Thirty-eight wiener dogs, dachshund mixes and certified long dogs lined up on a fenced grassy strip in Denver's Ballpark district for the Long Dog Derby, and when the sprinting and treat-chasing chaos settled, a three-year-old dachshund named Hazel took the championship, with a Superman-caped competitor named Ozzy finishing as runner-up.
A Wiener Dog Tradition Returns
The race is one of the marquee attractions of the 56th Denver Oktoberfest, a two-weekend celebration running Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27 along Larimer Street between 20th and 22nd streets, according to visitdenver.com. As Westword reported, Hazel's championship came in the weekend-one race, held Sept. 20; a second-weekend race was scheduled for Sept. 27, with racer check-in at 11 a.m. and the race itself kicking off at 12:30 p.m. The format pits three to five dogs at a time against each other, released from one end of the grassy strip while handlers stay put at the starting line rather than run alongside their dogs.
Getting a dachshund to run in a straight line toward a finish line, it turns out, is no simple task. Handlers and family members lure the dogs forward with bacon strips, squeaky stuffed animals and other treats, and the derby's rules allow a second family member to wait at the finish line to help coax the dog home, the same report notes. Even with the incentives, only about half of the competitors crossed the finish line directly, and no dogs managed to cross the line at all in heats five and eight.
Hazel Defends Her Title
For Hazel, the win wasn't a fluke. The three-year-old dachshund has competed in the Long Dog Derby every year of her life, the report states, and she's done so despite having undergone a surgical procedure to remove bumps from her stomach. Her championship run earned her two VIP tickets to Denver Oktoberfest for the rest of the day, while Ozzy's second-place finish came complete with a Superman costume.
The derby wasn't the only chance for dogs to show off. A Best Dressed Dog contest, open to all breeds and not just the long-bodied racers, takes place immediately after the heats wrap up and requires no advance sign-up. Competing in the actual race, however, requires pre-registration and proof of current vaccination records, per the same account.
Beer, Bratwurst and a Downtown Boost
The derby is just one piece of a festival that began in downtown Denver in 1969 and now takes place over two weekends, according to thedenveroktoberfest.com. Visit Denver notes the event now draws more than 350,000 attendees annually, with programming that includes stein-hoisting contests testing who can hold two full 1.5-liter beer steins the longest, keg bowling and live oom-pah-pah entertainment, as described by milehighonthecheap.com. Beer, tubas, sausages, schnitzel and apple strudel round out the Bavarian-themed spread, per Westword's reporting.
Kourtny Garrett, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, tied the festival to the broader identity of the district. “Downtown has always been a place where Denver comes together, and events like Denver Oktoberfest help bring that energy to life,” Garrett said, according to Westword's report. Human spectators and non-racing pups get in free to watch the derby and the surrounding festivities, that reporting adds.
Admission details for the wider festival have varied by source: milehighonthecheap.com describes entry as free with no ticket required, while the Denver Gazette lists tickets starting at $121.84. Attendees weighing which option applies to their visit may want to check directly with organizers before heading down to Larimer Street.
Denver's fall festival calendar isn't done yet, either. The Great American Beer Festival is set to take place outdoors at Levitt Pavilion in Ruby Hill Park on Oct. 10 and 11, according to gatherrealty.com.
