America’s Dog Show

The Westminster Kennel Club
137th Annual All Breed Dog Show
Monday and Tuesday, February 11-12, 2013
New York, NY

New in 2013!
Judging in the breeds will take 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). For a listing of the breeds in each Group, please click here.

Groups, Junior Showmanship Finals and Best In Show will be judged Monday and Tuesday evenings at Madison Square Garden (West 33rd and Seventh Avenue)

Monday at 8 pm: Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding Groups
Tuesday at 7:30 pm: Junior Showmanship Finals, Sporting, Working and Terrier Groups, followed by Best In Show

LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE:
Monday, February 11, 8pm-11pm ET, Live on CNBC
Tuesday, February 12, 8pm-11pm ET, Live on USA Network
*Please note: Television coverage in the Pacific Time zone is delayed for that time zone and is from 8pm-11pm PT both nights.

MORE INFO HERE!

New At Westminster In 2013

Breed judging during the day (Monday and Tuesday) moves to Piers 92/94: More than 200,000 square feet of column-free, high-ceiling space at West 55th and the West Side Highway for breed judging, benching, vendors, and spectators. Group judging, Junior Showmanship finals and Best In Show competition will still be staged Monday and Tuesday nights at Madison Square Garden.

Show entry limit increases to 3,200 dogs: The increase includes dogs that are not champions («class dogs») being eligible to enter for the first time since 1991. Dogs are required to have won at least one major of three points or more to be eligible, but do not have to be AKC champions. At Westminster, class dogs will be able to win points towards their AKC championship title with an award of Winners Dog or Winners Bitch.

LIVE and COMPLETE streaming video of breed judging: Westminster will produce live coverage via streaming video on its website of all of the breed judging in each of the 187 breeds and varieties. Since 2005, breed judging highlights have been carried on the website on streaming video on a delayed basis, but this year, for the first time, this important part of the show will be covered live and in its entirety with real-time posting on www.westminsterkennelclub.org. Shortly after its live presentation, that streaming video will then be permanently available for viewing on the website for those who might not have had the opportunity to view it live or for those who just want to see their favorite breeds in competition once again. Watch the website for details.

Grand Championship Points (GCH): With the addition of class entries, wins at Westminster awarded by the breed judge (Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch) will win points towards the AKC’s Grand Championship title. For details, see www.akc.org/grandchampionship. This award will take the place of Awards of Merit previously offered by the club.

Addition of National Specialty winners as invited competitors: National Specialty winners in the 2012 calendar year will be added to the list of dogs invited to pre-enter in advance of the entry closing date. The top five dogs in breed standings for the period Jan. 1-October 31, 2012, will once again be invited to pre-enter.

Addition of the Reserve Best In Show Award: The Reserve Best in Show winner will be chosen by the Best In Show judge from the remaining group winners in the ring after the awarding of Best in Show. This is a new AKC rule as of July 2012. Westminster actually did award Reserve Best In Show from 1911-1925.

Two new breeds eligible in 2013: The Treeing Walker Coonhound (Hound Group) and the Russell Terrier (Terrier Group) are the breeds newly recognized by the AKC and eligible for Westminster for the first time in 2013. There are 187 breeds and varieties now eligible.
Westminster Facts And Figures

• The Westminster Kennel Club was established in 1877, making it America’s oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs.
• First held in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America’s second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby..
• Westminster pre-dates the invention of the light bulb and the automobile, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Washington Monument, the invention of basketball and the establishment of the World Series.
• Since Westminster held its first show 133 years ago, there have been 25 men elected president and 12 states have joined the Union. The dog show has outlasted three previous versions of Madison Square Garden, and is currently being staged in MSG IV.
• The first telecast of Westminster was in 1948, three years before «I Love Lucy» premiered.
• In 2005, streaming video with same day coverage of breed judging highlights was made available for the first time on the Westminster web site (www.westminsterkennelclub.org). It was an immediate and huge hit.
• A portion of the proceeds from Westminster’s first show in 1877 was donated to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to establish a home for stray and disabled animals.
• The Empire State Building first honored Westminster by lighting its tower in the Westminster colors of purple and gold in 2004 and will do so again in 2012.
• There have been a total of 303,756 dogs entered in Westminster’s 136 shows through 2012.
• Through the 2012 show, there have been 1,713 judges who have officiated at least once at Westminster. One person, Mrs. Ann Rogers Clark, judged 23 times, the highest total.
• Two dogs have won Best In Show at both Westminster and Crufts in Birmingham, England, each of them winning at the English show before coming to the America: the Lakeland Terrier, Ch. Stingray of Derryabah (Crufts 1967, WKC 1968) and the Kerry Blue Terrier, Ch. Torums Scarf Michael (Crufts 2000, WKC 2003).
• Only one time has the offspring of a Best In Show winner duplicated the feat. In 2000, the English Springer Spaniel Ch. Salilyn N’ Erin’s Shameless repeated the 1993 BIS accomplishment of her sire, Ch. Salilyn’s Condor.
• Two Best In Show winners, Norwich Terriers, had the same sire: 1994’s Ch. Chidley’s Willum the Conqueror and 1998’s Ch. Fairewood Frolic were offspring (half brother/sister) of Ch. Royal Rock Don of Chidley
• The Papillon, Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being («Kirby»), is the only dog to capture Best In Show at the World Dog Show (1998 in Helsinki) and Best In Show at Westminster (1999).
• In 2009, Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, a Sussex Spaniel, became the oldest dog to capture Best In Show at 10 years, 2 months and 9 days of age in 2009. The youngest winner was the Rough Collie, Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven, who captured the award in 1929 at the age of exactly 9 months.
• Westminster was established in 1877, pre-dating the founding of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club, which was established in 1884.
• In 1884, The Westminster Kennel Club became the first member of the American Kennel Club.