The Best in Show action start May 8 . Here ’s what you should know .
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show returns this month — back to New York City .
After two pandemic - altered shows at theLyndhurst Estatein Tarrytown , N.Y. , Westminster ’s 147th edition will be maintain at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens . The main conformation show will be circulate Monday and Tuesday , but other challenger and effect start over the weekend .
Photo: Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency / Getty
Here ’s how to catch all the activeness , how the show go , and which breeds to keep an centre on .
When Is the 2023 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show?
Theslate of eventsbegins Saturday , May 6 , and runs through Tuesday , May 9 . Theagility , obedience , anddock - divingcompetitions are scheduled for Saturday during Westminster ’s Canine Celebration Day .
judge for the conformation show will begin Monday and lasts through Tuesday , culminate in the Best in Show annulus Tuesday nighttime . The next-to-last showmanship competition — in which josh 9 - 18 are estimate on their dog - treatment accomplishment — also runs Monday and Tuesday .
How to Watch the 2023 Westminster Dog Show
If you watch live television through cable , satellite , or a streaming divine service , you could watch much of the showon FOX and FS1 . ( Some of the strain judgement and obeisance and agility events will be streamedon the Westminster internet site . )
The main primetime program on Monday , May 8 , begin at 7 p.m. eastern clip on FS1 . That Nox will have group label for the Hound , Toy , Non - Sporting , and Herding groups . The Tuesday broadcast also starts at 7 p.m. eastern on FS1 and includes judging for the Sporting , Working , and Terrier groups before concluding in the honest in Show anchor ring .
you may also stream the action on the FOX Sports app .
How Does the Westminster Dog Show Work?
The most important affair to remember in a conformity dog show is the dog are judged against their breed ' standards — pen guideline , maintain by the breed ’s parent group , that describe the ideal lineament of the breed . So , the dogs are n’t really competing against each other . Judges decide which track most closely match their stock ’s standard .
thou of dogs from more than 200 breeds and variety recognized by the American Kennel Club are eligible to compete . At first , each wienerwurst vie for the unspoiled of Breed championship . So , all theGreat Danesshow together in one grouping , for example , and the justice decides which one of them well conform tothe breed standard .
The Best of Breed winners are then allocated into the seven groups : Herding , Hound , Non - Sporting , Sporting , Terrier , Toy , and Working . remain with our example , the smashing Dane would vie in the Working Group . The dogs are again appraise against their breed standards .
Seven dogs each win their radical and procession to the last ring . This year , Elizabeth Sweigart will try the grouping winners and resolve who win Best in Show .
Are There Any New Breeds in 2023?
Just one : theBracco Italiano . The American Kennel Clubrecognizedthe Italian hunting breed back in July , allowing Bracchi to contend in its sanctioned dog show . You ’ll find these puppy in the Sporting Group .
The Bracco Italiano own several authoritative search - dog traits : mandible , retentive ears , and powerful sniffers . They ’re reasonably large , too , weighing up to 90 hammering and standing about 2 feet high . Bracchi are also social dogs who love playtime when they ’re not out hunt .
They ’ve long inhabit in their aboriginal Italy , but the Bracco is a rarified strain stateside .
Who Won the Westminster Dog Show in 2022?
Trumpet thebloodhoundwonthe 2022 Westminster Dog Show . He was the first sleuthhound to win Best in Show in Westminster ’s 146 - year history .
More than 3,000 other dogs entered the show last June at the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown , N.Y. It culminate when Best in Show Judge Donald Sturz Jr. picked Trumpet , whose registered name is GCHB CH Flessner ’s Toot My Own Horn .
Will he duplicate this year ?
Which Dog Will Win Westminster This Year?
Heck if I live . It ’s hard to pick one winner from more than 2,500 frank who are classify into 210 categories and then evaluated by judges who have their own preferences and thought processes . A dog can succeed Best in Show one day and not even get ahead her breed at the next day ’s show .
That say , it ’s not like successful show dogs win only by chance . They stand by to their stock standard , show well in the ring , and have a extra something to put them over the top . Several of this year ’s top dogs wereinvited to Westminster , let in :
you could also keep an eye on certain breeds , especially if you ’re planning to plume your family members ina favorable dog - show wager . Westminster is the second - oldest endlessly run sporting case , so we ’ve had a few repeats .
