Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tickets Continued
The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held in 1877. No other
continuously held sporting event in the United States is older except for the Kentucky
Derby, which predates the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show by only two years.
The show originated as a show for sporting dogs, primarily setters and pointers, initiated by a
group of hunting men who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel at Irving Place and Sixteenth
Street in Manhattan. They decided to create a kennel club called the Westminster Kennel Club
specifically for the purpose of holding a dog show. The prizes for these first shows included
such items as pearl handled pistols, of use to the hunters and terriermen who worked these
dogs in the field. Since that time dog shows have drifted away from a focus on working dogs to a
focus on the appearance of the dog alone.
Television coverage of the event first occurred in 1948, and continues through the present
time. Television condenses the showing of more than 2500 dogs in well over 150 breeds in
multiple rings over two days into a usually two-hour show, primarily focusing on the General
Specials (featuring winners from each breed competing for the title Best In Group) and the final
Best In Show (chosen from among the winners of Best In Group).
In 1884, the AKC began requiring that all dog participants be registered with the AKC. This
eliminates hundreds of less-common breeds recognized by other kennel clubs both in the
United States and abroad. Because of the show's popularity and prestige, starting in 1992 the
AKC limited entries by requiring that dogs must have already earned their breed Championship
before appearing at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Still, in 2005, 2,581 dogs
were entered. Although not required, most dogs are handled at Westminster by professional
dog handlers who earn good fees for being able to bring out a dogs' strengths in the show ring.
Although few dogs have won more than once at Westminster, several skilled handlers have
managed the feat with different dogs of different breeds.
