Dachshund racing

Dachshund racing
Wiener dog racing in Buda, Texas

Dachshund racing, or wiener dog racing, is a popular, yet controversial sporting event, primarily found in North America. Typical Dachshund races are either 25 or 50 yards in length, and are run on various surfaces. Many race tracks across America host these events as fundraising or publicity events, and routinely draw the venues' largest attendance numbers of the year.

In the less formal events, most entrants are not career racers, nor bred for racing. Often, dogs will choose not to run the length of the course and instead visit with other dogs or the owner that released them. Otherwise, dogs will run swiftly to their owner at the finish line, coaxed by food or toys.

The de facto national championship of wiener dog racing is the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, held in San Diego, California every December as part of the Holiday Bowl, however there are many other venues that claim title to the true "national champion". The National Championship has been won the past four years by Hank McGuppy, a Dachshund out of Boston, MA. He has proven to be the swiftest, strongest, and most focused Dachshund.

Contents

Criticism

While some compare the sport to English and later American Greyhound racing, others see it having the possibility of harming the breed from strain placed on its spinal column. Others also see the possibility for abuse of racing Dachshunds, as evidenced by the large number of Greyhounds euthanised every year once they have proven unsuitable for racing, and by those given up for adoption.

The Dachshund Club of America opposes dachshund races, not only on the grounds that the breed has a genetic predisposition to back injuries, but also because they are afraid that greyhound or horse tracks will use the events to attract potential customers to see a sport that many animal rights advocates condemn. Animal rights advocates also find the term "Wiener Dog" offensive, and have been looking to find a replacement title for these little athletes.

History

Dachshund racing was first held in Australia in the 1970s. Often the meet would have Whippet, Afghan Hound, and Dachshund racing. These events were held by dog owners for fun. Dachshunds have been raced at the University of California, Davis since 1972 as part of the annual Picnic Day event.[1]

This sport began in North America after a 1993 Miller Lite television commercial that listed odd possibilities for sports, and has grown in popularity since in part due to Wiener Takes All a documentary film that chronicles two years of the Wiener Nationals circuit.[2] In 2009, the Wiener Dog Nationals in Fort Wayne, Indiana, held its 16th annual dachshund race.[3] Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, also hosts its own 'Running of the Wienies' for charity.

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dachshund — A red, smooth, standard sized dachshund Nicknames Teckel (BNL/FR/GER), Tekkel (BNL), Tekkel Doxie (US), Weenie Dog (US) (S.A.), Wiener Dog/Hotdog (US), Sausage Dog (UK/US/AUS), Bassotto (I), Sosis …   Wikipedia

  • Dog racing (disambiguation) — Dog racing may refer to; Greyhound racing, the sport of racing greyhounds Dogsled racing, a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled Dachshund racing, a popular, yet controversial sporting event for… …   Wikipedia

  • Wiener Nationals — The Wiener Nationals are the United States national dachshund racing championships sponsored by Wienerschnitzel. Regional qualifiers are held in the Southwestern United States (California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada), with the final 8 Dachshunds… …   Wikipedia

  • Holiday Bowl — Collegebowl name = Holiday Bowl full name = Pacific Life Holiday Bowl nickname = defunct = image size = caption = Pacific Life Holiday Bowl logo stadium = Qualcomm Stadium previous stadiums = location = San Diego, California previous locations =… …   Wikipedia

  • Wienerschnitzel — Not to be confused with Wiener Schnitzel, an Austrian dish. Wienerschnitzel Type Subsidiary Founded Wilmington, California, USA (1961) Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • 2007 Holiday Bowl — 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Game. Holiday Bowl logo …   Wikipedia

  • Shane MacDougall — is a Canadian stand up comedian, former columnist, television writer, and documentarian. Best known for his 1999 challenge to Queen Elizabeth II to a kickboxing match or math test for the monarchy of Canada, the challenge resulted in him… …   Wikipedia

  • List of dogs — The American army dog Sergeant Stubby (ca 1916 1926) List of dogs is an annotated list of real dogs. See also the list of fictional dogs, List of dog breeds and List of dog types. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Mount Olympus Meets the Middle Kingdom — Introduction officially  Games of the XXIX Olympiad        The Games of the XXIX Olympiad, involving some 200 Olympic committees and as many as 13,000 accredited athletes competing in 28 different sports, were auspiciously scheduled to begin at 8 …   Universalium

  • Olympic Games — 1. Also called Olympian Games. the greatest of the games or festivals of ancient Greece, held every four years in the plain of Olympia in Elis, in honor of Zeus. 2. a modern international sports competition, held once every four years. [1600 10]… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”