CNN editorial research
Here’s a look at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which is the second oldest ongoing sporting event in the United States after the Kentucky Derby.
December 29, 2021 – The President of the Westminster Kennel Club announces that the Westminster Kennel Club’s 146th annual dog show has been postponed due to Covid-19. Originally the show was supposed to take place in January.
12-13 June 2021 – The Westminster Kennel Club’s 145th Annual Dog Show is held on the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York.
Facts
The show is “benched”, which means that the dogs must be on public display for ticket holders throughout the competition.
Dogs are invited to participate in the strict eligibility requirements, including the number of other dogs they have defeated in breed competitions. Dogs that have not been invited can also take part if they have won a certain number of significant dog show awards.
Breeds are divided into groups: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding.
The dogs compete for the Best in Breed, then move up to the Best in Group and then compete for the main prize of the Best in Show.
A total of 209 dog breeds and varieties were approved for the 2021 exhibition.
Around 2,500 dogs competed for prizes at the 2021 event.
The Wire Fox Terrier breed dogs have won the most Best-in-Show awards – 15 as of 2021.
Forty-seven breeds were named Best in Show as of 2021.
Seven dogs have won more than one Best in Show. The youngest was an English springer spaniel named Chinoe’s Adamant James, who won in 1971 and 1972.
Timeline
1870s – The Westminster Kennel Club is founded by a group of men who meet regularly at the Westminster Hotel in New York and have an interest in dogs.
1876 - The WKC decides to hold an annual dog show to improve dog breeds and generate public interest.
8-10 May 1877 – The WKC presents the first annual New York Bench Show of Dogs. The show takes place in Gilmore’s Gardens on Madison Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. The show is so popular with the public that it is being extended by a day.
1888 – The exhibition date will be postponed from May to February.
1907 – The show gives its first Best in Show Award to a slick fox terrier named Ch. Warren Remedy. He also wins in 1908 and 1909.
1921 – The show changes from four days to three days.
1923 – Best in Show will not be awarded while the American Kennel Club works to establish standards and regulations to ensure consistency.
1941 – The show becomes a two-day event.
1984 – The tallest dog to win Best in Show is Seward’s Blackbeard, a 155-pound Newfoundland dog.
1988 – The smallest dog to win Best in Show is Great Elms Prince Charming II, a 4.5 pound Pomeranian.
2009 – Best in Show is a Sussex Spaniel, Ch Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, aka Stump. At 10, he’s the oldest winner in show history.
2013 – GCH Banana Joe V Tani Kazari, aka Banana Joe or Joey, is the first Affenpinscher to win Best in Show. Bugaboos Picture Perfect, also known as Swagger, an English Shepherd Dog, is named Reserve Best in Show, a second award reintroduced for the show in 2013 after it hasn’t been given since 1925.
2014 – Sky, a female Wire Fox Terrier, wins Best in Show. This is the 14th time a Wire Fox Terrier has won Best in Show, more than any other breed.
August 11, 2015 – The WKC announces the addition of the Masters Obedience Championship to the 2016 show. This is the first time an obedience competition has been part of the Westminster Dog Show and, like the agility competition, mixed breed dogs are allowed.
The CNN Wire
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