Squamish is going to the dogs - whippet dogs, that is. Close to 150 of the "mini-greyhounds" are coming back to Squamish for the second national championship race to be held at Centennial fields in four years.
Whippet fanciers from around North America will crowd onto the field to watch sprint and oval racing from Aug. 26 to 28.Squamish's own "whippet lady," president of B.C. Whippet Racing Club Penny Wilmot described the event as the poor man's horseracing. Fans travel long distances to watch the dogs race at speeds in excess of 65 km per hour, but unlike the expensive sport of horseracing, these family pets race only for fun and glory. The sport's amateur status doesn't detract from the seriousness of competition, however.
"This is a world-class caliber event," said Wilmot.
The event is being run under three umbrella groups - the B.C. Whippet Racing Club, the Whippet Club of B.C. and the Vancouver Island Whippet Association. And true to their beginnings in northeastern England, the whippets will compete in the 200-yard sprints. The whippets will also run the oval track, a race that was added to North American competitions 25 years ago.
The event - dubbed "Northern Exposure 2005" - begins Friday Aug. 26 with a fun match starting at 1 p.m. The match will afford spectators the chance to watch the dogs strut their stuff in the show ring before a conformation judge. On Saturday Aug. 27 the competition beings with sprint racing, and audiences will be entertained with non-stop action. The dogs compete in four heats of six-dog running after an artificial lure over 200 yards. On Sunday, Aug. 28 oval racing takes place with four heats of five-dog races, running a 300-yard oval track. Both the Saturday and Sunday events will be open to the public from 20 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Organizers invite all members of the public to watch, and insist that spectators leave their own dogs at home.
"These dogs cover 200 yards in 10 seconds," said Wilmot. "If a loose dog got on the track, it would cause a terrible accident."
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