I have decided to fly the 4th race which will be 250 miles from Melrose, MT on Thursday, September 28th. The birds look great.
Here is the payout for 2023:
250 Mile Race Melrose, MT (Trapping Order)
1st - $500
2nd - 10th - $300
312 Mile Race Garrison, MT (Trapping Order)
1st - $2310
2nd - $1680
3rd - $1470
4th - $1050
5th - $945
6th - $840
7th - $630
8th - $525
9th - $525
10th - $525
350 Mile Race Ovando, MT (Pays 1st Drop Only, then clocking order)
1st - $5600 + $1000 to 1st bird to trap
2nd - $4000
3rd - $2700
4th - $2000
5th - $1700
6th - $1500
7th - $1200
8th - $1100
9th - $975
10th - $850
11th - $700
12th - $650
13th - $600
14th - $550
15th - $500
16th - $450
17th - $400
18th - $375
19th - $350
20th - $300
High Point Bird
1st - $3000
2nd - $2700
3rd - $2500
4th - $1800
5th - $1200
6th - $600
7th - $500
8th - $355
Champion Breeder - $1000
Average Speed
1st - $750
2nd - $450
3rd - $300
Colored Bird
1st - $595
2nd - $357
3rd - $238
3PC 2nd Chance
2nd - $300
3rd - $200
Good Luck to everyone!
Derik Alder
That was a brutal tough race, and I am sorry for the way it turned out. I really feel bad for those of you who's birds didn't make it back. It makes me sick. The birds looked and felt great going into the crate. I don't regret turning them loose. Everything else was great for racing, unfortunately they just took the long way home, and Montana's mountainous landscape is very rugged, and unforgiving. It takes everything that makes these birds great to get back home. Especially when a lot of them came back from the South. On top of everything the headwind they flew home in changed to a tailwind late in the day and brough in a storm. So all the birds coming back from the south came home in a headwind. It also stormed the day after the race and off and on all day today. So the weather hasn't helped us get the lost birds back by any means. As for the birds that are here, I would say 95% of them look and act great, and a few show how hard they flew.
So as of right now, the earliest I would do race 4 would be next Wednesday. I want to give the birds ample time to rest and recover as well as get in a training toss or two. As for training, the weather here is going to be stormy the next couple of days, so I am planning on doing a training toss on Saturday.
Congratulations to the top 3 Birds and Breeders of Race 3.They win a Free Perch Fee for 2024.The winning speed was 1203 YPM.
1st - ARPL - BUD 1039
2nd - APC Loft - APCL 23058
3rd - ARPL - BUD 1041
Here's the current unofficial standings for top 3 point birds and average speed: (I have the points added up on a spreadsheet, which makes them unofficial due to me possibly making a mistake. Terry will have the official points from wincompanion.)
Points:
1st - 382 PTS - Sam Haslem - Sam 422
2nd - 325 PTS - Fleet Washington - FLEE 2304
3rd - 319 PTS - ARPL - BUD 1041
Average Speed:
1st - Sam Haslem - Sam 422
3rd - Christopher Loft - RMR 23911
I will try and post the payout before the 4th race once all checks clear and money is accounted for.
It's still not too late to enter the additional race options.
3PC 2nd Chance - $275 after 3rd race, and $300 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into this option.
Colored Birds - $175 after 3rd race, and $200 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into the colored race.
Here is a tentative race schedule for the next few races:
Race 4 - Wednesday/Thursday September 27th or 28th
Race 5 - Wednesday/Thursday October 4th or 5th
Final Race 6 - Friday/Saturday October 13th or 14th
Thanks again for supporting Plymouth Peak
The clock is still on and working. Normally I would say, I have no idea what happened on a race like today, however this time I have a pretty good idea. Red Rock, MT is in a big valley. We always release on the east side of that valley because ideally the birds need to stay to the east to hit the pass at Lima, MT to come up and over and drop back down into Spencer and across the Snake River Plains. The release went perfect. The birds didn't even circle, they disappeared straight south and east, but I was able to catch up to them about 10 miles to the south and the whole flock had crossed the freeway and were hugging the mountains clear to the west. There's a couple big canyons that way and if they go that way, it's a long rough way home. They missed the first one, and I watched them until the terrain made it impossible to see them. So I am guessing they flew west into the second big canyon. The weather was just what it was calling for which was slight headwinds 5-7 mph on and off the whole racecourse.
I fed them for a tough race because of the headwinds being called for. So they should have enough groceries to get them back. There was a group of 5 birds that came back from the south. That's all the information I have. So hopefully we will eventually get most of them back. Good Luck to everyone.
Hoping for the best,
Due to forcasted chance of storms and high head winds on Tuesday, I have decided to fly the 3rd Race 200 miles from Red Rock, MT tomorrow.
Good Luck To All!!
Thanks
The 2nd race went really well. Again it was a little slower tougher race than I expected, but the birds did great and we got almost all of them back.
The winning speed was 1372 YPM. Congratulations to the top 3 Birds and Breeders of Race 2. They win a Free Perch Fee for 2024:
1st - Stealth Loft - STLH 633
2nd - Blue Sierra - GROS 17
3rd - Redtex - RDTX 91
Most of the entry fees have been collected, and some checks are still in the mail. If I haven't verified payment from you, please do so ASAP. Any birds with entry fees not paid for before the 3rd race will NOT go to the race. I will try and post the payout before the 4th race once all checks clear and money is accounted for.
Entry Fee - $300
3PC 2nd Chance - $225 after 2nd race, $275 after 3rd race, and $300 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into this option.
Colored Birds - $125 after 2nd race, $175 after 3rd race, and $200 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into the colored race.
I plan to train at least twice before the 3rd race. The birds look great so I plan on hauling them Thursday either 45 or 55 miles.
Race 3 - Tuesday September 19th
Race 4 - Wednesday September 27th
Final Race 6 - Friday October 13th
The 1st race ended up being a tougher one than expected. Luckily most of the birds found their way home. As racers we never fully know what happens when something doesn't go as planned, but that's part of racing pigeons.
The winning speed was 1305 YPM. So it wasn't an easy race by no means, and the top birds deserve recognition. Congratulations to the top 3 Birds and Breeders of Race 1. They win a Free Perch Fee for 2024:
1st - ARPL - BUD 1041 BB
2nd - Silicon Valley Syndicate - SVS 23046 BBPN
3rd - Rick Barker - VIP 619 BB
3rd - APC Loft - APCL 23024 BB
3rd - Blue Sierra Loft - GROS 22 BB
Entry Fees are now due. Rest assured I went through all the later birds and they look and feel good. I am going to haul the birds 35 miles tomorrow, and the only birds I am leaving home are the ones that came home this morning. If all goes well tomorrow, I will haul all the birds 45 miles on Saturday. Rest Sunday and fly Race 2 on Monday. I will watch the birds close on the training tosses to make sure they're not being pushed too hard.
3PC 2nd Chance - $200 if paid prior to the second race. $225 after 2nd race, $275 after 3rd race, and $300 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into this option.
Colored Birds - $100 if paid prior to second race. $125 after 2nd race, $175 after 3rd race, and $200 after 4th race which is the last chance to pay a bird into the colored race.
Tomorrow is looking good for a race with mostly sunny skies and slight head winds along most of the course.
Here are the birds that qualify for the colored race:
CDR 3435
Wick 2316, 2322
WFA 3246, 3272
UVI 373
VITA 2676, 2677, 2681
APC 23036, 23055, 23074, 23092
JEDD 35402, 39942
BIEC 3125
RMR 23600
CHSN 304
AA 430, 431
Good Luck To All!
I have decided to postphone the race until next week. The weather for this weekend is no good for racing pigeons. Lots of scattered storms and strong winds from every direction. I am looking at doing the first race on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
Thanks for your patience.
The birds did great Monday from Osgood which was 108 miles. I was planning on doing the 1st race Friday September 1st, and I still will if the weather and the smoke that moved in today will cooperate. The weather is bouncing all over for this weekend. At first it looked like Friday was ok, and now it looks like Saturday might be better. Regardless, I am going to watch the weather and the smoke very closely and do the first race as soon as we have a good day for the birds to fly.
I am doing a Point System this year to pay the top birds at the end of the 6 races. Here is how I have decided to award the Points.
Race 1 Sage Junction, ID 123 Miles = 125 Points
Race 2 Spencer, ID 159 Miles = 150 Points
Race 3 Red Rock, MT 200 Miles = 200 Points
Race 4 Melrose, MT 250 Miles = 250 Points
Race 5 Garrison, MT 312 Miles = 300 Points
Race 6 Ovando, MT 350 Miles = 350 Points
The points for each race will be awarded to the top 30% of birds based on the number sent to each individual race. So the first race might have 70 birds getting points and if only 100 birds went to the last race, 30 birds would get the points. Races 1 - 5 The points will be awarded based on clocking order. For the final race if the 1st drop has more than 1 bird, the points will be divided and awarded equally to the 1st drop and only the 1st drop. After the first drop the points left will be awarded to remaining birds coming back based on clocking order.
Even though I have to decided to try the point system this year to pay the top few birds, I am still going to have prize money for the first 3 birds winning average speed.
The first official race and activation race will be 123 miles from Sage Junction, Idaho. All the birds that return from Sage Junction and are shipped to the second race will need to have entry fees paid asap. If your birds were some of the last group that paid half price perch fees please include the other $50 for the rest of the perch fee.
Entry Fee is $300/Bird
Colored Bird Entry Fee is $100/Bird
3PC 2nd Chance Entry Fee is $200/Bird
There will be NO Pedigree Challenge this year.
I will be posting a list of birds that qualify for the Colored Birds after boxing them for the first race. No Blue Pieds or Splashes or White Flights this time. I will pay the top 3 Colored Birds at the end based on points.
100% of 3PC 2nd chance entry fees will be paid back to the breeders. I will pay the top 3 birds in 2nd chance at the end based on points.
Thanks again and good luck to all. Please feel free to call or text with questions.
Derik Alder 208 380 0994
No training today. I'm driving home. Too stormy