She’s top dog: Wiener dog heads to championship

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Roxy Glamour Princess, a daschund and chihuahua mix, recently won the annual wiener dog trial race at Canterbury Park. She’ll compete in the championship race on July 4. Roxy is pictured above with the mother-daughter team who helped Roxy during the race, Layne Poppovich (left) and Kim Poppovich.

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When Kim Poppovich signed her dog up for the annual wiener dog trial race at Canterbury Park, she didn’t expect Roxy Glamour Princess to win – but that’s exactly what happened.

“I just thought it would be a fun thing for the family,” she said. “I had no idea she’d actually win it.”

The first round of wiener dog races took place on June 23 and 24 with more than 50 dogs competing. Roxy blew away her competition and was declared the clear champion of the first heat. Roxy will compete again on July 4 in the Fourth of July championship race.

Layne Poppovich, 15, was responsible for getting Roxy off to a good start. Each race began in the horse gates.

“I knew she would win,” Layne said. “She’s really, really fast.”

Roxy Glamour Princess gets a lot of practice at home, Kim said.

The Poppovichs’ other dog, Oscar, a German shorthaired pointer, runs daily with Roxy.

“She used to run all the time when she was younger,” Layne said.

Kim said her biggest worry about the Canterbury race was the dirt track.

“She’s kind of a brat,” Kim said of Roxy. “She doesn’t like to get her paws dirty and the dirt on that track is pretty deep, but she ran through it.”

The two tops dogs from each heat will compete in the championship race, Kim said. Horse racing begins at 1:30 p.m.

The wiener dog races, which total 30 yards, take place between the third and fourth horse race at the track, Poppovich said.

“They call it the third and a half race,” she said with a laugh.

The race champion will be awarded a $100 certificate.

The Poppovichs said they’ve already been scoping out Roxy’s competition by watching videos on YouTube. Layne is already making plans for future races as well.

“They really did have a lot of fun,” Kim said.

Visit www.newrichmond-news.com to see a video of Roxy’s race.

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