Corgi record in Vilnius: 150 participants from nine countries, including the first Briton

The event will take place on August 15 from 1 PM to 7 PM near the Vingis Park amphitheater. Tickets can be purchased on the “Paysera Tickets” platform and on the day of the event at the venue.

Record set even before the start

The event, potentially with 150 participants, will attract attendees from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, the USA, Germany, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Half of the participants – 75 corgis – will be racing for the first time. Meanwhile, six veterans – Amigo, Fox, Foxy, Madeira, Bulka, and Džiugas – have already earned all five “Corgi Race” starting badges.

Both Welsh Pembroke corgis and the rarer Welsh Cardigan corgis will try the track. And six corgis returning to the race for the fifth time will receive a special gift from the organizers this year – for their loyalty to the event and its mission to popularize the breed worldwide.

The corgi returns to where it all began

One of the most notable news this year is the first participant in five years from the United Kingdom, the breed’s homeland. A twelve-year-old dog named Duke is coming to Vilnius from Sedbergh in Cumbria. The Welsh Pembroke corgi was one of Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite breeds: the royal family acquired their first corgi, named Dookie, back in 1933, and in 1944, the female dog Susan became the founder of fourteen generations of royal corgis. And here is an almost unbelievable coincidence: the first Briton at the Vilnius “Corgi Races” has almost the same name as the first corgi at Buckingham Palace.

Duke was born in Wales on Boxing Day and is arriving in Vilnius by car – the entire way from England. His owners learned about the event from a Facebook video and decided that the dog, having reached a venerable age, deserves a vacation where he would be rewarded for his favorite activity – barking. Whether he will win the Loudest Bark competition, the owners do not dare to guess, but they have one argument: “We don’t know if he will win, but he has definitely been training for the Loudest Bark competition his whole life,” says the corgi’s owner Ana. The family has never been to Lithuania before.

“In the first year, we gathered forty corgis from one city. This year – one hundred and fifty from nine countries, and for the first time among them is a participant from where the breed originated. The corgi is one of Britain’s most famous exports, so receiving guests from the breed’s homeland is a kind of honor. Duke is twelve years old, so he won’t be running in the races – a veteran doesn’t need to. He will compete in the Loudest Bark and Smartest Nose competitions. We call Vilnius the European corgi capital, and when people from the breed’s homeland start coming to us, rather than the other way around, that title sounds a bit more serious,” says the event organizer Edvinas Miškas.

The British accent will be strengthened by the event’s partners. The British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania (BCCL) holds the status of official community partner, and the Deputy Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Lithuania will be a member of the costume committee at the event.

Luko Grušecko ir Evelinos Sabaliauskaitės nuotr./Korgių lenktynės

Three guests from across the Atlantic

The American corgi racing scene will be represented by three participants in Vilnius this year.

In June, at the Emerald Downs track in Washington State, where more than 175 corgis started, GG (Gustave the Girl Dog) from Seattle won the final for the second year in a row. Mr. Corgington from Palm Springs came in second. ESPN2 broadcast these races just a few days ago, and now both competitors will meet again – but on another continent.

Mr. Corgington’s team even had shirts made with the Lithuanian flag for the trip to Vilnius. Wearing them, the team tells the US media about their journey to Vilnius.

The third guest from the USA is Ziggy, the face of “Little Stumps Racing.” This corgi has already appeared in fourteen NFL halftime shows, and this year moved to Stuttgart with her owner.

Every corgi now has its own EXP

On the occasion of the fifth race, the organizers counted the entire history of participants for the first time and created an EXP – experience points – system.

It covers the four previous editions of the event – 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Points are awarded not only for victories. A corgi receives 10 points for each year of life, 100 for each event attended, and another 100 for each year they actually stood at the starting line.

On top of this base, sports results are added: reaching the semifinals is worth 100 points, the final – 200, winning third place – 300, second place – 400, and first place – 500 points. Points can also be earned in the costume parade, solo sprint, Smartest Nose, and Loudest Bark competitions. In the Smartest Nose competition, EXP can be earned even for each treat found.

So the system rewards not only the fastest.

The all-time EXP leader is Moka from Druskininkai, who has accumulated 2,240 points. She earned 1,400 of them on the main race podium alone: Moka won the races in 2023 and 2024, and came second in 2025.

In second place is Amigo with 1,580 points. He has never even reached the semifinals in the main races but scored well elsewhere: in 2024 and 2025, he won the costume parade twice in a row. Each such victory is worth 300 points.

Third is Madeira, with 1,472 points. Her profile is the most diverse: just for eleven years of life, she gets 110 points, plus the 2025 semifinal, second place in the 2023 costume parade, and participation in the solo sprint, Smartest Nose, and Loudest Bark competitions.

Every registered corgi receives a personal collectible card with their EXP points. These are created in the format of popular trading cards – but instead of usual sports statistics, the most important here is how fast you run, how loud you bark, and how well you sniff out treats.

Points for 2026 will be counted after the event.

From 50-meter sprint to four-meter Jorgis

This year’s program offers several opportunities for corgis to show what they can do:

1:00 PM–3:50 PM – participant registration
1:00 PM–3:30 PM – “Run–Come Back”
1:00 PM–3:50 PM – Loudest Bark competition
1:00 PM–5:00 PM – Smartest Nose competition
1:00 PM–6:00 PM – Solo sprint
1:00 PM–6:30 PM – Agility beginners zone
4:00 PM–5:00 PM – Costume parade
5:00 PM–7:00 PM – Corgi races

The main speed event will take place on a 50-meter track. Up to 14 qualifying heats with 7–8 corgis each are planned, two semifinals, and a final where the six fastest corgis and the solo sprint winner will compete.

The agility beginners zone and “Run–Come Back” are introduced for the first time this year. And for those not yet ready to race, there will be many other opportunities to become the star of the day – after all, a corgi doesn’t have to be the fastest to win the audience’s love.

Children will enjoy the “Paw Patrol” zone, and next to the ice cream truck will stand a four-meter-tall giant corgi Jorgis – about twenty times larger than the average event participant.

Refreshments and snacks will be available at a mobile café, “Fish and Chips,” and Mexican food trucks.

All this year’s events are presented by the main sponsor of “Corgi Race Vilnius 2026” – “Club 4 Paws.”

“Our care for pets is not limited to nutrition alone. We believe that pets deserve not only quality food but also attention, connection, and meaningful experiences. Events like ‘Corgi Race Vilnius’ bring people and their pets together, strengthen the community, and encourage responsible and joyful relationships between people and their pets. We are proud to support an event that celebrates the special bond between people and their pets,” says “Club 4 Paws.”

“Corgi Races” are more than just competitions. It’s a day when every corgi can discover their talent. Some join the Speed Club, others choose the Fashion Club, and others the Best Nose or Loudest Bark Club.

Because not every corgi was born to be a sprinter. Some were born to be famous.

An event the world talked about

In 2025, more than 3,200 publications about the “Corgi Races” appeared in 40 countries, with a potential audience of about 2.8 billion people. The event was covered by Associated Press, Reuters, ABC News, Sky News, ZDF, France 24, People, and other international media outlets.

According to reputation analytics company Repsense, the day of the “Corgi Races” in 2025 was the most positive day of the year in terms of Lithuania’s presence on global social media.