Abilene Kennel Club Fast CAT returns, inviting all dogs to sprint

The Abilene Kennel Club put speed front and center at the Taylor County Expo Center, where Fast CAT boiled dog sports down to one clean test: a 100-yard timed dash, one dog at a time, chasing a lure straight down the course. The club scheduled Event 1 for 8:30 a.m. and Event 2 for 12:30 p.m. on both April 11 and April 12, giving handlers two chances each day to watch their dogs flat-out sprint in front of a local crowd.

Fast CAT, short for Coursing Ability Test, is built for exactly the kind of dog that never seems to burn out. The American Kennel Club says the sport is open to all dogs, purebred or mixed-breed, as long as they are at least 12 months old. Dogs earn points based on handicapped speed, and once they accumulate enough points, titles start to pile up. That structure is what makes the event feel bigger than a fun run. A family pet can walk in with zero reputation and leave with an official number attached to its speed.

The sport’s reach has grown far beyond a local novelty. The American Kennel Club says Fast CAT has become very popular and maintains a top-20 fastest dogs by breed list. The five fastest dogs in each breed are then invited to the following year’s Fast CAT Invitational, which gives even a casual Saturday dash a clear competitive edge. For the big-drive dogs in the community, that kind of ladder matters. It turns raw chase instinct into something measurable, repeatable, and worth coming back for.

Abilene’s version carried a strong community feel, too. The Abilene Kennel Club has long tied its work to youth and dog education through Taylor County 4-H and Nolan County 4-H, focusing on caring for, training, and showing dogs. That connection helped frame Fast CAT as more than a stopwatch sport. It became a weekend where families could bring dogs, watch dogs, and see ordinary pets move like serious athletes for 100 yards at a time.

That is the whole appeal in one shot: a straight lane, a moving lure, and dogs of every size showing exactly what they were built to do. In Abilene, Fast CAT gave the crowd speed, spectacle, and a clear reminder that the local dog calendar still has room for pure chase.