Snapshot at the Manatee County Fair 2010: Robinson

PALMETTO -- Diva piggies at the Manatee County Fair hammed it up for a cheering crowd at the Robinson’s Pig Races on Wednesday night.

Randy Ross owns the racing pigs and holds Big Red, a winning piggy, at the fair.

Robert Weiskopf, 3, picked his winner early on.

”I’m watching for number three,“ he said and then stood up to cheer the pigs to the finish line

Perhaps coordinating the winner with his age, too, but it was a good guess, considering it was his very first pig race.

Britany Spareribs, piggie number three, outraced Tammy Faye Bacon and Lindsay Loham to win the race.

But what’s waiting around the tracks for these little guys running around one lap?

Randy Ross is the owner of the pig races. He said they've discovered that pigs have quite a sweet tooth.

”They love Oreo cookies,“ he said. ”The first one Ôround gets the cookie.“

The losers get the crumbs. So you better believe that these pigs aren’t wasting any time getting to the end of the race.

Robert Weiskopf picked his winner early on, Britney Spareribs, and she won.   Click to see Pig Races at the Manatee County Fair 2010.

Most of the Robinson’s Racing Pigs are Vietnamese pot belly pigs and a few are Florida wild pigs.

They will reach a maximum weight of 50 pounds and then head back to the farm to enjoy being pet pigs to families looking for that special oinking companion.

All of them are under a year old and they started racing at 1 month.

”Most people, when they think about pigs, think about fat lazy animals who lay around all day,“ Ross said. ”These guys run 15 to 20 miles per hour and they are ranked fourth in animal intelligence.“

With an Oreo cookie as a prize, these pigs learned how to race in four weeks.

Though all pigs have their off days in running, Britney Spareribs and Shakin Bacon are consistently winners.

Dolly Porkin, Rush Lomhog, Snoop Hoggy-hog and Arnold Swartzenhogger are also racing and did great in the swim race.

Robinson's Racing Pigs take off from the starting line with hopes of winning the race and eating an Oreo cookie.

Oh, yes, the swim race. These pigs not only race on land, they race in the water, too.

On Wednesday night crowds also cheered on pigs running up steps, diving in the lap pool, swimming across and back down the steps to the finish line.

”The louder you cheer, the faster they run and the more they will ham it up for you,“ Ross said.

Erica Newport is a daily reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers art, culture and community. If you have a story that might interest Erica, please e-mail her using erica.newport@thebradentontimes.com address.  She also takes your questions related to our weekly theme days and provides advice and opinions for our readers. Please use this e-mail address for Ask Erica: ask.erica@thebradentontimes.com.