The title of "Best in Show" is given to the dog chosen as the winner of the

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

according to

conformation show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a '' breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ...

rules. It has its origins in the variety classes for champions that were introduced in 1905 which included prizes for best

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

dog and best champion bitch. The title of Best in Show at Westminster has been awarded every year beginning in 1907 except for 1923 when changes in

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Ke ...

rules prohibited mixed breed judging until a uniform process could be adopted; following further changes in rules it was awarded again in 1924. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breeds conformation show. It has been held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

annually since 1877. It was held at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

for the first time in 1880, and is currently held in the modern

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

of the same name. Dogs are first placed in breed specific classes for Best of Breed, with the winners moving on to the respective breed group. Winners from each group then compete for the title of Best in Show. In each class, the individual dogs are judged against the

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

of each dog breed. In 1992, competition at Westminster was restricted to

champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

only. A dog can only become a champion by gaining championship points at other conformation shows. Prior to 1992, admission to dogs was open, and in 1938 an

English Setter The English Setter is a medium-size breed of dog. It is part of the setter group, which includes the red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and black-and-tan Gordon Setters. The mainly white body coat is of medium length with long s ...

named Daro of Maridor was the Best in Show title at Westminster in his very first outing at a dog show at the age of 11 months. In 1929, a previously unregistered British dog won at Westminster using the name Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven, aged nine months in his only show on American soil. The James Mortimer Memorial Silver Trophy is awarded permanently should the dog win Best in Show on five separate occasions with the same owner, otherwise a silver-plated replica is awarded.. As of 2020, the most successful dog to win Best in Show at Westminster was a

Smooth Fox Terrier The Smooth Fox Terrier is a breed of dog, one of many terrier breeds. It was the first breed in the fox terrier family to be given official recognition by The Kennel Club (circa 1875; breed standard 1876). It is well known, and although not a ...

named Ch. Warren Remedy. She was the first winner of Best in Show and the only dog to have won it on three occasions. The

Terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

Group would continue to win until 1913 when a

Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose. The Terrier Group is the most successful group, with 45 wins out of 103 occasions. The least successful group is the

Herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

Group, a group which was only comparatively recently created in 1983, with wins by

German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...

s, in 1987 and 2017.

Best in Show

Summary of Best in Show winners

Number of winners by breed

Number of winners by group

Notes

References

General

* * *

Specific

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Best in Show winners of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

Dog shows and showing * Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Awards to animals