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Whippet Racing, Some Basics
Circle City Rag Racers invites you to experience the sport of Whippet racing at several organized meets each year in central Indiana. I have enjoyed this game for nearly ten years and have traveled extensively around the country meeting many very fine racing competitors and their owners.
Let’s look at a few basics elements of this sport. Whippet racing is precisely what this breed of dog was designed to do. They are sprinters – some also refer to the Whippet as a coursing dog, but first and foremost they are racers. Pedigrees may vary but you can be assured there is a racing dog behind your dog’s gentle and friendly appearance.
CCRR presently host two types of Whippet Racing. Sprint racing or as some folks call it, flat track racing, and oval racing. Both of these sports are open competition and are well defined within the body of rules the North American Whippet Racing Association (NAWRA) the Whippet Racing Association (WRA) and the National Oval Track Racing or NOTRA. CCRR also offers Racing venues for the other sight hound breeds under LGRA and NOTRA.
Training a Whippet to race is not a difficult task, they all posses a primal drive to chase, so all we have to do is tap into their pry drive and off we go. You can find several good articles and resources that advise owners on this process. One such article can be located in the Performance Sight hound Journal Vol 3 Issue 4, page 24. For more information about the Performance Journal contact Jackie Nivison at Performance Sighthound Journal Playing with your pup early and often is the best place to begin. Find some time where you and your pup are able to use a lung line with a piece of fur, toy or bag and you have an essential tool. Your dog will need to be keen on the lure before racing, this is not negotiable. When racing your Whippet interference on the other dogs is grounds for a foul and possible disqualification.
When your dog sees our lures they will be curious. In addition to using the Jack O lure with a squawker, I like to add some coyote skin and a small bit of white plastic bag. This way your hound can be stimulated for the chase.
Additionally, all potential racers do need good socialization so they can be relaxed and comfortable with others dogs and people. I would highly recommend bringing out the youngsters to one of our meets so they can soak up the energy of the race meet. You should find several friendly folks around to assist you with questions and tips. Remember, you must keep your dogs on leach and under control at a race meet. Like many lure coursing events, fines for loose dogs are enforced.
I encourage folks to bring their youngsters out to the finish or catch area where they can witness the adults coming in on the lure. Be sure to stand off to the side away from the dogs or the drag line. It is amazing how quick your pup can catch on when they see the big dogs enthralled on the lure.
Next, find a friendly soul and ask them if you can walk down the track with them when they take their dog to the starting box. Always stand behind the starting box and off to the side so your pup can see the adults going into the starting box and popping out the front on their way down the race track. Keep control of your dog at all times. Just like watching at the catch area, when your dog hears the excitement of those lucky dogs going into the box, the little light bulb will go off in their heads. I have found that whenever we get a chance to practice dogs, young pups can be placed alongside the track in a good sized crate or kennel and watch the adults chase the bunny. I like setting them near where the lure is going to stop.
Each dog in competition must wear a muzzle; these are available from several sources and come in several styles. Links to vendors can be found at many websites. Check them out and talk with other Whippet owners about the muzzles they use. Most dogs comply with wearing a muzzle with little objections. Once you have a muzzle you can put it on the dog at home for short periods of time so they get use to it.
Race blankets can be either purchased or homemade. Each dog will need six jackets which reflect the numeral and color appropriate with the sanctioning body rules. If you don’t have a set of racing jackets don’t worry, many folks keep extras on hand and will be happy to let you borrow them until you have your own set.
Box training. There are different opinions on how to best box train your dog. Some folks like going slow others believe the process can go much faster. I like to start walking pups through an open starting box when they are about six months old. When they are nine or ten months old and keen on the lure, you can start hand slipping them through the open box and a few yards down the track. Once they realize where that bunny is going, it’s time to close the front of the box and pop it open immediately when the dog gets completely inside. With this progress achieved it is now time to load the dog in the closed box. Again, if your dog has been able to hang around a race meet or two and you took him around the starting box a few times, they will have a clue.
Sprint tracks are usually laid out as either 150 or 200 yards. While 150 yards was the standard in the UK, here in North America most sanctioning bodies have used the 200 yard length. Since 2005 NAWRA has allowed the option of the 150 and CCRR has been one of the first clubs in the country to exercise that option. Our track is essentially a turf track we maintain on private property. I like to use a lawn roller on the track every spring and keep the best footing possible for the dogs. Some racing meets around the country will need to use parks or other public grounds, most are no problem but the condition of the ground is usually not something the race club can control.
Our track area is completely fenced so there is no chance your dogs will run off or end up out of our control. Although some clubs will tape off the straight track area, usually 30’ wide down the distance of the track, it is not mandatory so I like to keep the race area open except for the finish line. Your dog’s keenness on the lure will dictate their racing line down the track.
Oval tracks. The oval track set up at Carthage downs a 300 yard U-val. While six dogs usually race down the sprint track, the oval racing number of dogs is four. The oval track requires most of the same elements found in sprint racing with a few twists, or should I say turns. Many times I have found that certain dogs enjoy the oval track more than others. These dogs just seem to like the longer distances and turning left. Two types of lure delivery are available, the drag line or continuous loop which is much like the lure coursing type. Either way, the pulleys are set out away from the inside rail at such a distance they pose no risk to the dogs.
Officials and judging. On the straight tracks it is best to have four line judges scoring the dogs across the finish line, on the oval track two judges is permissible. The exception to this number however, is the High Point races. Those are the races with the fastest dogs. The high point races are usually very close at the finish. I have seen some high point races that were so close you could cover all six dogs with a beach towel as they came across the line. Good rule of thumb is the more line judges we can train and have available on race day the better. This is also true concerning foul judges. Unlike many other dog performance events like agility, showing or lure coursing, Whippet racing employs the owners and handlers to administer the racing results.
I hope this short article will answer some of your questions about Whippet racing and in particular, racing at Carthage Downs, Carthage Indiana. Located 40 miles east of Indianapolis, home of the 2007 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts.
Jerry Burrus