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For all you dog fans, the show of shows

LIKE MILLIONS of people throughout the country, you may be planning to settle down in front of the television Monday and Tuesday night to view the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show - the Super Bowl of dog shows, as longtime announcer David Frei (who will be stepping down after this year) likes to call it.

LIKE MILLIONS of people throughout the country, you may be planning to settle down in front of the television Monday and Tuesday night to view the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show - the Super Bowl of dog shows, as longtime announcer David Frei (who will be stepping down after this year) likes to call it.

The spectacle has its roots in Gilded Age New York. It's easy to imagine the friendly arguments over whose dog was best as robber barons gathered in the bar of the Westminster Hotel after a good day's hunting. From there, it was only a short step to forming a club and putting on a dog show over the claim "My dog is better than yours."

Today, in terms of longevity, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is second only to the Kentucky Derby. Here are 11 tidbits you might not have known about Westminster and the dogs that make it must-see viewing.

1. In 1877, members of what became known as the Westminster Kennel Club staged the First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs, held at Gilmore's Garden (which became Madison Square Garden) in New York City.

2. The three-day show drew 1,201 dogs and garnered such public interest that a fourth day was added. In a philanthropic bow to the nascent humane movement, proceeds from the fourth day were donated to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

3. Only the top five dogs in each breed, plus all national specialty winners, get invitations to Westminster. It's the luck of the draw for everyone else.

4. The winningest dogs at Westminster are the terriers, taking the top spot 46 times.

5. Smooth fox terrier Ch. Warren Remedy started the trend in 1907 - the first year the title Best in Show was awarded - and became the first and only dog to win Best in Show for three consecutive years. The most recent terrier to win was wire fox terrier GCH (Grand Champion) Afterall Painting the Sky in 2014.

6. Other top-winning terriers include Lakeland terrier Ch. Stingray of Derryabah, the first dog to win Best in Show at Westminster (1968) after winning the same at Crufts (Great Britain's famous dog show), and Kerry blue terrier Ch. Torums Scarf Michael, who won Crufts in 2000 and Westminster in 2003.

7. Boxer Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest was the first dog from west of the Mississippi to win Best in Show at Westminster, in 1951.

8. English springer spaniel Ch. Chinoe's Adamant James won his second consecutive Best in Show at Westminster in 1972. No dog has done it since.

9. Ch. Royal Tudor's Wild as the Wind, a red Doberman pinscher, was the first Best in Show winner (1989) to also hold an obedience title (Companion Dog).

10. Sussex spaniel Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee has the distinction of being not only the oldest dog to win Best in Show, in 2009 when he was 10 years old, but also the first of his breed to do so. The next-oldest was papillon Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being (Kirby) in 1999, at 8 years, 1 month and 10 days old. Kirby was also the first dog ever to win both the World Dog Show (1998) and Westminster.

11. The breeds that have never been top dog there include Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, Chihuahuas, Dalmatians, Brittanys, bloodhounds, cavalier King Charles spaniels and Pembroke Welsh corgis.