Dashing dachshund wins third championship at Buda Wiener Dog races

Highlights

BUDA
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Squeaky toys, jumping owners and a screaming crowd really get the adrenaline going, but Preston Carter didn’t need any of that. He didn’t even need to stay in his lane. He just ran.

The 4-year-old dachshund darted across nearly every one of the seven lanes to clinch the championship in the final round of the Wiener Dog Races at Buda City Park on Sunday. Preston bested about 300 other pooches, and he took home $500 and the first-place trophy for the third year in a row.

Little, owned by Heather Carman, took second place, and Yatta, owned by Sharon Pate, finished third.

So what’s Preston’s secret?

“Separation anxiety,” said owner Samantha Davis, 28. “He wants to get back to me. He’s very possessive.”

Davis, who has entered Preston in the competition each year since 2015, doesn’t rely just on that attachment, though.

“We exercise and walk around Town Lake,” she said.

As it turns out, age and experience are more important than youth when it comes to winning wiener dog races, said Justin Krause, a member of the Buda Lions Club board. The Buda Lions Club presents the race, which is in its 21st year.

“It’s all age,” he said, “they’re just fast and consistent.”

Hundreds of other dogs didn’t compete but joined their owners and families in a spirited crowd. They did the wave. Some families could be heard strategizing.

“He might notice your voice,” a man said, warning a girl not to be too loud and spook one of the high-performing dogs.

But the competition was getting too hot, and the girl wanted Jimmy Dean to know he had fans.

“Cheer for Jimmy Dean, OK?” she shouted to a woman in another section.

“OK.”

That’s the spirit of the race, Krause said.

“It’s having community and fellowship,” he said. “You have this common bond because you’re dog owners.”

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