A Must Know Guide to Amateur Dog Racing

Hi, this is Tristan the Whippet.  I’ve been whippet racing all my life and truly love it.  If you are unfamiliar with amateur dog racing, let me tell you a little about it.

For starters, a racing dog is generally called a sighthound, or sometimes gazehound.  Racing dogs are called this because in the wild we hunt by keeping our prey in view, as opposed to dogs like bloodhounds who follow a scent.  Great speed and agility are required to hunt this way, so we have a flexible back, strong shoulders and hindquarters and a deep chest.  Think of us as the sprinters of the dog racing world.

These attributes make us an excellent racing dog.  I’m honored to say that whippets, like me, are second to greyhounds as the fastest dogs on Earth.  Also included among sighthounds are Afghan hounds,  Basenji, Borzoi, Ibizan hounds, Irish wolfhounds, Italian greyhounds, Magyar agar, Pharaoh hounds, Rhodesian ridgeback, Saluki and Scottish deerhounds.

Let’s get one things straight about whippet racing.  We race for sport, for the love of the chase.  There is no betting, and the vast majority of us dogs are family members.  Think of us as teenagers involved in track and field.  It is all about winning ribbons and titles for the family.  In case you are wondering, I was awarded the title Race Champion by the North American Whippet Racing Association, or NAWRA, in 2008 and tied for 12^th place nationally in 2009.

We organize under several national racing organizations and many local clubs.  The primary whippet groups are NAWRA, the Whippet Racing Association and Continental Whippet Alliance.  The Large Gazehound Racing Association is for non-whippet sighthounds.  These dog racing organizations promote straight track or sprint racing.  The National Oval Track Racing Association, NOTRA, sponsors somewhat longer races on an oval track.

These dog racing national organizations are supported by a network of local clubs and associations that host race meets and encourage the growth and improvement of fun, safe, fair and competitive dog racing in the U.S and Canada.

Another competition is called lure coursing.  While I must admit that I don’t compete in lure coursing, it is an exciting sport to watch.  In this type of dog racing, dogs chase the lure over a zigzag course and winner is chosen based on a combination of time and points.  The primary sponsoring organizations are the American Sighthound Field Association as well as the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs.

There you have a primer on my fun, exciting sport.  CLICK HERE for information on race meets in your area.  I’d love to see you at a meet.

Feeling the Need for Speed,

- Tristan the Whippet