Points Make Prizes

Today’s Beagle Racing at Inch Farm, Kincardine didn’t have quite the excitement and drama of last Sunday’s Derby, but it was still a fun day out with (for the most part) great weather.

Three new racers joined the gang: Hamish, who was cheated of his chance to race a fortnight ago when torrential rain flooded the track, and Bailey and Pebble. It’s customary for one of the newbies to do the draw for the initial heats (I had to do it the first time Beanie raced), and this week that honor fell to Hamish’s dad.

The draw put Beanie up against Murphy and Milo, but there were a couple of surprises in store. The first was that poor Milo would be starting 6 yards behind the other dogs. Why? Well today’s racing was for points (more on that later), and since Milo had won the previous points match held earlier in the year, he was hit with the handicap. That was the first surprise. The second was that the battery powered motor that pulls the lure was about to have one of its funny spells..

Everything seemed fine at the start, but towards the end of the race the dogs started getting uncomfortably close to the lure. So close in fact, that the leader Murphy caught it and stopped to examine his prey.

Bad move, because Beanie and the other dogs just kept on going! Murphy quickly dropped the lure and rejoined the race but it was too late; Beanie crossed the line first, winning her heat.

Our pup found the whole situation very confusing though!

I think Hamish found his race quite confusing too. As the other Beagles sped off, he was left at the start line, wondering why they were so keen to chase a silly bundle of inedible red and white tape. Fortunately, a family member was on hand to encourage him down the track:

By the time his second race came along he was starting to get the idea, and crossed the finish line without assistance. Smart boy! Fellow newbies Bailey and Pebble also found their racing feet quickly, and one of them (Bailey I think?) even finished second in one of his races. What a great start!

Beanie’s chums Nollaig, Breac and Tiarnach also did very well, despite a little naughtiness early on, some of which was caught on camera..

Tiarnach pulls up alongside Nollaig and tugs at her vest

Job done! Now for a quick get away!

Naughty boy! But he still made it through to the final, along with his brother Breac.

Beanie came up against Murphy again in her second heat, and this time there was no hiccup with the lure to deprive him of a win, but Beanie came second and got her place in the final:

In the final Murphy once again got the win, with Beanie in second place, Tiarnach in third and Breac in fourth.

Experienced racer Sam was also handicapped – just like Milo – after a great performance in an earlier points match. Again like Milo, this kept him out of the final, but it didn’t keep him from getting a rosette. He stormed through the field to win the consolation race.

Before we headed home, race organizer Graham told us that Beanie’s second place was actually the most desirable result from a points perspective. It adds to the dog’s total without incurring the penalty of the handicap in the next race. At the end of the season, it’s the dog with the highest total that gets the prize – the number of wins is irrelevant. Maybe so, but I reckon it’s more fun to just plain win races, and the season isn’t over yet!