Look at those wiener dogs go – Dachshund Dash returns to Fort Erie Race Track
Published July 4, 2023 at 10:29 am
You can call it the Dachshund Dash if you’re inclined but let’s face it, it’s a Wiener Dog Race and it’s coming to Fort Erie Race Track on July 16.
Starting in 2018, the annual event was halted in 2020 and 2021 but is back for the fourth annual running this year and is promising to be a crowd-pleaser.
There are six heats, each with 12 dogs on a 25-metre track and each of the top two comes back for the big finale.
Videos of past Wiener Dog Race at Fort Erie show one thing – most of the dogs have a lousy sense of direction and aren’t entirely sure which direction to go once the starting gates open. Diagonally seems to be a favourite.
When the event started, the head of marketing for the track, Antonietta Culic, wasn’t even sure there were enough wiener dogs in Niagara for this to become an actual event. So she put a call out on Facebook and as it turned out, there are Dachshund lovers a’plenty in the region.
She told a local TV station, “They’re a really popular event at tracks down in the States. A couple of our jockeys have wiener dogs so they’ve been pushing us for this event.”
The initial feedback was “incredible” so it became an annual event.
Beginning after horse racing ends, this non-wagering event is free for the whole family with vendors and food trucks returning this year.
If you wish to see how much fun some American folks have with the Dachshund Dash, check this out.