A day at the races

Kennel owner and dog trainer Kelly Everett kept a close eye on the gates as they sprang open. A lithe pack of hell-bent greyhounds hurled themselves towards the finish line.

Kelly Everett EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY "C'mon!" shouted someone from the outside tables, which were filling up with people playing the odds with programs, plastic cups of beer and tubs of popcorn. It was the second race of the day, Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at the Naples- Fort Myers Greyhound Track.

"You better start winning or you're not gonna get to go have a margarita," said a skinny man in a red ballcap to the woman standing next to him in a white tanktop, her arms burnt.

Every 15 minutes, a new pack of dogs churned toward the finish line, giving you a visceral thrill as they raced by at speeds between 30 and 40 miles per hour.

"Put it this way," Mr. Everett said. "They run 5/6th of a mile in 31 seconds or less."

Just mere ticks after that second race of the day began, it ended, and one of Mr. Everett's greyhounds, Flying St. Joe, had won.

This didn't come as a surprise since St. Joe is one of his fastest dogs. They're graded A through D ("just like school") based on how often they win.

It's a seven day per week life for Mr. Everett, 31, one of 11 kennel owners who contract is with the greyhound track to race their dogs. The races go on every afternoon and evening as late as 9:30 p.m., although each dog races twice per week at most.

Mr. Everett, who lives in Bonita Springs, became a regular at the greyhound races after moving to Naples from Miami with his parents 13 years ago. A friend who worked at the track helped him start out as a helper in a kennel. He worked his way up to trainer, then kennel owner.

There are 80 dogs in Mr. Everett's kennel, all of them graceful, whether spotted or dark-chocolate colored, cream or grey. He shows up every day at 5:30 a.m. for the first "let-out," that long-held morning pee. He checks the ones who raced the day before for cuts, scratches, soreness or anything that could require medical attention.

Some of the dogs are taken out for sprinting exercises, if they're set to race in the next day or two. They are weighed, their ears cleaned and toenails cut. Mr. Everett mixes up their food, a combination of what he calls "racing meat" and dry Purina dog chow. After they eat, it's outside again to romp while he cleans the kennels. On race days, a veterinarian gives them a final inspection.

"Dogs have to be in good condition to race," Mr. Everett said. "People that have pets at home, it's simple. These dogs are more high maintenance."

After the dogs race, they're hosed off and Mr. Everett gets them a drink of water. He takes them on a short walk before returning them to the kennel, where they get some chow. In the evenings, the whole bunch gets let out again before he goes home.

Mr. Everett gets to know the animals personally.

"After you work with them 80 hours a week, you kind of know who's who," he said. "We get really attached to the dogs and we take care of them like our kids, every day of the week."

A greyhound's prime racing age is between 2 and 5. They're placed in adoption agencies like Homes for Happy Hounds.

Mr. Everett, who enjoys the races but no longer bets on them, says the best part of the job is seeing his dogs first thing in the morning.

"You know when you come in the dogs are happy to see you," he said. "They kind of let you know you're there for them."

But why people come to play the odds on those regal hounds is a more complicated question. One racegoer said people bet for all types of reasons — maybe they like the dog's color or its name. Maybe they're looking for some entertainment on a Saturday. An older lady with a shock of white hair and a smear of red lipstick, who counted money behind the counter, couldn't say what the odds were on winning big. No matter if the dog was graded an A or D, there are no sure things.

"Honey, you just don't know," she said.