How Racing Works
What do I need to know about RACING?
Racing is fairly simple ...
"The Breakdown"
Races are broken up first into a few different breed categories. Then, they are further bronken up into sizes (if the breed calls for it). The break-downs go further into titled and untitled dogs. This gives the dogs a much fairer racing field to compete against.
"The Course"
The coarse is made up of a "LOADING AREA" at one end, a fenced "RACEWAY", and a "CATCH AREA" at the other end. The "Loading area" is where the boxes are located and where the dogs are loaded and released from. The "Raceway" is just the open fenced in area between the "loading area" and the "catch area" where the dogs run. The "Catch area" is just that ... an area fenced in a the end where the dogs run into and are caught and returned to their owners. There is also an electric winch that runs the fuzzy lure used to entice the terriers down the "raceway" and this runs the length of the course into the back of the "catch area".
"Muzzles & Identification"
Each dog MUST wear a muzzle and color coded collar when racing to identify it and to protect it from and arguments that may arise between dogs during racing. *I've seen first hand why muzzles are used!* Muzzles can be either a basket style muzzle or a softie muzzle.
"How it all Works"
Dogs for a particular heat are loaded into the boxes at the "Loading area" and a signal is given between the person opperating the box release and the person running the lure winch. As the lure is started down the "Raceway" the dogs are released from the boxes, all at the same time. They chase the lure down the lane and into a small hole about 8-9 inches wide. The dogs are placed as they come through the hole ... 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th. Usually the 1st thru 3rd or 4th places are the dogs that will run again. The process repeats and the last place dog is removed and the final 3 dogs race one last time. There are usually 3 heats run to determine the overall winner for that particular race. If it is hot out heats are usually cut down to a minimum for the dog's health.
