KING MAX!

It was lucky 13 for Haley Harland's mini-weenie Max, as the 3-year-old dachshund won the 13th annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals on July 19, 2008 at Los Alamitos Race Course in front of a crowd estimated at more than 10,000. A total of 86 dachshund competed in the 12-race wiener dog card.

Max is the 2008 Wiener Nationals Champion

Max, whose full name is Rizing Starz Max A Zillion, outdueled tough competition, including runner-up doxie Detective Douglas to win the $1,000 cash prize and title of Fastest Wiener in the West. The longhair doxie also earned a doghouse in the shape of Wienerschnitzel restaurant, a championship-racing blanket, and a berth in Wienerschnitzel's year-end race in San Diego. Max's winning time was approximately 7 seconds for the 50-yard race, which he won by a long nose. You could say he ran the distance in Max-imum speed.

Max's key to victory came from his training in agility courses in his hometown. According to Max's My Space page at http://www.myspace.com/rizingstarzmax, which of course, is currently featuring Queen's We Are the Champions on its frontpage, the 11-pound black and tan double dapple sprinter takes on all challengers at his agility courses. He has different racing buddies on Wednesday night and a different batch of running friends on Thursday nights.

"That keep him in great shape," said Harland of Hemet, California. "It feels great to be the champion. That doghouse is going to look great in the backyard.

Max won the second trial from post five and then rested around for over two hours before coming back to win the final from post two. "It was an exciting and long night but it was definitely worth it," said Michael Priest, Max's assistant trainer.

Detective Douglas, owned by Linda Nguyen and Ariel Biley of Cerritos, earned $500 for running second in the final from post 10. Sally, last year's champion, was third from post seven for owner Delaney Schroeder of Orange. Rounding out the field (in order of post-position were Carol Ohler's Chessie of Santa Clarita, Marty Koukoutsakis' Gucci of La Mirada, Malerie Mendez's Daisy of Pico Rivera, Shayna Jarvis' Skipper Von Skidmarks of Glendora, Alicia Salmeron's Snopsi of Santa Ana, Dakota Boyce's Starie Night of Romoland, and The Vital Family's Mimi of Anaheim. This year's event will be featured as part of an upcoming fall episode of "Dogs 101" on Animal Planet.

Sponsored by Wienerschnitzel, Wiener Nationals at Los Alamitos helps raise funds for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a non-kill shelter dedicated to finding homes for abandoned animals. This year's Wiener Nationals helped raise nearly $16,000 through ticket sales and T-shirts.

To sign up for the 2009 Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals at Los Alamitos contact larace@losalamitos.com. For more information call 714-820-2690.

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