Unusual Sports: Corgi Derby
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The annual Easter Corgi Derby was held at Musselburgh racecourse in East Lothian, Scotland, on 19 April 2025.
A four-year old dog, called Juno, from Edinburgh, who came ninth out of twelve runners last year, won this year’s race, held over a third of a furlong (70 metres) and involving sixteen runners.
The race was started, for the second time, by Judy Murray, the well-known tennis coach and mother of Andy Murray, the former World No. 1 men’s singles player.
After starting the race, she remarked:
"Some of them will run straight, some of them will not start at all, some of them will go off on a tangent or bite each other.”
And added:
"It's absolute carnage but it's great fun because it's so unusual".
It is reported that it was a hotly contested race, and that teeth were occasionally bared and there was also some jostling for positions in the final sprint.
The owners of the winning Corgi attributed her success in this year’s race to chasing seagulls on the beach!
Corgis were the favourite breed of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who owned thirty of them during her reign.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
