‘2025 Running of the Wieners’ coming to Vergas Looney Days on August 2
News | Published on February 4, 2025 at 5:09pm EST | Author: frazeevergas
0Race to feature additional seating for 2025 event

The spectator space of the annual Wiener Dog races will expand again this year to allow for better and more viewership.
The Vergas Community Club, in conjunction with the NWDRA, (National Wiener Dog Racing Association,) has announced that Dachshund racing will return to Vergas on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m., during the village’s annual Looney Days celebration.
This fun family activity is returning to Looney Days again this year, and organizers are honored to be named this year’s host of the “2025 Running of the Wieners.”
Vergas hosted their first wiener dog race event in 2013, and this popular Looney Days tradition continues for yet another year. Sppreciation goes out to Forest Edge Gallery of Vergas, who is continuing their annual sponsorship of the race.
The races will be held on the turf at the Vergas baseball field beginning at 9 a.m., with registration and practice beginning at 8 a.m. It is recommended that people pre-register their wiener by mailing the form available on the Facebook page “2025 Running of the Wieners at Looney Days,” or at www.vergascommunityclub.com. The races will conclude by 11 a.m. to enable everyone to participate in the other fun events during Looney Days.
Spectator viewing improvements continue this year. As the race has grown in popularity, organizers continue working to improve the seating and viewing areas. The new bleacher seating was so popular last year that organizers have increased our bleacher seating area by 50 percent for this year. Vergas will now have three sets of huge bleachers, each of them being 45-feet long and 9 rows high. The ground and folding chair seating area around the perimeter track was extremely popular and will remain for this year. Kids of all ages can sit on the ground while watching the races (blankets suggested) without grownups blocking their view. Leave the lawn chairs at home, as the race can now provide comfortable seating for over 1,500 spectators.
Most of the estimated 75 racers are from the upper Midwest, as many families plan their Otter Tail lakes area vacation around Looney Days weekend. No racing experience is necessary, as the racers often decide that socializing is more important than speed. The race will be about 100-feet long, and each racer will need two human “pit crew” members; one each at the start and finish lines.
Although most racers are full bred dachshunds, we do allow other small breeds to join in the fun, as long as no racers have a competitive (size) advantage. Complete rules are provided on race day. Spectator admission is free. Racer entry fee is $20 per dog, or $30 per race family (two or more racers.)
For more information visit the Facebook pages “2025 Running of the Wieners at Looney Days,” “Vergas Community Club” or contact Digger Anderson at (763) 370-9796 or digsisme@gmail.com.