The wiener takes all at annual wiener dog races
Thirty dogs competed in event at Grand River Raceway
ELORA – Pint-sized canines from far and wide travelled to Elora on July 10 for the annual wiener dog races at Grand River Raceway.
This year’s event featured 30 four-legged athletes racing for their chance at glory. The dogs were broken up into three heats of 10 with the top thee dogs from each heat advancing to the final race.
Heat one kicked off just after 7:30pm. The top three from heat one were Georgie, Frankie and Winston. Heat two followed, with Buddy, Salami and Rhizome advancing. In heat three, Toby, Lola and Jaxon advanced to the final.
Due to their diminutive stature, the canines were given the chance to rest prior to the final race at 8:45pm.
The winner of the 2026 Grand River Raceway wiener dog races was none other than Frankie, accompanied by mom Alyssa Casemore and dad Ben Spoelstra from Belle River.
“We didn’t expect this out of little Frankie,” said Spoelstra, “he’s an athlete now.”
Frankie had raced just once before.
“We think he got fourth or fifth in his first race,” said Casemore.
“Fourth out of like a good 40 or 50 dogs,” added Spoelstra. “So we knew he had a little bit of potential.”
Asked what fuels Frankie, Spoelstra said “he’s running on love.
“If Alyssa wasn’t here and if it was anyone else, he would not care,” he said. “But the fact that Alyssa’s at the end of that track, he’s gone.”
Aside from his newfound passion for racing, Frankie enjoys hanging out with his mom, going for walks and hanging out with his friends at puppy daycare.
