The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second-oldest running event in American apart from the Kentucky Derby and the group will put on its 137th consecutive show on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The competition will take place on Monday and Tuesday, with the Groups, Junior Showmanship Finals and Best In Show judgments coming in the evenings. The Kentucky Derby has been going on for 139 straight years, beating the dog show by two years.
The show is significant this season as it has the most entries in the past decade with 2,721 dogs coming to New York to be put on display to win best in show. The competition is the most prestigious dog event in America and will air on both USA and CNBC during the two days.
Some of the new breeds that will be in the competition include Russell Terrier and Treeing Walker Coonhound breeds, down from five new ones from last year's event. The 2013 competition now has nearly 200 breeds competing, with 187 altogether.
There are dog shows and then there's Westminster," owner Lois Cohen Goldstein of Freeport, Long Island told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond.
The highest number of types of breeds in the show includes Golden Retrievers with 61, followed by, Labrador Retrievers and Rhodesian Ridgebacks, French Bulldogs, Australian Shepherds and Chinese Cresteds, who have 40. On the flipside, the lowest is Plott, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Kuvasz, Norwegian Lundehund, and Entlebucher Mountain Dog with one entry each.
The dogs come from all over the country and the world and for the third year in a row, the most are from New York, followed by California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Worldwide there are 117 foreign entries, with Canada leading with 104.
A couple years ago in 2009 the oldest dog even to win took home the Best In Show, at 10 years, 2 months and 9 days of age. Historically the best bet is the Wire Fox Terrier, who has 13 all-time wins.
The judging will be done by a panel of 43 members and led by, Michael Dougherty, who will judge the Best In Show and has over 50 years of experience in the sport. Each judge in the panel will cover the different groups and breeds then will report to Dougherty.
According to Ann Wycoff of SanDiegoMagazine.com, Dougherty called the event "the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, and Miss America pageant rolled into one in the dog world."
The television schedule includes CNBC on Monday Feb. 11 from 8 to 11 p.m. ET for the Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding Groups, while on Tuesday the show will be on USA from 8 to 11 p.m with the Sporting, Working and Terrier Groups and Best In Show.
According to the official site, The live coverage is delayed on the West coast and the judging for the breeds is taking place "during the day (8am-6pm) on Monday (Hound, Toy, Non Sporting and Herding breeds) and Tuesday (Sporting, Working and Terrier breeds) at Piers 92/94 (West 55th Street and the West Side Highway)."
