Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
A three-year-old dachshund named Hazel just won the whole thing. And she did it after surgery to remove bumps from her stomach. Ran the strip anyway, took the championship, walked off with two VIP tickets to Denver Oktoberfest for the rest of the day. That is the energy we are dealing with here.
This is the Long Dog Derby, and if you missed weekend one, you get exactly one more shot. The second and final 2026 heat runs this Sunday, Sept. 27, in the Ballpark District. Racer check-in is at 11 a.m. The race itself kicks off at 12:30 p.m. sharp. Show up late and you are watching the aftermath, so plan accordingly.
Here is the format, because most people picture it wrong. It is not one giant stampede of hot dogs. They run three to five at a time on a fenced grassy strip, heat after heat, until you get your finalists. And the rule that makes it, honestly, is that the handlers have to stay at the starting line. You cannot run alongside your dog. You cannot coach from the sideline like a Little League parent. You let go, and then you just have to trust that a nine-inch-tall animal understands the concept of a finish line.
They mostly do not. That is the whole show.
Weekend one, held Sept. 20, brought out 38 competitors. Wiener dogs, dachshund mixes, and what the festival officially calls "certified long dogs," which is a category I did not know I needed but now think about constantly. Hazel won it. And here is the part that gets me: she has competed in the Long Dog Derby every single year of her life. Every year. This is a dog with a resume.
Runner-up was a competitor named Ozzy, who ran in a Superman cape. Finished second to a dog recovering from surgery. I mean, there is a lesson in there somewhere, but I am not the one to give it.
So say you did not pre-register your dog. Say your dog is not fast, or is fast but has no interest in proving it to strangers. There is still a lane for you.
Right after the heats wrap, there is a Best Dressed Dog contest, and this one is open to all breeds, not just the racers. No advance sign-up. You just show up with a dog in a costume and enter. This is the part people miss. You do not need a dachshund. You do not need a fast animal. You need a corgi in lederhosen and some nerve.
Quick logistics, because they matter. Actually competing in the race requires pre-registration and proof of current vaccination records, so that ship has mostly sailed for Sunday. But spectators and pet parents do not need a ticket. Nothing. You walk up, you watch small dogs sprint and fail and occasionally succeed, and it costs you zero dollars. Hayley and I have a rule about free entertainment in this city, which is that we say yes to all of it, and this clears the bar easily.
The Derby is one signature piece of the 56th Denver Oktoberfest. And that number is not a rounding thing. This festival started downtown in 1969 and it is now the longest-running Oktoberfest in the entire United States. Fifty-six years. Longer than most Denver neighborhoods have looked anything like they look now.
It runs over two weekends, Sept. 18 through 20 and Sept. 25 through 27, along Larimer Street between 20th and 22nd, right there in the Ballpark District next to Coors Field. General admission is free, with optional VIP packages if you want the upgraded experience. The Derby is Sunday, so this weekend is your last window on both.
And the dogs are just one lane of the chaos. There is stein hoisting, which is exactly what it sounds like and harder than it looks. Keg bowling. A brat-eating contest. Live polka. A costume contest for humans. A talent show. It is a lot of Denver being cheerfully, unapologetically goofy in public, which is my favorite version of this city.
Worth noting where all this lands. The Ballpark District has quietly become one of the more interesting corners of downtown to watch, and not just on game days. You have got the Coors Field pull, the RiNo spillover a few blocks north, and a stretch of Larimer that turns into a street festival twice a year without breaking stride. When people ask me why anyone would want to live near downtown with all the noise, this is the answer. This is the noise. Free wiener dog racing on a Sunday you did not plan for. That is the whole pitch.
So here is the move. Sunday, get to Larimer between 20th and 22nd before 12:30. Bring your dog or borrow the energy of someone else's. Watch Hazel try to defend, watch some Superman dog try to avenge Ozzy, watch a handler stand frozen at the line while their dog wanders off to sniff a fence.
It is free. It is this weekend only. And it is Denver at its absolute best.