Chloe the corgi defends dog racing title at Fort Erie Race Track

A corgi named Chloe outran the reigning wiener dog champion Monday to defend her Battle of the Breeds title at Fort Erie Race Track, capping the third annual Corgi and Basset Hound Races on the Civic Holiday.

The finale matched Monday’s fastest corgi and fastest basset hound against Frank the Fur Goblin, the dachshund who won the track’s wiener dog races in July.

Chloe has now won the cross-breed showdown twice and has never lost it, the track said. About 120 owners entered dogs in Monday’s races, which ran free of charge after the afternoon’s horse racing.

“It was a tight battle with our reigning Wiener Dog champ, Frank the Fur Goblin, but once again the corgis came out on top against the wieners and bassets,” the track said in a social media post congratulating the champion.

Horse racing began at 12:15 p.m. and the dogs took the track around 3:30 p.m. The dog races carry no wagering and spectators attend for free.

Under the track’s race rules, dogs sprint about 25 metres in heats, with top finishers advancing to a final on the same day.

Each dog runs between two handlers, a releaser at the start and a catcher past the finish. Owners may wave a toy from the finish line, though food and lasers are banned, and every dog must cross the line on its own.

The track launched its first wiener dog races in 2018 and added basset hound and corgi races as demand for the dog events grew.

James Culic, the track’s manager of marketing and corporate communications, said last year the dog races bring in people who would never otherwise watch a horse race, and many stay to catch the thoroughbreds.

The season’s biggest test comes on Labour Day weekend when the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second race in Canada’s Triple Crown, returns for its 91st running.

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