Off to the Pig Races

Posted on 07. Jul, 2009 by Mark in Events, Other Animals

Here in California we’re hip deep in county fair season. You can see Ferris Wheels and Funnel Cake signs just about everywhere. I hit my first fair of the summer up in Marin over the July 4th weekend and along with the requisite fried food, 4-H contests (check out the veggie sculptures below) and petting zoo I hit the fair’s jewel-in-the-crown event: the pig races. Yep, the Hambone Express is back in town. Don’t worry, folks. The pigs race for oreos, live in a trailer with AC and are not harmed even after their racing days are done.

Marin County Fair: Flags & Ferris Wheels

Go Green was the Theme but the Mascot was Creepy

Kind of Like a Mime...but Lime

5 minutes 'til racetime

Arnold Schwarzenhammer takes the lead

SwynonnaJudd out in front

Race #2 out of the gate

I'll Race One Day

And Llamas, too

What Fair Would Be Complete without Veggie Art

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Comments

comments

Tags: county fairs, pigs

8 Responses to “Off to the Pig Races”

Chris

07. Jul, 2009

How’d you get in the front row? It was packed when we went by!
Mark

07. Jul, 2009

We got our seat 45 minutes before it started. Now that’s dedication
Audrey

07. Jul, 2009

Love all the shots! I especially enjoyed the names of the pigs — too funny!
Bill Cokas

08. Jul, 2009

“Swynonna Judd out in front” is sports photography at its best! Looks like you were lying right there in the sawdust. (I hope for your sake that you weren’t.)
Kimberly Gauthier

09. Jul, 2009

I’m a city girl so I haven’t been to many county fairs. Only you can make them look appealing and now I can’t wait for the Monroe fair (I wonder if it’s already happened).

Great pics. I love the pigs!
Tony

09. Jul, 2009

The baby pigs are great little, photogenic racers. On the other hand, the zucchinis-turned-big green insects were creative but most inappetizing.
Bob Gillespie

13. Jul, 2009

I think every fair should have pig races. What a hoot! Being a photographer myself I can understand the difficulties in trying to get good pics. Well done. I am curious though what makes them run, what incentive do they have to race? Maybe they’re just natural born racers.
Mark

13. Jul, 2009

Bob — they run for Oreos.