Water pooled in pockmarked mud of the Hastings Racecourse late Saturday morning to prompt the track information board to call the conditions “sloppy.” Another downpour hit right before noon, so heavy that those under site tents double-checked the weather app on their phones and looked to the sky in disbelief. The forecast, however, did call for sun and cloud and that was good news for Hunter who is not a thoroughbred racehorse but a wiener dog — or dachshund, if you prefer.
The seven-year-old was a ball of pre-race tremors, which owner Richard Wilger blamed on the weather. “She does like to run but not in the rain,” he said as he cradled the dog against his beige jacket, which, with his black baseball cap, perfectly coordinated with Hunter’s brindle-coloured fur. “That’s the thing about dogs and their owners, they just kind of morph into each other,” he said when told, somewhat resigned.
Hunter was set to run in the third heat of the day at the eighth annual wiener dog races, approximate post time two hours from time of arrival. Wilger figured her chances were good, if the rain did ever stop, and if she didn’t mind wearing the race bandana around her neck (“She is a nudist. If you put any clothes on her she turns straight to wood.”) Another consideration — she might also suffer from distraction. “Around other dogs, she tends to just submit so you might see her tip onto her back… It’s not a good racing move, but it’s pretty good on the cute factor,” Wilger said. “So even with the deck stacked against us, I’m confident she will at least make a good showing. Hunter is super fast so I think she could, you know, take it. I think she could take it all the way, but we will see.”
It was Hunter’s first official race after last year’s disqualification due to not having a “Second Human” in attendance who is somebody who holds and releases the dog at the start line while its owner, or “First Human,” calls for them about 50 metres away at the finish line. Problem was, last year’s races were on the same day as the World Cup finals, Wilger said. “The World Cup of wiener racing?” joked Hunter’s Second Human, Joel Berggren. “The World Cup of soccer!” corrected Wilger. “No, my friends aren’t soccer fans, I think they’re more drinking fans,” he added. “Told them there’s lots of beer here, so…”
The disqualification is a shame considering the number of people Hunter is friends with on Facebook, which proves how fickle and flimsy such social media relationships rare.
“She does have hundreds of followers and she does have more friends than I do,” said Wilger. “She knows people I don’t know. I’ve seen pictures of her with people I don’t know, people I’ve never seen or heard of.” Wilger spoke the truth; this writer later discovered she has eight mutual Facebook friends with Hunter, some of whom have even dogsat Hunter in the past, and all absent at the sidelines of her inaugural race.
The wiener dog races were scheduled between the horse races. Saturday’s dog races were moved to the pavement from the track as moving in the thick mud would have been dangerous for the dogs and their improbable design of three-inch long legs supporting suspension bridge-like bodies.
The weekend is the only time canines are permitted at the track — horses and dogs don’t generally get along. Being in a place that was off-limits was obviously a big deal for Joey the dachshund who won the championship for the first four years until his retirement.
“The owner said the other owners were giving her a hard time, winning too much,” said Hastings’ special events assistant manager Christine Hong with a laugh. Hong went on to add she fielded about 100 emails a day from dog owners leading up to the races, which had all its spots filled in four days after registration opened. “We also have a lot of customers asking if we have wagering on the dogs. No, it’s just for fun.”
The horse race program for the weekend included the lineup for all 80 racing wiener dogs. In Hunter’s race, for example, spectators learned she was up against DeeOgee, a fellow Vancouver dog that won the championship last year; Dilly who “loves to kill rats”; and Tulli whose description humbly stated “we’re just hoping to make it to the finish line.”
It was Max Payne (owned by Devin Payne) that crossed the finish line in a tie with Perdita (Amelia Bentley) to win the third race and $100. Hunter, who was listed as being “so fast she was born with racing stripes,” must have lost them as she stuck close to her Second Human when it was go time.
Clear skies meant conditions were fast for Sunday so the dogs moved to the track. The starting gates swung open for the championship (more for effect than purpose as the dogs could easily pass underneath), and Boris, the muscular black dog who wore a hot pink bandana, was crowned king of the track, much to his owner’s delight. “He’s obsessed with me,” said Chris Fengstad after he held the pup high above his head after the victory. “As long as he knows I’m there, he’ll come running.”
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