed five times and finished fourth on three and is sure to be the sentimental favourite.

Another heat winner from last week who also boasts the fastest personal best here is the Reg Kay-trained Elite Blue Size.

Daydream in box two looks ideal for a Place bet at SportsBet having finished second to Snozz in the heats

The brilliant blue dog recently failed to place at Dapto but was back to their best in the Black Top qualifiers. Elite Blue Size, however, has some work to do in the final after drawing awkwardly with box six.

The other two dogs finishing first in their qualifiers were Bit Stressed who beat home Tuiaki in a race where hot favourite Mr. Metz was knocked out, and New Divide who held on to defeat the race favourite Flash Of Light.

Trained by Brett May, Bit Stressed will jump from box seven on Saturday night and despite having won their past three starts at The Gardens looks a bit outclassed here, while New Divide has drawn box four and has won four from their past four here.

Brett May also has his smart bitch and National Futurity champion Daydream lining up in the Black Top final from box two who looks ideal for a Place bet at SportsBet.

Runner-up to New Divide in the heats, Flash Of Light, stands a strong chance in the Black Top final after drawing ideally on the rails and is best for an Each Way bet at SportsBet.

The 2010 Muticam Systems Black Top Final is programmed as race six on The Garden’s mega 11-event card for Saturday night and is due to jump at 7:08pm.

Thinking of having a punt on the race down at your local TAB? For guaranteed better odds and bigger payouts than the TAB on all the dog races jump online and sign up with Australia’s top online bookie SportsBet.

2010 Black Top Final Field & Box Draw

Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) has approved funding for track upgrade works at The Gardens which will improve the safety of both the 400m start and the catching pen.

The project, which will be completed in early July, will see the current 413 metre boxes shifted to allow for a safer start on the bend. As a result, The Gardens will now race over a distance of 400 metres instead of 413m.

At the same time, the catching pen will be re-located further around the track allowing greyhounds a longer run-in at the completion of races. This will address what has been seen as a design flaw of The Gardens as greyhounds will now have more time to slow down before entering the catching pen.

GRNSW has approved $45,000 in funding to complete the upgrade at the popular Newcastle circuit, which is expected to take a week to complete.

The Gardens work comes on the back of current improvements being made at Maitland and GRNSW Chief Executive Brent Hogan said it was a further boost to racing in the Hunter.

“The Hunter region is such a strong greyhound area and in the space of a month the two neighbouring tracks are being upgraded to improve both greyhound safety and the quality of racing.

“The projects fit squarely within the pillars of the Board’s soon to be released Strategic Plan which highlights the need for ongoing track improvements to ensure the welfare of the greyhounds and consistency for punters.”

Three race meetings scheduled for The Gardens will be transferred during the upgrade works. They are:

Wednesday 7 July, moved to Gosford (night)

Friday 9 July, moved to Maitland (twilight)

Saturday 10 July, moved to Gosford (twilight TAB C)

Throughout the changes and work online bookmaker SportsBet will continue to provide punters with the best greyhound racing odds.

For further information please contact:

GRNSW Communications Coordinator

Adam Pengilly

Ph: (02) 8767 0517

Mob: 0401 641 943

Installed as the odds-on favourite at $1.60, the Reg Kay-trained Elite Blue Size made the most of his box one draw to beat home kennelmate Outa Credit ($7.40) by a length with Jedd Lion ($21.40) a distant third over six lengths back from the winner.

The ever improving two-year-old son of Elite State, Elite Blue Size ran a scintillating time of 29.33sec over the 515m feature sprint race to take out his maiden Group 1 victory, coming agonisingly close to the track record set by Knocka Norris of 29.25sec. Funnily enough, Knocka Norris is also part of the Kay kennel.

Elite Blue Size, who took out the first semi final the week before, has now won five successive victories and boasts an imposing career record of 13 wins from 17 starts for an impressive winning strike rate of 76%.

It was a gutsy run for second placegetter Outa Credit, also prepared by leading Queensland trainer Reg Kay, who pulled out a late burst of acceleration over the closing stages to tighten the margin from five lengths to just a length.

The Group 1 quinella was without doubt the highlight of Reg Kay’s dazzling training career.

The other semi final winner, the Christopher Nutt-trained St. Pierre was outclassed in the final and crossed the line last.

The other headline race at the meeting was the Group 1 National Futurity, taken out by Daydream.

2010 National Derby Results:

The Reg Kay-trained Elite Blue Size ($3.30) overcame his wide box draw of six to claim an emphatic victory in the first Derby semi when he defeated the $2.70 favourite Silent Guardian by five lengths with Raymond Webster’s Jedd Lion ($14.30) a further ¾ length back for third.

The winning son of Elite State x Size Em’ Up jumped from box six and ran a blistering 29.42 (just .17s outside of Knocka Norris’ 29.25s track record) over the 515m to secure his 12^th win from 16 starts bringing the blue dog’s winning strike rate to an impressive 75%.

Already a winner at Group level after taking out the Group 2 Gosford Gold Cup, Elite Blue Size has been on fire recently and will go into the final on the back of four successive victories. He has also come up trumps in the box draw with box one and will be hard to beat with the speed and the inside running on his side, certain to start as the odds-on favourite.

The second semi final last week saw roughie St. Pierre ($14) snare the win after leading from the boxes, an imposing 5 ¾ lengths ahead of another long-priced runner Gnarley Boy ($21.20) with Tyson Magic ($8.90) a neck back for third.

The warm pre-race favourite at $2, Outa Credit, has only just earned their spot in the final coming in fourth. Outa Credit is also trained by Reg Kay, but will have to work hard in the final if he is to keep up with his kennelmate Elite Blue Size after drawing wide with box six.

Previous winner of the St. Leger back in December, the Christopher Nutt-trained St. Pierre has drawn box four for the final.

The $50 000  final of the Group 1 Newcastle Herald National Derby will be held at The Gardens this Friday February 5.

2010 National Derby Final Field & Box Draw:

The National Derby is for male greyhounds whelped on or after July 1^st 2007 and the semi-finals are set to determine the field for the lucrative $50 000 final on February 5.

The first Derby semi-final will be the race of the night, featuring a star studded field made up of three of the four heat winners from last week, including the in-form Elite Blue Size in box six.

Coming off three successive victories, the Reg Kay-trained runner also boasts the best time over the distance, a sizzling 29.76, which he ran when taking out the second heat last week.

Elite Blue Size faces a high calibre of rivals including the Raymond Webster-trained Jedd Lion in box two who was the runner-up to Tuiaki in heat four.

The dog that ran second to Elite Blue Size in heat two, the Jason Mackay-trained Bogie Brave has drawn awkwardly for the semi with box five.

Other top dogs in the first Derby semi include Droopy’s Fool in box three and Victorian sprinter Silent Guardian in box seven.

Droopy’s Fool is aiming for their third consecutive win following their surprise victory in the first heat last week. Droopy’s Fool started at odds of $12.40 and beat home Silent Guardian by ½ a length.

In the same heat, the highly fancied Lochinvar Marlow failed to fire, the $1.70 favourite coming in dead last and missing out on his chance in the Group 1 series.

Another speedy dog in the first semi is Marie Burton’s Vagrant, the long-shot outsider who won the third heat at odds of $50.60.

The second semi-final features only one of the heat winners from last week, the Neville Brown-trained Tuiaki in box four.

Two runners-up from the heats, Reddy To Whine and Gnarley Boy will start from boxes three and seven respectively.

The meeting will also see the two semi finals of the Group 1 National Futurity take place, which is the female greyhound equivalent to the Derby.

Races six (5:27pm) and eight (6:11pm) at the exciting afternoon meeting are scheduled as the semis of the National Derby.

The semi finals will nut out the best bitches whelped on or after July 1^st 2007 in anticipation of the $50 000 final due to be held on February 5.

The first Futurity semi features the Chris Phillips-trained Silent Hill, who took out heat one last week in a shock defeat of the odds-on favourite Odessa Shiraz by 2 ½ lengths with the longest-priced runner at $54.30, Jaydo’s Neglect, coming in a surprise third.

Silent Hill has drawn box four for the semis, starting on the outside of Odessa Shiraz in box three as the pair face off again. They will also come up against the speedy Brett May-trained Daydream.

The solidly consistent Daydream boasts the best time over the distance, a sharp 26.56 and has secured the inside running with box one.

Another one to watch in the first Futurity semi is Brendan Wheeler’s Greata Bale in box six. Greta Bale managed to place second in heat two last week behind Mighty Elite, after jumping wide from box seven.

Trained by Norm Becroft, Mighty Elite will contest the second semi on Friday, but has drawn awkwardly in box five.

While Brendan Wheeler’s other semi finalist, Zambola Bale has fared better in the second semi with box three. Zambola Bale placed second to Simply A Miss in heat three last week, but will have a chance at redemption as Simply A Miss will start on their inside from box two in the semi.

Drawing wide with box eight, Brett May’s Bit Stressed is coming off a brilliant three successive victories and boasts a blistering personal best time over the distance of 29.67, so keep an eye on this one too.

The other highlight races of the twilight meeting will be the two semi-finals of the National Derby, which is the male greyhound equivalent of the Futurity.

The National Futurity semi finals will run as races five (5:07pm) and seven (5:46pm), NSW time.