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Live Updates: Westminster's Best in Show Field Is Nearly Complete
Live Updates: Westminster's Best in Show Field Is Nearly Complete

New York Times

time12-02-2025

  • Entertainment
  • New York Times

Live Updates: Westminster's Best in Show Field Is Nearly Complete

Skip to contentSkip to site index The coats are immaculately coifed, the ears are floppy and the crowd loved the golden retriever. Just the terrier group remains at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show before the top dog is crowned. Monty, a giant schnauzer, won the working group for the third year in a row, giving him a spot in the final seven to compete for best in show at Madison Square Garden in New York. Freddie, an English springer spaniel, won the sporting group earlier, and four other group winners were named on Monday. That esteemed collection includes three dogs who have graced the final round before. Comet, a 4-year-old Shih Tzu from Monclova, Ohio, won the toy group for the second year in a row. Bourbon, a 9-year-old whippet from Sugar Valley, Ga., won the hound group, and was also the show's runner-up in 2020 and 2021. And few dogs generated more buzz last year than Mercedes, a 5-year-old German shepherd from Bethesda, Md., who was a crowd favorite last year and has won the herding group in back-to-back years. Neal, a 4-year-old bichon frisé from Mabank, Texas, won the non-sporting group and will make his first appearance in the final seven. Here's what else to know: How to watch: The evening's events are airing on FS1 and streaming on the Fox Sports app. Getting ready: A Times reporter tagged along as Louis, a lustrous Afghan hound and last year's runner-up, got ready for competition with a spa day, including a sudsy shower. Never bet on the golden: While golden retrievers are consistently among America's most popular companions at home, they're never top contenders for best in show. In an upset, Boujee, the top-ranked golden, was eliminated earlier Tuesday, but Truffy got loud ovations each time he appeared Tuesday night. He finished fourth in the sporting group. Back home: The show is back at Madison Square Garden, its traditional home, after four years in other New York venues as a result of Covid-19 disruptions. Reliving 2024: In case you're just here for the photos, there's plenty more from last year's competition, when Sage, a miniature poodle, took best in show. Feb. 11, 2025, 9:31 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Monty is clearly a pretty and successful dog, but has he done a day of work in his life? Monty, a giant schnauzer, won the working group for a third consecutive year at Westminster. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Tuesday night was business as usual for Monty, a dignified giant schnauzer who won the working group at Westminster for a third straight year. Monty entered the competition hot off a win at the American Kennel Club National Championship last month, and sitting atop the American Kennel Club's all-breed rankings from last year. He won the working group in 2023 and 2024, but fell short of best in show both times. Working dogs are brawny types who often find employment as military and service animals. But it has been more than 20 years since a member of the group won best in show at Westminster. Feb. 11, 2025, 9:26 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden Monty the giant schnauzer wins the working group for the third year in a row, and heads back to the best in show ring. Could this be his moment at last?? Feb. 11, 2025, 9:26 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden All dog owners love their breeds the best. A reader once wrote, in a comment on a piece I wrote about a samoyed, 'No dachsund, not interested.' And another reader has written to declare that 'a Basset hound should win.' (Alas, that is not happening - the hound group was won, as we mentioned earlier, by a whippet named Bourbon, knocking the Bassets out of contention.) Feb. 11, 2025, 9:22 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden The Tibetan mastiff — known for their 'stubbornness' — goes last. And now comes the hard bit: culling the finalists in the working group. Feb. 11, 2025, 9:19 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Here comes the Siberian husky! They like to howl at odd times. I once met an owner who said, 'Siberian huskies were put on this earth to make people alcoholics.' The Saint Bernard is named Bodacious. Whatever happened to 'show, don't tell?' Feb. 11, 2025, 9:17 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Apparently Portuguese water dogs are taught to 'herd fish into nets.' This feels like a quixotic pursuit. But still — maybe they should be in the herding group? Feb. 11, 2025, 9:14 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Here comes the Neapolitan mastiff, who is a faithful companion for an owner who, rather alarmingly, 'is not put off by a little drool,' the announcer says. It's not for nothing that Andy and I privately call this group the Drooling Group. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Feb. 11, 2025, 9:09 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden How do you clean a Komondor, the kitchen mop of champions? Sarah once asked a handler, and it was as complex as you'd think. 'He takes a bath once a week. He spends an hour in a tub filled with shampoo. Then we rinse him with apple cider vinegar, take a force drier and blow the water out of his cords. Then he goes and lies in front of a fan and dries for two days.' Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Lexus the Great Dane is large enough that viewers would be forgiven for thinking this was the Kentucky Derby. Credit... Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Feb. 11, 2025, 9:02 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden As impressive and enormous as he was when his turn came, the Great Dane is currently laying on his back getting his belly rubbed. Because, in the end, dogs gonna dog. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:59 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden Monty the giant schnauzer, the top-ranked dog in the American Kennel Club rankings and a favorite to win it all tonight, struts out for his once-over. He has won the working group the past two years. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Feb. 11, 2025, 8:59 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden I think he was … smiling when he went for his trot? That looked like a confident dog. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:50 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Despite purportedly being a terrier, the Black Russian terrier is part of the working group. Just one of the many mysteries swirling around Westminster. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:48 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden 'A formal introduction is necessary' if you would like to convene with an Anatolian shepherd dog, the announcer says. (Note that both the Anatolian shepherds and the German shepherds have the word 'dog' in their formal breed titles, so no would mistake them for actual shepherds.) Feb. 11, 2025, 8:49 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden I like the truth in advertising in that. So many dogs have been described as 'affectionate' or 'an excellent family companion.' Just once you want to hear one called out as 'haughty and diffident' or 'cares little about your feelings or your couch cushions.' Feb. 11, 2025, 8:45 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden These working group dogs are not allowed to use laptops or take calls, even from their bosses or their bankers, while they're in the ring. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:42 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden While we say good-bye to the sporting group and wait for the working group dogs to punch out of their 9-5 jobs, it's a good time to remember that there is also a group called the non-sporting group. (It had its competition yesterday; the winner was a bichon frisé named Neal.) If you were nitpicking here, you might point out that the non-sporting group is also the non-all-the-other-groups — neither toy nor hound nor terrier, neither herding nor sporting. In other words, these are miscellaneous dogs. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:41 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden Up next is the working group, which seems the imply the other groups are all layabouts. There's a lot of size in this one: Great Danes, giant schnauzers, bull mastiffs. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Louis, an Afghan hound handled by Allison Morrison Jones, was judged by Dr. José Luis Payró during best of breed on Monday. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times The defeat of Louis the Afghan hound in the breed competition on Monday was the culmination of an epic battle that appears to have divided the Afghan (hound) world. Louis, whose full name is CH Sunlit's King of Queens, won the breed and then the hound group last year. But another dog has been sniffing at his tail (so to speak) ever since: Zaida, who took the breed title this time around. As in a boxing or tennis match, each dog had its partisans, who cheered and clapped every time their favorite did something — in this case, like run around the ring. The crowd was six or seven abreast, as Afghan aficionados jostled for a sight of the action. One breeder, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, has been following the rivalry and said on Monday that the two factions hate each other. The breeder who was scared of retribution said that the two dogs represented two distinct types of Afghans, and that Afghan owners and breeders are divided over which is the superior kind. On a cosmetic level, that appeared to be true: Louis has long black hair and is a male; Zaida has long champagne-colored hair and is a bitch, as female dogs are known in the show world. The event judge strung out the suspense by making the two dogs run around the ring far more times than usual, and seemed also to change his mind, possibly several times over, about who should be top dog. In the end, Zaida's win marked the end of an era for Louis. His crowd of fans remained largely silent as Zaida was showered with acclaim. Sadly for lovers of the breed, Zaida failed to win the hound group, losing to a delicate-looking whippet named Bourbon. Freddie, an English springer spaniel, overcame crowd support for the golden retriever to win the sporting group. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times The golden retriever's streak of losses at Westminster continued on Tuesday night, when Freddie, an English springer spaniel, won the sporting group. Far smaller than many of his competitors, Freddie trotted around the ring to show off his rich brown saddle and proud white chest, his stub of a tail protruding at a rakish diagonal. 'Freddie is the dog that I've worked my whole life for,' Robin Novack, his handler, said after the victory. 'He's the one for me.' Virginia Murray, the judge for the sporting group, scrutinized a field of athletic entrants that had each been named best of their breeds. They included an Irish setter with a coat the color of gingerbread and a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever that was landlocked at Madison Square Garden, far from its favorite waterfowl. Sporting dogs, which were bred to help hunters in the field, have taken best in show at Westminster 20 times. The last to win best in show was C.J., a German shorthaired pointer, in 2016. In a few hours, or whenever the terriers are done, Freddie will get his chance. Freddie, whose full name is GCHP CH Telltale Bohemian Rhapsody, is named for Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. He entered the competition as No. 4 in all-breed rankings for 2024. Freddie got stiff competition on Tuesday from Raisin, a curly-coated retriever, and Goober, a Sussex spaniel. The sporting group also contains two of the country's most popular dog breeds — Labrador and golden retrievers — that have never once managed to claim the show's top prize. What gives? 'It's one of those questions that can't be answered,' Barbara Pepper, chairwoman of the judges' education committee at the Golden Retriever Club of America, told Sarah Lyall in a recent article about the breed's drought at Westminster. A golden named Truffy represented his kind admirably on Tuesday night, and was rewarded with cheers from the crowd. But the judge was unmoved, and Truffy looked on as victory eluded his breed yet again. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:22 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden The English springer spaniel takes the sporting group! Feb. 11, 2025, 8:33 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden So that's 115 years of golden retriever heartbreak. And counting. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:20 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden Huge cheers again for the golden, who has been pulled out of the pack — along with some spaniels and the German short-haired pointer — by the judge. These dogs will now run around some more while she considers them, one by one. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:21 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden The sporting group judge, Virginia Murray, is going to disappoint a lot of people if she doesn't go golden. Feb. 11, 2025, 8:19 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden The suspense is building! The sporting group dogs are positioned in front of their boxes; the handlers are adjusting their (the dogs') tails and the judge is pacing up and down the aisles. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Feb. 11, 2025, 8:17 p.m. ET Sarah Lyall Reporting from Madison Square Garden The judges are evaluating not just how the dogs look, but how they move and how they're built. That last part is a hands-on job, from nose to tail. The larger dogs stand on the ground, the medium-sized dogs walk up a ramp, and the smaller dogs are picked up like royalty and placed on a large box for the judge's convenience. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Feb. 11, 2025, 8:14 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden The Spinone Italiano needs better public relations: It's probably hard to find takers when you're described as 'only for owners with a sense of humor — and a tolerance for wet beards.' Credit... Lanna Apisukh for The New York Times Feb. 11, 2025, 8:03 p.m. ET Andrew Das Reporting from Madison Square Garden Dog show slo-mo might be the absolute best use of that technology in television and arena-video-screen history. Credit... Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Ryan Tepera works with Boujee, a top-ranked golden retriever, at his home in Conroe, Texas. 'Today just wasn't her day,' he said of her being eliminated during breed judging. Credit... Callaghan O'Hare for The New York Times Boujee, a golden retriever, entered Westminster with huge expectations as the highest-ranked golden in the competition and the winner of the national breed title in 2024. But alas, it was not to be. Competing against several dozen dazzling and enthusiastic goldens at the Javits Center on Tuesday morning, Boujee (full name: GCHG CH Skyline's Bad & Boujee) lost out in the final moments to a handsome dog named Truffy. Boujee, 2, was named Select Bitch, an honor for a female dog in the competition, but did not win the coveted best in breed award. 'Boujee showed her heart out, and we had the support of the crowd,' said Ryan Tepera, her handler and co-owner. 'Today just wasn't her day. It's one judge's opinion. But she still goes home as our favorite.' Truffy will now go on compete against the winners of the other breeds in the sporting group later tonight. But judging from historical experience, he has little (or no) chance of taking the best in show prize. In the 117 years that the award has been given, golden retrievers have won exactly zero times. (No Labrador retrievers or French bulldogs have ever won, either, though along with goldens they are the most popular breeds in the United States.) In 2020, a golden named Daniel made the rare leap to the finals after unexpectedly winning the sporting group. By far the crowd favorite, he was nonetheless defeated by a haughty standard poodle named Siba. His fans were not pleased. 'A poodle winning over a golden retriever like Daniel is everything that's wrong with our country,' one Twitter user said. Graham Dickie/The New York Times Dogs who won best of breed at the Javits Center on Tuesday afternoon had to travel three city blocks to Madison Square Garden for the next round of competition. The last thing they needed was to get their paws dirty on Midtown's icky sidewalks. So they boarded a champions-only shuttle bus provided by the Westminster Kennel Club that transported them to the arena in style. It looked like a regular city bus, albeit one from a world in which dogs had the same rights as humans. Draco, a Neapolitan mastiff the size of a middle schooler, lounged on a seat next to one of his handlers, Maria Chiselko. At one point he turned around to gaze romantically out the window at the buildings passing by. The bus's exterior was unmarked, perhaps to minimize the attention drawn to the celebrities of the dog world who were inside. Some dogs appeared to be natural commuters. Ranger, a Komondor, was squeezed between a seat and two bags being carried by his owner, Joan Liebes. Nearby was Asti, a Siberian husky, nuzzling against the knees of her owner, Megan Terella. A flat-coated retriever perching on a seat stuck out its tongue in apparent enjoyment of the ride. But a Great Dane was stuck standing in the aisle, apparently too large for any of the prime seating. See more on: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show © 2025 The New York Times Company Manage Privacy Preferences

At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, see which dogs are in running for Best of Show
At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, see which dogs are in running for Best of Show

USA Today

time11-02-2025

  • Entertainment
  • USA Today

At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, see which dogs are in running for Best of Show

We're just hours away from finding out which dog will come away with Best in Show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, but the seven who compete tonight will already be winners in their groups. Among the announced winners of their groups: ◾ Hound: Bourbon the Whippet ◾ Non-sporting: Neal the Bichon Frisé ◾ Toy: Comet the Shih Tzu ◾ Herding: Mercedes the German Shepard. How to watch the Westminster Best of Show competition The crowning moment of this year's dog world take center stage in Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday night on FS1. It will also stream live on the Fox Sports app. Which breeds have won at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show? Nearly four dozen breeds have been honored in the 117 Best in Show competitions, but one breed, the wire fox terrier, has won throughout the decades. Terriers originally were bred to hunt vermin, but they now stalk best-in-show medals at Westminster. At least one breed of terrier – a broad category – has two of every five Best in Show honors. Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. Thirty-three other breeds have won Best in Show, including several poodle breeds, several English springer spaniels and a bloodhound for the first time in 2022 competition. In 2023, Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, made history. Buddy Holly was the first of its breed to take top honors since Best in Show was first awarded in 1907. (No Best in Show was awarded in 1923.) All the other breeds that have won Best in Show Complete list of all of the Westminster Best in Show winners While owners often spend thousands of dollars to prepare their dogs for the prestigious show, there is no monetary compensation for being the top dog. But they certainly don't go home empty-handed, according to Westminster Kennel Club site. What do Westminster Best in Show winners receive? A Pewter Trophy The Westminster Legen Trophy, a hand-engraved Steuben crystal bowl The James Mortimer Memorial Sterling Silver Trophy, if American-bred. Perpetual Sterling Silver Challenge Cup, if American-bred

Live Updates: The Westminster Dog Show Will Crown the Nation's Best Dog
Live Updates: The Westminster Dog Show Will Crown the Nation's Best Dog

New York Times

time11-02-2025

  • Entertainment
  • New York Times

Live Updates: The Westminster Dog Show Will Crown the Nation's Best Dog

Skip to contentSkip to site index Everyone is looking their best, and the humans are ready, too, as the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is back in Madison Square Garden, its traditional home, after four years in other New York venues as a result of Covid-19 disruptions. The field of immaculately coifed and elegant dogs on Tuesday night will initially be winnowed to seven, as top dogs are crowned in the sporting, working and terrier groups, joining the winners of four other groups that were judged on Monday — including three who have graced the final round before. Those seven group winners will then go head-to-head for best in show. Comet, a 4-year-old Shih Tzu from Monclova, Ohio, won the toy group for the second year in a row. Bourbon, a 9-year-old whippet from Sugar Valley, Ga., won the hound group, and was also the show's runner-up in 2020 and 2021. And few dogs generated more buzz last year than Mercedes, a 5-year-old German shepherd from Bethesda, Md., who was a crowd favorite last year and has won the herding group in back-to-back years. Neal, a 4-year-old bichon frisé from Mabank, Texas, won the non-sporting group and will make his first appearance in the final seven. Here's what else to know: How to watch: The evening's events, including a pregame show that begins at 7 p.m., will air on FS1 and will be streamed on the Fox Sports app. The competition begins at 7:30 p.m. Don't bet on the golden: While golden retrievers are consistently among America's most popular companions at home, they're never top contenders for best in show. In the 117 years that the award has been given, golden retrievers have won exactly zero times. Reliving 2024: In case you're just here for the photos, there's plenty more from last year's competition, when Sage, a miniature poodle, took best in show. Clockwise from top left, Comet, a Shih Tzu from Monclova, Ohio; Mercedes, a German shepherd from Bethesda, Md.; Bourbon, a whippet from Sugar Valley, Ga.; and a group of bichons frisés line up for judging at Westminster. Judging at Westminster is split up over two days, so four dogs, each determined to be the best in their group, have already qualified for a chance at best in show, with three more groups to be decided tonight. Monday's winners include two of the dogs that made the finals last year, and one that was a finalist two different times, setting the stage for what is likely to be an agonizing choice for the best in show judge, Paula Nykiel. Herding: For a second straight year, Mercedes, a German shepherd from Bethesda, Md., won the herding group, which includes breeds like the Australian shepherd and the Border collie. Last year, Mercedes went on to win reserve best in show — dog show-ese for second place. Toy: Comet, a Shih Tzu from Monclova, Ohio, repeated as winner of the toy group, which includes breeds like Pomeranians, Chihuahuas and Maltese. Hound: Bourbon, a whippet from Sugar Valley, Ga., won the hound group, which includes breeds like beagles, bloodhounds and Dachshunds. If that name sounds familiar it should: She won reserve best in show in 2020 and 2021 and came out of retirement for this year's show. Non-Sporting: Neal, a bichon frisé from Mabank, Texas, won the non-sporting group, which includes breeds like Chow Chows, Dalmatians, French bulldogs and poodles. Last year's best in show winner, a miniature poodle named Sage, came out of this group. The show has returned to Midtown Manhattan for the first time since 2020, with the early events being held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the group judging returning to its traditional home, Madison Square Garden. Photojournalists from The Times have been at both venues, documenting the preparations, the agility and obedience competitions, the breed judging, the group judging and the general chaos of having more than 2,500 dogs come together in the middle of a busy city. Comet, a Shih Tzu from Monclova, Ohio, won the toy group and will be among the dogs vying for best in show on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Credit... Graham Dickie/The New York Times Often imitated but never replicated, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, in its 149th year, is racing toward its conclusion. A group of New York Times journalists will be providing up-to-the-minute live analysis of the competition, in which seven group winners will face off at Madison Square Garden in hopes of capturing best in show. The judging of breeds and groups began on Monday, but the final three groups, and best in show, will be decided in a prime-time event that starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. The evening's events, including a pregame show that begins at 7 p.m., will air on FS1 and will be streamed on the Fox Sports app. For people who enjoy a second-screen experience, there will be live coverage from New York Times reporters at the Garden. Before best in show is decided, the judges will have to determine the winners of the sporting, working and terrier groups. The hound, toy, non-sporting and herding groups were decided on Monday, and the winner of each is in the running for best in show. After four years away from the event's traditional home, the main Westminster events are returning to Madison Square Garden. While Lyndhurst, an estate in suburban Tarrytown, and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens both helped the organization get through the pandemic, nothing matches the energy of the arena the event has called home since 1877 (with shows having been held in all four incarnations of the Garden). Sage, a miniature poodle, took best in show last year, beating out a talented field. Probably not. But that will only make them more lovable. See more on: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show © 2025 The New York Times Company Manage Privacy Preferences

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