Westminster Dog Show: The schedule, judges, group winners and best in show results

Now it’s Mrs Virginia Murray’s turn to narrow the field. She’s making a circuit on the floor, looking at each of the 34 good boys and girls. The crowd buzzes as she paces back and forth along the green carpet. She’s pulled out the Lagotto Romagnolo, German shorthaired pointer, the Chesapeake Bay retriever … and the crowd erupts when she points to Truffy the golden retriever for the final group! She goes on to pick the Black cocker spaniel, the English cocker spaniel, the English springer spaniel and the Welsh springer spaniel.

An interminable wait ensues then after one final circuit, Murray points to Freddy the English springer spaniel: he’s the winner of the Sporting group.

Truffy the golden retriever comes in fourth, to the disappointment of what seems like the entire arena.

The Labrador retriever is shown next followed by the Setter run (English, Gordon, Irish, Irish Red and White). Lots of Madison Square Garden love for the Spinone Italiano, the ancient Italian gun dog known as the most versatile of the Sporting dogs. Not so much for the Vizsla, pride of Hungary. The Weimaraner, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon and Wirehaired Vizsla close things out.

Robert Kraft is taking in tonight’s action from ringside. The Hall of Fame owner of the New England Patriots became a dog owner not long ago. I mean just look at this good boy.

Spaniel run! Clumber, Black Cocker, Ascob Cocker, Parti-Color Cocker, English Cocker, English Springer, Field, Irish Water, Sussex and Water Springer. Spaniels have historically enjoyed great success at Westminster ever since a Parti-Color with the champion’s name Midkiff Miracle Man won the group in the first year it was judged in 1924.

The Clumber, who goes by Houston, seems to be another early crowd favorite.

Lots of cheers for the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje. This breed debuted at Westminster in 2019, but has been in the headlines a lot in recent years thanks to Shohei Ohtani, the two-way Japanese star of the Los Angeles Dodgers whose Kooiker named Decoy has earned a bit of notoriety.

As usual, the biggest cheers of the night so far have been for Truffy the golden retriever. Goldens are the third most popular breed in the United States according to AKC registration (after the Labrador retriever and the French bulldog). Alas, despite their popularity, a golden has never won Westminster despite having been entered since 1928. Only three have even made the final round by winning the Sporting group, most recently the crowd-pleasing Daniel in 2020.

No official word on tonight’s attendance but the entire lower bowl and most of the upper tiers looks appear nearly full, creating a terrific atmosphere for these fine animals.

First up tonight is the Sporting group. They will be judged by Mrs Virginia Murray of Island Lake, Illinois. This group has produced a total of 20 best in show winners through the years – second only to the Terrier group (47) – most recently the German shorthand pointer named CJ in 2016.

Here’s what the American Kennel Club has to say about the Sporting Group:

Naturally active and alert, Sporting dogs make likeable, well-rounded companions. First developed to work closely with hunters to locate and/or retrieve quarry. There are four basic types of Sporting dogs; spaniels, pointers, retrievers and setters. Known for their superior instincts in water and woods, many of these breeds enjoy hunting and other field activities. Many of them, especially the water-retrieving breeds, have well –insulated water repellant coats, which are quite resilient to the elements. Thinking of getting one? Just realize that most require regular, invigorating exercise.

The Westminster agility championship took place over the weekend with an 8-year-old female border collie named Vanish besting a field of more than 300 competitors over two rounds of competition under judges Michele Fletcher of Pikeville, Tennessee, and Paul Moore of Welford Northants, England. After advancing to the championship round of 50 finalists, Vanish posted the fastest clean round of 26.49 seconds.

Animal-rights activists have long claimed that Westminster’s confirmation portion enables the breeding of dogs for beauty over health and function to the detriment of the animal. Judging at these shows, critics say, almost exclusively places an emphasis on physical appearance, effectively ignoring the genetic factors like health, temperament and function that enable a dog to live a successful life as a working or companion animal.

The origins of dog agility can be traced to the 1978 Crufts dog show in Birmingham, where a former committee member named John Varley was tasked with coming up with intermission entertainment for the audience between the conformation and obedience competitions. His solution was a variation on show jumping designed to demonstrate a dog’s willingness to work with their handler in a variety of situations. Nowadays it’s more popular than every – the AKC claims more than one million entries to the registry’s agility program each year – offering a far more inclusive, dog-positive arena free of controversy. One very, very good boy, border collie named Verb profiled by the Guardian in 2020, won top prize in 2019 and 2021.

The essential purpose of dog shows is to facilitate the evaluation of breeding stock for use in producing the next generations. Each breed’s parent club creates a standard, a written description of the ideal specimen of that breed. Judges are charged with evaluating dogs in comparison to their breed standard. Most breed standards relate form to function. Some can be very specific, while others can be general and leave much room for interpretation.

A total of 201 breeds and varieties are represented at this year’s show, from Affenpinschers to Xoloitzcuintlis. Some have better odds of advancing than others: only one bluetick coonhound, Dandie Dinmont terrier and Belgian laekenoi apiece were entered, compared to 52 dachshunds, 44 poodles, 40 French bulldogs, 39 Chihuahuas, 38 golden retrievers, 34 Rhodesian ridgebacks and 33 Labrador retrievers.

There’s no prize money for winning Westminster, but owners of champions can demand top dollar for breeding rights.

Four of the seven group winners who will compete for the title of best in show were decided on Monday night. The remaining three groups (Sporting, Working and Terrier) will be judged tonight in advance of the final showdown.

Bourbon the whippet won the Hound group …

… Comet the shih tzu won the Toy group …

… Neal the bichon frisé won the Non-Sporting group …

… and Mercedes the German shepherd won the Herding group.

Westminster has aired on television in the United States every year since 1948. Fox Sports signed a 10-year deal for the global broadcasting rights in 2015, taking over for NBCUniversal’s USA network, which had carried it for more than three decades.

Tonight’s final night will be nationally televised in the US on FOX, FS1 and FS2. It can also be streamed on FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App.

A half-hour pre-show begins at 7pm ET with the final three best-of-group competitions starting at 7.30pm. The judging for best in show, going by previous years, should begin at approximately 10.30pm.

Hello and welcome to the final night of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show! We’re ringside at Madison Square Garden for the 149th edition of the nation’s most prestigious conformation show, the oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States after the Kentucky Derby, and there’s an unmistakable electricity in the air as the title of America’s top dog will be chosen from the more than 2,500 canines from over 200 different breeds and varieties. Tonight one will emerge from the pack.

Last year it was Sage, the miniature poodle. Who will bring home the hardware in 2025?

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s our Alaina Demopoulos’s look at day one of America’s most prestigious dog show.