Cinco De Mayo Celebration Goes To The Dogs
DENVER (CBS4) - On Saturday at Civic Center Park people packed in with their big hats and their drinks in hand, and dozens of four-legged competitors got ready to race.
Terry West who came to the festivities. "Oh it's exciting!" he said.
This isn't the Kentucky Derby, it's the Chihuahua races at Denver's Cinco de Mayo celebration.
"If you haven't seen it before you have to stick around," said West.
This was one of the most popular events of the day with people getting seats anywhere they could -- even on the base of the pillars in the park.
Joyce Warble who came to race her dog, Max Too, said the field of competitors is deep.
"They already have 150 dogs lined up for today. That's a lot of dogs!" she said.
Once it's time to race and the first wave of Chihuahuas takes off, chaos ensues.
"They get all excited and they'll even take out other dogs in their other lanes just to get to the finish line," West said.
"You've got chihuahuas that will cross the lines, go into other people's lanes or take a 'you know what' on the middle of the course or run backwards to their first owner. It's hysterical," said Warble.
This was just part of the fun planned for the weekend. There's also plenty of music, dancing, and a car show.
If you haven't experienced Cinco de Mayo in Denver, attendees say you're missing out on something special.
"It's Better than New York," said West. "New York says they have the biggest one and we were doing the research on it. Colorado's the number one!"
The fun continues on Sunday.
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.
