Racing                                           

Jack Russell Racing is perhaps the most exciting of all the terrier trial events. There are two types of races: flat and hurdles. A JRTCA sanctioned track must be minimum of 150 feet long (200+ feet is recommended), and is a straight course with a starting box at one end and a stack of straw or hay bales with a hole in the middle (the finish line) at the other. A lure (usually a piece of scented fur) is attached to a piece of string that is pulled along by a Lure machine. The dogs are muzzled for safety (theirs and the catchers). The first dog to cross the finish line behind the bales at the entry to the catch pen is the winner. That is not always the dog that was first as they entered the hole in the hay bales! Each race may be a series of heats, semis, and finals. A championship race is run in each division and is a competition between the winners of the flat and hurdle races. To qualify for the championships those dogs must have run in both their flat and hurdle races.