80 Dogs Race to be the ‘Fastest Wiener in the West’

By Jessica Carreiro

If you drove by the Los Alamitos Race Track on Saturday night, you might have seen the packed crowd of thousands of spectators, and thought they were all there to cheer on some horses. But for once, it wasn’t the horses that drew the crowd—it was the wiener dogs.

Eighty wiener dogs entered the 18th Annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals hoping to be named the Fastest Wiener in the West. Each member of the crowd, a mix of wiener dog owners and enthusiasts alike, tried to lay claim to a good spot to view the racing action.

Mairi Gilbertson and her sons Sam, 9, and Lewis, 11, made sure to get to the track early this year to score front row seats. It was the family’s second time at the Wiener Nationals. Though their own wiener dog, 2-year-old Rosi, stayed home for the day, the family was happy just to enjoy the event as spectators.

“It’s fun and it’s for a good cause,” Mairi Gilbertson said. All proceeds from the race go to the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a non-kill animal shelter based in Orange County.

As for whether or not Rosi will race in the future, Gilbertson laughed, “Maybe at some point!" 

Meet Penny Lane

Every dog has to start somewhere. There’s no better example of that than 2010 and 2011 Wiener Nationals winner, Penny Lane. Hard to miss in her satin gold 2010 Champion of Champions jacket, the 5-year-old doxie is in her fourth year of racing.

Though the constant love and attention may be what Penny Lane loves most about the event, for owner Trish Ausilio, it’s more about the people.

“I have met so many friends doing this,” Ausilio said. “We all just love wiener dogs.”

This year, Penny Lane raced in the Legends race, an appropriate category for the champion-turned-movie-star dog. In fact, several of the dogs at the event this year were also featured in the recently released film, Wiener Dog Nationals.

One could see how the subject would make an entertaining film. The crowd rose to its feet when bugle horns sounded for the start of the first heat. Ushered in by a large Wienerschnitzel hot dog mascot, the first round of wiener dogs was carried along the track on full display for adoring fans. The owners then brought the doxies to the starting gate. Fifty yards down, another member of the dog’s posse stood at the finish line with whistles and toys to lure the dog’s attention.

But it was clear with the first heat that not all of the dogs understood the concept of racing.

As they launched out of the gate, some simply stopped. Others ended up underneath the “Sponsored By Weinerschnitzel” sign trying to escape to the greener pastures of the grassy inner track. But a few, in spite of all the distractions that could be had on 50 yards of dirt, did manage to make it across the finish line.

One such heat winner was 3-year-old Tchotchke. With no training and only one practice run before the race, Tchotchke astounded his owners, Tom and Neely Leupold, by darting to the finish line with the pin sharp focus of a tiny, disproportionate, floppy-earred thoroughbred.

“I was just taking pictures. We didn’t think he was going to win,” Tom Leupold said. “When I saw him pulling ahead I had to put my camera down and start cheering!”

The winner of the championship race, and the Fastest Wiener in the West, was Buddy Black. Buddy, and owner Shawn Black of Long Beach, were awarded $1,000, a red Wienerschnitzel doghouse, a championship trophy and an honorary blanket.

Not bad for a day at the races.