Crowds fill the hay-lined track, eyes locked on four metal gates. As they burst open, cheers erupt. Plump athletes squeal while they charge forward, racing toward their sweet reward.
After a brief and thrilling dash, the competitors cross the finish line. The winner is Lindsay HoHam, a pig from East Prairie, Missouri. Two races left to go.
Welcome to the pig races, an event at the Miami-Dade County Fair, which ended on April 6. Overall, 12 pigs competed in three races, and the fans, well, they squealed louder than the pigs! The “Show-Me-Swine Racers” from East Prairie, Missouri included hogs ranging from British Landrace to Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs.
“You feel joy, excitement and nostalgia while watching the races,” said Oliver Gil, a fair attendee from Miami. “It’s unique, it’s something different. It’s not like any usual ride or food at the fair.”
Pig races have been a staple at fairs across Florida for decades – not only in Miami, but in Tampa, Jacksonville and elsewhere – where competitors have included Piggy Smalls, Doja Pig, Tupork Shakur and Snoop Hoggy Hogg.
Pig race owners Carlota and Paul Robinson first showed ‘Robinson’s Racing Pigs’ at the Florida State Fair in February 1985 in Tampa. Their porkers even made an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
As the second race ended, the crowd cheered for the winner. “Bacon!” yelled hundreds of fans as pig race announcer Colton “Pork Chop” Brooks from East Prairie, Missouri announced fan-favorite hog “Shakin Bacon.”
Brooks, 32, has been an announcer with Show-Me Swine Racers for 10 years. He also trains the pigs to be race-ready.
“First, we get some that match up in size, then we’ll make sure they’re okay with living with each other,” Brooks continued. “We make sure no one will fight or anything like that.”
Training can begin for pigs as early as 5-weeks-old. Trainers like Brooks first build a track that they will learn on. Next, the track is lined with sugar cookies to slowly lead the pigs across to the finish line.
“Pigs are big time food motivated animals,” stated Brooks. “Once you show them where the cookies are going from the starting gate, they know where they’re at and go to them.”
Pigs understand that second place yields no reward, so the more pigs in a race, the harder they’ll try to make it to the end first.
“They realize, if I don’t get there before he does, I’m not gonna get any cookies,” Brooks mentioned. “So then they start going faster and faster, they train themselves to race.”
In total, it takes around two weeks to train a pig to race, with the first week being devoted to training them to learn the track and the second being dedicated to getting them used to large crowds and loud lights.
A typical race day for Brooks and his pigs, whom he calls his co-workers, includes morning pig baths and fan cooldowns, then a sugar or oatmeal cookie treat before the shows begin in the afternoon.
“When the gates open, I’m always excited,” said Brooks with a smile. “You never know what’s gonna happen.”
“My favorite race was the pot-bellied pig’s race because of the misdirection,” Gil recalled. “The announcer told me they’d be small and it was actually the big ones.”
Even after a decade of training pigs to fly across the track, as well as announcing them to crowds, Brooks still feels the surge of excitement that comes with pig racing.
“When one of ’em really takes off, I still get excited like a little kid myself,” Brooks shared.
As the third and final race ended, Brooks reflected on the winner “Notorious P.I.G” and the secret to their back-to-back race winning streak.
“It’s probably the sweets at the finish line, they care more about them than the others,” Brooks chuckled. “It wants them for sure.”
While the 2025 Miami-Dade County Youth Fair has concluded, it isn’t the only place to catch pig races. The League of Pigs hosts virtual pig races on YouTube and Instagram regularly, with a variety of safe obstacles included in the race.
The pig races might only last a few energizing seconds, but the memories stay with you long after you’ve oinked your last sooie!
