Julie Woods’ Darcy, a 2-year-old short-haired dachshund, became one of the youngest doxies ever to win the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals after leading the championship race from start to finish in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 for the 21st running of the event on Saturday at the Los Alamitos Race Course.
Julie Woods’ Darcy, a 2-year-old short-haired dachshund, became one of the youngest doxies ever to win the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals after leading the championship race from start to finish in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 for the 21st running of the event on Saturday at the Los Alamitos Race Course.
A total of 10 trials featuring a total of 98 dachshunds were contested with the winning wieners of each trial moving on to the 50-yard final. Only 30 minutes after winning her trial number nine in impressive fashion, Darcy quickly came back to win the final in wire to wire fashion. There were some anxious moments prior to the race, as Darcy got loose as the pups were being loaded into the starting gate for the final. The doxie ran all the way to the finish line to her human mom, Julie. After Julie caught the runaway weenie, Darcy was taken back to the starting gate and loaded into the gate. When the gate opened, she took off like a flash again, finding her way back to Julie’s arms.
“She has a little separation anxiety,” said Julie of Banker’s Hill. “She hasn’t been in a lot of wiener dog races, we’ve only done a few of them, but we might try a few more after seeing how she did today.”
Darcy’s victory was worth $1,000 in cash prizes, plus a doghouse in the shape of a classic A-Frame Wienerschnitzel restaurant, a house that will now reside in Vista, California. Darcy also earned a championship trophy and will receive an honorary trophy blanket.
Defending champion Finn ran a great race on the way to finishing second in the final. Owned by Josh and Brittany Snook of Lawndale, Finn won the fifth trial of the night to earn a third consecutive spot in the Wiener Nationals Championship race.
Finn’s reason for running? Getting the multicolored beach-ball that awaits him at the finish line. The longhaired strawberry cream doxie loves nothing more than to tear the beach ball to pieces once he catches it at the finish line. Finn earned $500 for his second place finish.
Over the years, the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals at Los Alamitos Race Course has raised $250,000 for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a no-kill shelter dedicated to finding new forever homes for lost and abandoned animals in the Orange County area.
The rest of the field in the championship race featured Denise Meisner’s Ezri of San Diego in her second straight championship race; plus Marie Von Zabern’s Sammie of Yorba Linda; Jessica Record’s Heidi of Valley Village; Melissa and Michael Miller’s Carmella Macchiato of Helendale; Kristin Cortez’s Milo of Whittier; Michael and Debbie Sink’s Cinder of Hesperia; Carla Harrison’s Rocky Balboa of Orange; and Stephanie Hurtado’s Bolt of Pasadena.