15th Annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship Draws Largest Entry In The History Of The Event

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship has drawn record numbers in its 15^th year. An entry of 4,670 dogs will compete for the title of National Champion on December 12 and 13, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. Combined with other weekend events like the AKC Agility Invitational, the AKC Obedience Classic, and the Junior events, the overall show totals top 6,100 entries, making this the largest dog show held in the United States in the past 20 years.

"The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship is a unique experience for any dog lover –whether they are streaming it on live.Eukanuba.com or www.akc.org, watching it live on the FidoTV channel, or enjoying it in person," said Dennis Sprung, AKC President and Show Chairman.  "With more than 1,000,000 square feet of event space, thousands of dogs in competition, nearly 100 vendors, the North America Diving Dogs National Championship, 156 AKC Meet the Breeds® booths and more, there is nothing that can compare to this complete canine extravaganza." 

Other events in the one million square feet of canine-centric event space during the week of December 8-13, 2015 include the:

• AKC Junior Showmanship Finals
• AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals
• AKC Junior Agility Competition
• AKC Juniors Obedience & Rally Classic
• Specialty Shows, Group Shows and the FSS/Miscellaneous Open Show
• Orlando cluster, consisting of the Space Coast Kennel Club of Palm Bay, the Brevard Kennel Club, the Central Florida Kennel Club and Orlando Dog Training Club

2015 Highlights:

Judges: Judge Mr. Robert Stein of Chapel Hill, North Carolina will select the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship Best in Show (BIS) winner. The owner(s) of the BIS winner will receive more than $50,000. Mr. Edd E. Bivin of Ft. Worth, Texas will select Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Show from among 998 Bred-by-Exhibitor entries (dogs being shown by their owner/breeder). Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Show will receive $15,000. Over $52,000 in prize money will be awarded to Bred-By Exhibitor owners.

Veterans Competition: The Veterans Class is open to all dogs and bitches seven years of age and older and a Best of Breed Veteran will be selected in each breed or variety. Best Veteran in Show will be selected by Colonel Joe B. Purkhiser of San Antonio, Texas.

Television and Streaming Coverage: The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship evening competition will be streamed live beginning at 6:00 pm each night on www.akc.org and live.eukanuba.com. The evening events will also be televised live on Saturday and Sunday on FidoTV (Channel 245 on DISH). The Bred-By Exhibitor groups, Veteran groups, agility and obedience will be taped and available on demand at www.akc.org and live.eukanuba.com.

AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals: The AKC NOHS Finals Best in Show competition will be judged by Mrs. Murrel Purkhiser of San Antonio, Texas on Friday, December 11. This invitation-only competition is open to the top ten ranked dogs in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series in each breed/variety from the 2015 qualifying year and drew an entry of 675 dogs. The NOHS Finals will be taped and available on demand at www.akc.org and live.eukanuba.com.

AKC/EUKANUBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY THE NUMBERS

• 185 AKC recognized breeds are entered to compete.
• 4,670 breed entries in the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship
• The largest entries include:
  • 181 Golden Retrievers
  • 134 Labrador Retrievers
  • 103 Dachshunds (all varieties)
  • 101 Australian Shepherds
  • 88 French Bulldogs
  • 79 Chihuahuas (both varieties)
  • 77 Poodles (all varieties)
  • 75 Rottweilers
  • 71 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
• 675 dogs are entered in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series (NOHS) Finals.
• 158 juniors, ages 9-17, who have met high academic standards and qualification criteria based on year-round competition, will compete in Junior Showmanship.
• 200 dogs will compete in the North America Diving Dogs/AKC Eukanuba National Championship.

AGILITY INVITATIONAL AND OBEDIENCE CLASSIC BY THE NUMBERS

• 703 entries in the AKC Agility Invitational, including 167 breeds from 42 states and four countries.
• 210 entries in the two-day AKC Obedience Classic, including 52 breeds from 33 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
• 85 entries in the AKC Junior Agility Competition (Friday, Dec. 11^th)
• 43 Junior Obedience entries and 42 Junior Rally entries in the AKC Juniors Classic (Saturday, Dec. 12^th for Obedience and Sunday, Dec. 13^th for Rally)

To purchase tickets or get more information about the show, visit us at akc.org/events/aenc or on Facebook and Twitter.

The American Kennel Club (AKC), founded in 1884, maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world. Its rules and regulations govern more than 20,000 canine competitions each year. For more information, visit www.akc.org.

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SOURCE American Kennel Club

Related Links

http://www.akc.org