The Great Turtle Race

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare, the Aesop fable where the hare kept saying how fast it could run and beat the tortoise easily but the tortoise won anyway. This brought the saying slow and steady wins the race.

Well there was no hare in the race I witnessed on Friday night. It was all turtles - six of them in fact - in what would be some of the most exciting and unpredictable races ever.

Little Woodrows in Austin provided this entertainment for a large crowd of turtle racing enthusiasts. Ok maybe they had never seen a turtle race before like myself but the energy in the place was outstanding. First let me explain how this works.

Six turtles, all with great names such as Pearl Snap, Frank the Tank, Boris, Turbo, Testudo and Soup, are placed in the center of the ring inside a bucket. Prior to the race you get a raffle ticket and can pick which turtle you think will win. The raffle ticket is placed in the numbered bucket matching the number on the turtle. If that turtle wins a ticket is drawn from the bucket and a prize awarded.

At the start of the race the bucket is lifted leaving a mad dash for the first turtle to cross outside the line of the circle. The champion is not crowned right away as a turtle has to win twice to be declared the winner. It could be two quick races or as many as seven to name a winner.

Once the bucket was lifted it was utter chaos. One turtle sprinted out to the lead, turning around and heading back to the middle. A turtle jumping in front of another turtle to cut off the path of victory. Three turtles barely moving a muscle and wanting to climb inside their shell because they can't handle the spotlight. This is where you see what turtles are made of. Turtle races separate the best from the rest. 

For a look at how great this is check out my video.

Turtle racing goes all the way back to 1902 when the first turtle race was held in Chicago (Thanks Wikipedia). It was dubbed the "Strangest race ever run" by the Chicago Tribune. Apparently Longville, Minnesota's claim to fame is they are the Turtle Racing Capital of the World so I need to make a trip there one summer. They have been running turtle races since the 1950's.

Now that I have witnessed this wonderful spectacle I plan on going back again and again. The Little Woodrows by my apartment does it every Tuesday night and the one downtown is every Friday night through the summer. Come visit and we can go watch the turtle races together!