Pekingese the odds-on favorite to win 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Johnny Avello, the Las Vegas "Wizard of Odds" has chimed in on his predicted winner for the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the 136th annual all-bred competition, and those who know it is the Year of the Dragon may think it's the Year of the Dog, instead.

This little Pekingese dog breed, which has a breed history that dates back to the 8th century Tang Dynasty, has been tipped to win the Best in Show title at 6-to-1.

Avello said, “When it comes to working out the odds, it’s all about instinct, intuition and networking. There’s no doubt having a math background helps too. When I do my Oscar odds, I talk to Hollywood insiders and get what they’re thinking, and the same applies to other events like the Grammys and TV shows such as American Idol and The Apprentice."

Those wanting to use Avello's prediction for a bet should remember however: he missed in 2011, despite correctly picking the winner of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show the five prior years. Avello had giventhe Smooth Fox Terrier breed the best odds to win the at the show, but it was instead a Scottish Deerhound named Hickory, which was far down his list at 60-1 odds, which took home Best in Show.

Six new breeds have joined the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show lineup this year, which brings the number of breeds to 185, and Avello has worked out the odds on all of them. For the second consecutive year, the highest number of entries for any single breed is the Rhodesian Ridgeback, which has forty entries, but despite the large number of entrants, Avello has that breed ranked worst at 600-to-1 to win.

In conformation, not obedience events like the Westminster Dog Show 2011, each dog is judged against the "standard" for his breed. Each is first pitted against other dogs in his or her breed. The winning dog of each breed is then pitting against the winners of other breeds in his "Group." There are seven groups: Sporting, Hounds, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding.

Finally, the Group winners are pitted against each other to determine Best in Show. Points are awarded for various results in a dog show. A dog that receives at least 15 points from three different judges and gains at least two "major" wins from separate judges is named Champion.

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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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