Farewell to the distance Queen!

It saddens by heart to announce that two time All-American Penny Candy has been retired and will be returning home to become a mama.

Even though the DQ Williams Kennel has had several fantastic greyhounds, and even All-Americans, running at the Orange Park Kennel Club, none have been as special as Penny Candy.

This little girl was the definition of leaving it all on the racetrack. No matter what happened to her, she gave her all in each and every effort over whatever distance she ran. The further she went, the better she became.

Penny finishes off her career on the doorstep of the all time win leader list. With her starts from Wichita, she compiled career stats of 138 starts, 76 wins, 20 second, 18 thirds and 11 fourths. And even though she was good normally, in stakes races this little girl shined brightest. She competed in 18 stakes events and never finished out of the money. She won 13 of those races, finished 2nd twice, 3rd twice, and 4th once. Two of those wins were in stakes finals, the 2010 Orange Park Derby and James J Patton Marathon, and in 2009 she finished 2nd in the Orange Park Derby finals by a head and 4th in the James J Patton Marathon by a length and a half.

Over her career she has had too many win streaks to list, but the most impressive was when she almost tied the all time win mark on the Jacksonville Racing Circuit. Between October 2008 and January 2009 Penny Candy won 13 official races in a row over 660 yards, and what made it even more impressive was how she did it. Some of the wins came on the lead and the still others came from off the pace. The streak was stopped by a second place effort where she ran into all kinds of trouble and missed by a half a length at the finish line. Beyond that effort, she won three more races in a row.

Penny will be remembered by patrons, fans, and employees for years to come at the Orange Park Kennel Club. Everyone will miss your unmatching desire to win, your fantastic closing abilities, your unwaving class, and your incredible break. For all of us we will like to take this opportunity to thank DQ and Sharon Williams for allowing us to witness her greatest on a start by start basis. Congratulation on her great career and I'm sure in the not do distant future we will be seeing little Penny's tearing up the racetrack too.

Good luck in you new occupation as a mother, and once again congratulation on a stupendous career at the Orange Park Kennel Club.