Young dogs get their day at Derby Lane

ST. PETERSBURG — Kennel owner John Lashmet is changing his tune.

Lk's Winamuca and Jack's Timeless are only 19 months old, but Lashmet entered his speedy sprinters in the $20,000 Fall Juvenile Stakes at Derby Lane.

So far, so good.

Lk's Winamuca is tied for second in points, and Jack's Timeless also advanced to tonight's third round in the 550-yard event.

"They're really young puppies, and it goes against my grid to have them in a stakes race when they're that young," said Lashmet, who raised the greyhounds in Fort Lupton, Colo. "But I've changed my train of thought the last couple of years so we just go ahead and run them if they're that caliber."

The dogs started their careers 17 hours apart in late August with identical box-to-wire victories in 31.02 seconds. Owned by Jill Lashmet, John's wife, Lk's Winamuca opened the Fall Juvenile with a win at 28-1 odds. She is tied with Charming Chance (D'Arcy kennel) at 26 points, six behind unbeaten Flying Sebastian (Red Oak Racing). Jack's Timeless has 16 points for owner Michael Cassidy.

Lk's Winamuca is in Race 6 (8:55 p.m.) and Jack's Timeless in Race 10 (10:11). The top eight dogs after Wednesday's final qualifier advance to the Nov. 2 finale.

Lashmet has changed trainers in the past week. Ken Deacon replaced Tom Artzer, who returned to work at Lashmet's farm.

"Ken was out of the game for 10 years and had a fishing guide business," Artzer said. "I'm asking a lot of him to go through the Juvenile without being in racing for that long. But I have got big expectations for him."

HORSES: Tampa Bay Downs will be well represented in the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Friday and Nov. 2. Six Oldsmar graduates, including defending Classic champion Fort Larned, are among 172 horses pre-entered in the 14 races at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Other pre-entered horses that have raced at Oldsmar: two-time defending Distaff champion Royal Delta, Golden Ticket and Verrazano in the Dirt Mile, Kitten's Dumplings in the Filly & Mare Turf, and Havelock in the Turf Sprint.

Six regular Downs trainers pre-entered horses: Kathleen O'Connell with Scandalous Act in the Juvenile Fillies, Tom Proctor with Marketing Mix in the Filly & Mare Turf and Old Time Hockey in the Marathon, Graham Motion with Qushchi in the Filly & Mare Turf, William Bradley with defending Filly & Mare Sprint champion Groupie Doll, Ian Wilkes with Fort Larned, and Mark Casse with Laugh Track cross-entered in the Dirt Mile and the Sprint, My Conquestadory cross-entered in the Juvenile Fillies and the Juvenile Turf, Conquest Titan in the Juvenile, and Pool Play in the Marathon.

Simulcast wagering on the $25 million Breeders' Cup will be available each day at Derby Lane, the Downs and Tampa Greyhound Track.