Hamster racing

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Standard hamster race track with webcam for online viewing

Hamster racing is a sport in which hamsters are placed in hamster balls fitted to miniature racing vehicles and raced down a straight 9 meter (30 ft) course. The hamster crossing the finish line in the shortest amount of time wins. According to a 2001 media report, the world-record time for this course setup is 38 seconds. ^[1]

Events may feature as few as two hamsters or many teams of hamsters and human pit crews. Hamster balls may be simple spheres or feature many design modifications purported to increase the performance and style of the race vehicle.

In the United Kingdom, gamblers can place bets on the outcome of hamster races through online bookmakers.

1 Origins
2 Professional racing
3 Recent sponsorship
4 Handicapping
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origins

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Soon after hamsters were domesticated in the 1930s, owners and breeders began noticing that the tiny rodents enjoyed running and could be trained to compete against other hamsters in races. But they also realized that hamsters would not naturally align themselves on a track to make reliable races possible.

It wasn't until the advent of modern plastic molding techniques that the contemporary hamster ball became available. The new technology made true hamster racing possible because hamsters could now be housed in protective shells that could then be confined within lanes to prevent the hamsters from escaping and to ensure the racers could reliably reach the finish line.

In the past decade spherical hamster balls have been phased out in favor of "hamster wheels" (seen in the photo above) which are cylindrical and roll like a tire, thereby making sure that the hamster can only move the vehicle forward or backward and won't waste its energy trying to run perpendicular to the lane. The most modern race vehicles feature ratcheting mechanisms so that the hamster can only move forward down the track.

Until about 2001 almost all hamster races were amateur or for small personal wagers. The United Kingdom changed that concept and developed modern professional hamster racing.

[edit] Professional racing

At the turn of the 21st century, Britain fell victim to an epidemic of foot and mouth disease which caused the cancellation of some British horse races and other sporting events. To boost their lagging bookmaking incomes, betting agencies introduced and promoted the concept of professional hamster racing.

While largely confined to the United Kingdom, professional hamster racing has since made inroads in the United States and Asia.

Race hamsters are almost always divided into at least two race classes, which follow their species classifications: dwarfs and Syrians. They are also often divided into other race classes, such as novice, patterned and long-hair or short-hair.

Not all hamster racing is done professionally or for betting purposes. Amateur hamster races are popular at church outings and frequently occur at hamster and rodent shows. Amateur races generally do not conform to the professional 9 meter (30 ft) track distance but may use shorter "sprint" tracks designed to make sure all hamsters finish in a reasonable time. Fast hamsters are capable of winning sprint races in just a few seconds.

[edit] Recent sponsorship

MTV's HamTrak '06

In May of 2006 MTV began promotion of "HamTrak '06," a world tour of professional hamster racers featuring hamster teams sponsored by The Sun, XFM, Pimp My Ride and others. ^[2]

The first HamTrak race, held on May 19, 2006 at the Hammywood Hills Rodent Raceway, was won by the New Media Age sponsored Team Hot Rodent, powered by the eight-month old female Syrian hamster Michelle Schuhamster. It was her 24th career win.

[edit] Handicapping

One problem that has limited the growth of professional hamster racing is the difficulty in handicapping, or attempting to predict the winner, of a hamster racing contest. As with horse racing, the handicapping of hamsters relies on observations of the speed, pace, form, and class of the animal. However, while many bettors believe themselves to be good horse handicappers, few know what to look for in hamster handicapping as they are unfamiliar with the species. This means that the large population of horse racing bettors are often unwilling to migrate to hamster racing because to do so would require either placing uninformed, pure-chance bets or learning to judge and handicap an entirely new animal.