The History of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Westminster, known as America's Dog Show, has a storied history dating back to 1877.
The Westminster Kennel Club gets it name from a long gone hotel in Manhattan where sporting gentlemen used to meet and eventually decided to form a club to compare their dogs in a setting away from the field. When the first show was staged in 1877, 1,201 dogs entered the competition, which was held at Gilmore's Garden (the forerunner of Madison Square Garden) in New York City. It was originally slated to last three days, but due to popularity, was extended another day. The Westminster Kennel Club actually predates the governing body of dog shows today, the American Kennel Club, by seven years. In fact, several Westminster Kennel Club members along with the Kennel Club of Philadelphia helped form the organization. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second-longest staged sporting event in the country - the Kentucky Derby has been staged longer, but just by one year. According to the Westminster Kennel Club's Web site, many famous names have participated in the annual event, including two Staghounds from the late General George Custer's pack, two Deerhounds bred by the Queen of England, Philanthropist J.P. Morgan entered his Collies in 1893 and American journalist Nelly Bly entered her Maltese at Westminster in 1894, about four years after she made her record-breaking trip around the world. The Best in Show award, the most-coveted award in the dog show world, was first given at the 1907 event. Only one dog has won the award three times, a Smooth Fox Terrier named Ch. Warren Remedy. Six dogs have won the coveted award twice. Today the number of entrants is limited to 2,500 due to space restrictions at Madison Square Garden, where the event is now held. Since 1992, the club has extended invitations to the top five dogs in each breed to be pre-entered to ensure that the top dogs have a chance to compete. To learn more about the Club's history, visit the Westminster Kennel Club's Web site. |
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