from what I have seen, racing whippets tend to be lighter built than show or coursing whippets. that's not an absolute, of course, thankfully the breed still has some versatility rather than a complete divergence between racing and show whippets. My question is whether a whippet with a very sturdy build can do well on the track?
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Sturdy Dogs
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It really depends on their breeding 
.......There are sturdy/stocky racing breds out there that are/were hard to beat .......I think people confuse racers as being finer as a lot of the dogs are fined off just like an athlete is ......you don't see blobs running at the olympics now do we :lol:
.......There are sturdy/stocky racing breds out there that are/were hard to beat .......I think people confuse racers as being finer as a lot of the dogs are fined off just like an athlete is ......you don't see blobs running at the olympics now do we :lol:
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Hi Macha
Most show and course bred whippets are heavier boned than their race bred counterparts and therefore look "sturdier"
I, along with a lot of other racers, started racing with show bred dogs, and although they did ok, they just couldn't compete at Open/Championship level with the race bred dogs. There HAVE been instances of show breds being fairly useful, but they are very much the exception rather than the rule, and I'm pretty sure none have become a champion.
Part of the reason is the handicapping system used in whippet racing, where heavier dogs are put further back from the start line than lighter dogs - the assumption being that weight = height (and therefore length of stride) This of course is a generalisation, but it's the best we can do given the small numbers of dogs that race (compared to Greyhound racing for instance where larger numbers mean a fairer handicapping system)
So to simplify it - if by "doing well" you mean race at a club, then yes. But if you meant could they become a champion or even a regular Open race competitor with a chance of winning, the answer has got to be - unlikely. The happy part to the equation though is the dog itself - who doesn't KNOW he is bred for a particular discipline and generally has fun at whatever he does!
Most show and course bred whippets are heavier boned than their race bred counterparts and therefore look "sturdier"
I, along with a lot of other racers, started racing with show bred dogs, and although they did ok, they just couldn't compete at Open/Championship level with the race bred dogs. There HAVE been instances of show breds being fairly useful, but they are very much the exception rather than the rule, and I'm pretty sure none have become a champion.
Part of the reason is the handicapping system used in whippet racing, where heavier dogs are put further back from the start line than lighter dogs - the assumption being that weight = height (and therefore length of stride) This of course is a generalisation, but it's the best we can do given the small numbers of dogs that race (compared to Greyhound racing for instance where larger numbers mean a fairer handicapping system)
So to simplify it - if by "doing well" you mean race at a club, then yes. But if you meant could they become a champion or even a regular Open race competitor with a chance of winning, the answer has got to be - unlikely. The happy part to the equation though is the dog itself - who doesn't KNOW he is bred for a particular discipline and generally has fun at whatever he does!
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