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The canine-inclined will be glued to their televisions this weekend, as the 145th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will take place in a new location. The tradition of Madison Square Garden steps aside due to COVID-19 for one year, and Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York takes over as an outdoor venue with no spectators allowed.
While wagering on dog shows is verboten by your favorite licensed and regulated wagering outlet, DraftKings Sportsbook is offering a free-to-enter $2,000 pool for those that choose to handicap the hounds ahead of this year’s show. There are seven questions available, and you’ll have until Sunday, June 13th at 7:30 p.m. to make your puppy picks.
The selections are all around who will win the “Best In Show” award, which is determined by each of the 209 “Best In Breed” winners that narrow to the seven “Best In Group” selections: Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, Herding, Sporting, Working, and Terrier.
Here are a few picks we made around the seven questions on offer.
Which group will win Best In Show?
Hound
Toy
Non-Sporting
Herding
Sporting
Working
Terrier
A terrier has won the top prize 47 out of 111 times at Westminster, including 15 Wire Fox Terriers alone. We’ll ride with the math here.
What letter will the winning breed start with?
A-M
N-Z
Of the 209 eligible breeds from the American Kennel Club, 132 are lettered from A-M. Though the last two winners were a Wire Fox Terrier (2019) and Standard Poodle (2020), only nine of the last 21 since the turn of the century would have been N-Z. Yes, we’re bringing analytics to dog show handicapping.
Which group will win Reserve Best In Show?
Hound
Toy
Non-Sporting
Herding
Sporting
Working
Terrier
18 winners of 111 have been from the Sporting Group, but we couldn’t find how many times they took home the silver medal. But this would seem to be the best way to pick a non-winner here.