Well this thread is a couple years old, but I figure I'll chime in anyways in case anyone wants info, and since I was "paged". :)
Yes, we do straight and oval racing (and Lenny too) and it's a blast. Probably my absolute favorite thing to do with the Basenjis, and we do it all. lol The dogs are out there having so much fun doing what they were born to do, and you can hoot and holler for your kids like if you were at a sporting event and cheer them on. There's lots of comraderie between the people and the atmosphere is so relaxing. It's about as objective as it gets, no politics from questionable judging, etc. Just simply who crossed the finish line first. :)
Jys1011, did you ever get your kids involved in racing? One of my boys now lives in NJ and he has done some amazing things on the track. He is basically undefeated and his owner has worked hard doing all kinds of things to help him be #1. And he's having the time of his life! I know there are several race meets in NJ and the surrounding areas each year, and I bet Kathryn would be happy to help you learn the ropes.
If you want to find out more about the races, you can go to the websites for the organizations and they have calendars of upcoming events that list dates and locations. Also they list clubs and contacts, so I woul contact the nearest club or two and they will give you an idea of when local meets are as well as potential practices or other club activities.
LGRA is the straight racing organization, their website is lgra.org
Click on "calendar", then on "PDF calendar" after that, in the left column. This will tell you the race dates and locations so you can do some map googling to find out what's feasable for you to attend. Practices are much more plenty and inviting at race meets vs lure trials. Plus the lure is a bit more "exciting" usually for the dogs. So it's a great place to learn no matter which lure activity you plan to do.
NOTRA is for oval track, their site is notra.org
Click on "racedates"
I'd be happy to help further if you would like more running details.
