With all that wonderful weather in Florida, our dog racing and whippet racing schedule kicks into high gear right at the start of the year.  The meets are sanctioned by the National Oval Track Racing Association and hosted by Southern Most Sighthounds, or SOMOS for short.  At over 300 yards, each race is as exciting for you humans as it is for us sighthounds.

Jacksonville, Florida – Jacksonville is a wonderful place to visit and to race.  The track is fast, and our hosting group, the Southern Most Sighthounds (SOMOS), always puts on a good show.  Here are their spring dog racing dates.

• February 13 & 14, 2010 – (oval) Jacksonville, Florida
• February 27 & 28, 2010 – (oval) Jacksonville, Florida
• March 20 & 21, 2010 – (oval) Jacksonville, Florida
• April 3 & 4, 2010 – (oval) Jacksonville, Florida

Feeling the Need for Speed…..

- Tristan the Whippet

It takes a while for dog racing to get going on the East Coast, but when they do, it is lots of fun.  After a long winter of lying around and enjoying those holiday treats, most of us racing dogs and sighthounds are ready to get back to dog racing.  Here are the spring events in the East.

New Jersey Racing – The Jersey Rag Racers Whippet Association and Count Basie Racing Association sponsor fun oval track meets.  Here are their spring dates.

• April 11, 2010 – (oval) in Pennsville, NJ
• April 25, 2010 – (oval) in Ringoes, NJ

New York State Racing – The Central Leatherstocking Area Sighthound Society, or CLASS as they like to be called, are hosts for sprint whippet racing in the Empire State.  Here is their spring date.

• April 17, 2010 – (sprint) in Starkville, NY

Pennsylvania Racing – In the Keystone State, the Lehigh Valley Coursing Club invites racers to Harleysville for an exciting day of dog racing in May.

• May 1, 2010 – (oval) in Harleysville, PA

Keep your paws, I mean fingers, crossed that we have fast, safe tracks for these East Coast dog races.

Feeling the Need for Speed,

- Tristan the Whippet

After a long winter of lying around and enjoying those holiday treats, it’s time to get back to dog racing and whippet racing.  All we racing dogs and sighthounds are very excited and looking forward to that first dash after the lure.  Here is what is happening for dog racing across the Midwest.

Illinois / Indiana – Between the Chicago and St. Louis areas, the central part of the U.S. is well represented with sighthound clubs.  Near Chicago, dog races are hosted by the Delphi Racers.  Also in this region are the Greater St. Louis Whippet Club, the Show-Me Whippet Club and the Circle City Rag Racers.  Here is their spring dog racing schedule.  

• April 10, 2010 – (oval) in Dorsey, IL (GSLWC)
• April 11, 2010 – (oval) in Dorsey, IL (SMWC)
• April 18, 2010 – (oval) in Knightstown, IN
• April 24, 2010 – (sprint) in Gardner, IL
• April 25, 2010 – (sprint) in Gardner, IL

Texas – Dog racing season starts early in Texas, and both the Whippet Appreciation Society In Texas and the North Texas Whippet Club put on a fine meet.  Here are their spring dates.

• February 13, 2010 – (sprint) in Celina, TX
• February 14, 2010 – (oval) in Celina, TX
• March 27, 2010 – (sprint) in Celina, TX
• March 28, 2010 – (oval) in Celina, TX
• April 24, 2010 – (sprint) in Celina, TX
• April 25, 2010 – (oval) in Celina, TX

Texas is a big state, and we whippets always have big hopes for fast dog races and fun times.  Hope to see you there.

Feeling the Need for Speed,

- Tristan the Whippet

Thanks to all that rain, the Pacific Northwest is a wonderful place for us racing dogs to run and compete.  The track is soft, so we can really let out the speed.  We even get to watch our families fiddle with their passports as they travel into Canada.  Here is what is happening up there regarding dog racing and whippet racing.

British Columbia – Dog racing north of the U.S. border is plenty of fun.  The Vancouver Island Whippet Association does a great job of hosting meets.  In August of 2010, the British Columbia Whippet Racing Club will host the NAWRA national meet in Squamish, B.C.  I’ll have more on that later.  Here are spring dates for British Columbia whippet races.

• March 6, 2010 – (sprint) in Cobble Hill, British Columbia
• April 10, 2010 – (oval) in Cobble Hill, British Columbia

Washington State – Clubs in Washington State hosted the 2009 NARWA national meet and did a bang up job.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The two clubs with spring dog racing dates are Olympia Racing and Coursing Club and Whippet Racing Activity Group.  Here are their spring dates:

• March 13, 2010 – (sprint) in Centralia, WA
• March 14, 2010 – (oval) in Centralia, WA
• April 17, 2010 – (oval) in Goldendale, WA
• April 18, 2010 – (oval) in Goldendale, WA

Oregon – Dog racing in Oregon is run just south of Portland and frequently hosted by the Washington Whippet Racing Association.  There will be whippet racing both sprint and oval track over one weekend this spring.  Those dates are:

• March 20, 2010 – (sprint) in Beavercreek, OR
• March 21, 2010 – (oval) in Molalla, OR

With plenty of rain, the grass should be perfect for wonderful, fast dog racing.  Hope to see you at a meet.

- Tristan the Whippet

After a long winter of lying around and enjoying those holiday treats, it’s time to get back to dog racing and more specifically, whippet racing.  All we racing dog and sighthounds are very excited and looking forward to that first dash after the lure.  Here is what is happening out West.

Northern California – The Northern California Whippet Club and the River City Racing Association host their whippet racing meets in Sacramento, typically featuring sprint racing on Saturday and oval track on Sundays.  Here are the dates.

• March 6, 2010 – (sprint) in Sacramento, CA
• March 7, 2010 – (oval) in Sacramento, CA
• March 20, 2010 – (sprint) in Sacramento, CA
• March 21, 2010 – (oval) in Sacramento, CA
• April 10, 2010 – (sprint) in Sacramento, CA

Southern California – Racing in Orange and Brea, California, the Southern California Whippet Association and the Great Western Whippet Association also have both sprint and oval track whippet racing. Here are their dates.

• February 7, 2010 – (sprint) in Orange, CA
• February 27, 2010 – (sprint) in Orange, CA
• February 28, 2010 – (oval) in Brea, CA
• March 13, 2010 – (sprint) in Orange, CA
• March 14, 2010 – (oval) in Brea, CA

Southwest Region – Dog racing in the great Southwest kicks off in March with races sponsored by the Albuquerque Whippet Fanciers Association and the Reata Whippet Racing Group in Riverton, Utah.  The River City Racing Association is coming from Sacramento to host a very special sprint race in conjunction with the American Whippet Club event in Tucson.  Here are their dates for the dog races.

• March 6, 2010 – (oval) in Mountainair, NM
• March 7, 2010 – (oval) in Mountainair, NM
• April 17, 2010 – (sprint) in Tucson, AZ, with the American Whippet Club event
• April 25, 2010 – (oval) in Riverton, UT

With plenty of rain, the grass should be perfect for wonderful, fast whippet racing.  Hope to see you at a meet.

Feeling the Need for Speed,

- Tristan the Whippet