We’re six weeks into the racing season at Flagler Greyhound Track, which is part of Magic City Casino (450 NW 37th Ave., Miami, 305-460-6579, MagicCityCasino.com), and a month into the summer break from school. If you’re looking for something new to do with the kids, consider Doggy Dinner Theater on Thursday nights.
Between 6 and 8 p.m., order a meal off the restaurant’s menu and receive a ticket that lets you guess the winners of races 4, 5, 6 and 7. After writing in the names of the greyhounds you like — I choose the most colorful names — turn in your tickets and then cheer on your dogs.
If you pick the champ in each of the four races, you win $250 in cash plus a $20 quinella wheel that’s good for race 9. With that, you might win even more.
But even if you lose, at least you’ll be entertained.
“These greyhounds love to run, and it’s exciting watching them,” says Norman Campbell, Flagler’s simulcast coordinator. “You wonder how they negotiate those turns and then speed up, almost like they have a jockey on their back.”
Flagler has about 800 greyhounds, Campbell says, with each racing every third day so they get two days of rest.
You can watch the dogs race — up to 40 mph — through the huge window that goes the length of Flagler’s clubhouse. Or you can venture outdoors to the seats that get you closer to the action.
“Kids love going up to the rail, where they almost get dirt splattered on them, and they can even be only five feet from the racing dogs,” Campbell adds.
Thursday evening performances start at 7. Flagler has performances five days a week, with post times at 7 p.m., 1:50 p.m. or 11:45 a.m., depending on the day. The current racing season ends Oct. 29.
Conine winners
Boca Raton’s Victor Arnold, 97, and Davie’s Marshall Weinberg, 74, won the fifth annual Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic, which took place on July 11 at Isle Casino Racing (777 Isle of Capri Circle, Pompano Beach, 954-972-2000, TheIslePompanoPark.com). They shared the grand prize of $10,000, beating 228 other players.
The event raised almost $100,000 for the Conine Clubhouse, a place where families can lodge for free while their kids are staying at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital.
