Lester Raines Kennel’s Sol Reign tops all qualifiers for Friday afternoon’s final of the $10,000 Firecracker Sprint at Wheeling Island.

The Joel Roden-trained sprinter won two out of his three qualifiers to accumulate a total of 35 points. He has won eight out of his last 10 Grade AA starts.

Also qualifying for the 5/16 final are Silver Maverick (Charter Kennel) and Large Lee (C And C Kennel), 31 points each; Kansas Buzzer (Wayne Strong Kennel), 30 points; Kiowa WW Dot (Wayne Ward Kennel), 29 points; Flat Out Uma (Thorne-Abrahamson Kennel) and Kiowa Estate Law (Steubenville Kennel), 26 points each; and Bella Alexander (Wayne Strong Kennel), 24 points.

Just missing a spot in the final were Steubenville Kennel’s Kiowa Rock Vince with 23 points and Legend Of Zorro with 22 points.

The Fourth of July card will be a twilight program with a 3 p.m. post time. The Firecracker Sprint will be Race 15.

From the rail out, the post positions for the final are: 1-Silver Maverick; 2-Bella Alexander; 3-Kiowa WW Dot; 4-Sol Reign; 5-Large Lee; 6-Flat Out Uma; 7-Kiowa Estate Law; 8-Kansas Buzzer.

Following are capsule looks at the eight finalists from their trainer’s perspective:

1-Silver Maverick: “I would have preferred an eight hole, but the one box is a good hole for him as long as he gets out into the race early,” Charter Kennel trainer Rodney Cooley said. “He needs a clean run to the turn. If he’s in the top three heading down the backstretch he can win it.”

2-Bella Alexander: “He doesn’t break real sharp so post position isn’t a major concern,” Wayne Strong Kennel trainer Dinna Otto said. “If he’s close enough coming home, he can get a piece of it.”

3-Kiowa WW Dot: “The three hole ended up being a nice spot if she comes out,” Wayne Ward Kennel trainer Ron Otto said. “She needs to break, but if she clears the turn second or third she can probably catch all the frontrunners except Silver Maverick and Sol Reign.”

4-Sol Reign: “I just wanted a hole in the final,” Lester Raines Kennel trainer Joel Roden said. “He needs to clear the dogs in side of him. If he gets to the first turn clean, he’ll be ready to rumble.”

5-Large Lee: “He doesn’t have the greatest hole, but he’s fast enough to go to the front,” C And C Kennel’s Norm Secia said. “His whole race will be if he can outbreak Sol Reign. He has to hit it.”

6-Flat Out Uma: “The further outside the better for her. She needs to go to the front and maybe have a little jam behind her,” Thorne-Abrahamson Kennel trainer Tom Engle said. “She was the only West Virginia-bred dog in the original field. Making the final says a lot about her.”

7-Kiowa Estate Law: “Post position doesn’t really matter because she doesn’t break sharp. After the break, she’ll drop down to the rail,” Cardinal Kennel trainer Jerrod Varner said. “If there’s a jam and a short dog in front of her, she can steal it if she’s close. She doesn’t win a lot, but has hit the ticket a lot in Grade AA.”

8-Kansas Buzzer: “We couldn’t have asked for a better spot. He’s outside where he wants to be,” Dinna Otto said. “He needs to get to the front early.”

Director of Racing Ben Travis feels Kiowa WW Dot will make it to the winner’s circle on Friday.

“This is an awesome race with tons of early speed in the middle of the pack, which could cause major problems for the favorites. Since Silver Maverick likes the rail and is in the number one post position he has the best chance to avoid early trouble,” Travis said. “Sol Reign can run from about any post position but will have to contend with the two youngest greyhounds in the race on each side of him – Large Lee who will probably break quickly and try to get inside and Kiowa WW Dot who has shown tremendous talent in her short career.”

While admitting it’s a tough race to handicap, Travis said, “I’m going with Kiowa WW Dot followed by Sol Reign and Silver Maverick.”

RACE ANALYSIS: Travis couldn’t have said it any better – this race is extremely difficult to judge with the abundance of early speed going to the first turn. Probably no less than six greyhounds have a shot of taking the early lead – that’s how much early foot is in the race.

Drawing the eight hole, this writer likes Kansas Buzzer a lot – but not on the front end when the greyhounds hit the wire. He has shown he can fire from the inside, so he should have no trouble getting to the turn in contention from his favorite eight hole.

Picking the winner is a tough call, but this writer likes either Silver Maverick, Kiowa WW Dot or Sol Reign to pop the box and get to the rail with the lead or just behind Kansas Buzzer. Heading home, Buzzer’s tendency to go wide will cost him.

For entertainment purposes only, go with Silver Maverick, Kiowa WW Dot and Sol Reign on top with Kansas Buzzer second and third.

IN THE HOMESTRETCH:

TWIN RIVERS SPRINT: Darren Henry Kennel’s BD’s Flip is competing in the $75,000 Twin Rivers Sprint (Lincoln).

The stake event kicks off Friday, July 4. Other early rounds are Wednesday, July 9; and Monday, July 14. The semifinal is set for Saturday, July 19, and the final on Friday, July 25.

Also entered in the stake are World Classic champion Starz Jenko, Hallo Gold Acre and Ballymac Flight.

PROGRAM CHANGES: Wheeling Island will host a 17-race card tonight with a 7:30 p.m. post time. Also, there will be only one card on Friday, July 4th – a 20-race program starting at 3 p.m.

HOT DOGS: Steubenville Kennel’s Kiowa Apple Lyde has raced to three straight Grade AA 3/8 wins for trainer Debbie Schweizer. Kennel-mates Mohican Direct (A, AA) and Kiowa Juliet Kat (B, A) have back-to-back victories.

Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel’s Flying Westover has won three out of his last four starts (A, AA) for trainer Ricardo Pacheco. Kennel-mates Flying Connie has two wins and a second in her last three Grade AA trips while Flying Ada has back-to-back wins (B, A).

Wayne Ward Kennel’s Pal WW Wendy (AA), WW Has Glory (AA 3/8) and WW’s Elroy (B, A 3/8) have two wins in a row for trainer Ron Otto.

Charter Kennel’s U Too Fern has won three out of her last four outings (C, B, A) for trainer Rodney Cooley. Kennel-mate CJC’s Elite has two wins and a second in her last three trips.

Mike Fynmore Kennel’s Tornado Ed (A, AA) PTL Bedazzle (B, A) and PTL Burner (C, B) have back-to-back victories for trainer Robert Britton.

Arivada-Plum Creek Kennel’s Rent has two wins and a second in his last three starts for trainer Joe Otto.

Douglas Kennel’s Wet Jet (B, A) and Buckey Brandon (C, B) have back-to-back victories for trainer James Roche.

A Ray Kennel’s AMF Thunderfoot has two wins and a second in his last three trips for trainer Joe Palmer.

Steve Sarras has back-to-back 3/8 victories (B, A) for trainer Barbara Long.

Green-Maupin Kennel’s Joe’s Dog has two straight wins (C, B) for trainer James Grace.

DNC PICK 4: Delaware North will bring back its National Pick 4 contest on Saturday evening, July 12, with a $10,000 guaranteed gross pool. It will be held every Saturday night.

Dubbed the “Fastest Pick 4 in America,” the contest will be hosted by Wheeling Island and broadcast through the local signal. Other tracks participating are Daytona, Southland and Phoenix.

Officials note 100 percent of the net DNC Pick 4 pool will be paid out. They takeout rate has been reduced from 25 percent to 17 percent.

The approximate post time schedule for the Pick 4 follows:

Leg 1: Wheeling (Race 15), 10:38 p.m. EDT

Leg 2: Daytona (Race 14), 10:48 p.m. EDT

Leg 3: Southland (Race 11), 11 p.m. EDT

Leg 4: Phoenix (Race 4), 11:12 p.m. EDT

Pawloski can be reached at sjpawloski@yahoo.com