A John Deere Publication

Closeup of a pink piglet with a magenta vest on almost posing for a photoshoot with one foot up

'Strawberry' runs free range from the track to the photo booth eager to pose with her fans and earn bonus snacks. Each racing team has a Strawberry and a mischievous 'Soapy' named after a famous Alaskan con man.

Specialty/Niche April 01, 2025

Off to the Pig Races!

Small-time event brings big action.

by Martha Mintz

"If I know half as much about training animals as I think I do; and pigs are half as smart as farmers say they are, then this is something I can do," Bart Noll says he told people—including himself—when he was entertaining the idea of creating a pig racing show. Thirty-seven years of squealing good fun later...

"I was half right. The pigs were definitely smart!"

Noll's All-Alaskan Racing Pigs are a crowd favorite at the fairs and festivals they frequent throughout the lower 48. Children of all ages look on with delight as they watch the first heat. If they're under the mistaken notion that pigs are lazy, they realize their error when the sawdust—and the pigs—start to fly.

Each show is primed by an announcer hamming it up. They tell some wild pig tails, weaving Alaska-themed backstories for each racer. We'll leave the rest of the piggy puns to them, as Noll and his family have hogged all the good ones honing the performance over the years.

They draw the audience into the show, recruiting someone to open the gates, and another to call the winners. The action is close, with just a 2-foot PVC-pipe fence between the crowd and the racers. They can hear the grunts, and marvel as the pigs fly over the hurdles that are added as the races progress through the show.

Above. Each show consists of four heats of races. There's plenty of action, puns, surprises, and education. The hogs are Gloucestershire Old Spots, a heritage breed bolstered in number by the show's support. Tim Marl (L) and Kris Cox hype the crowd at the Central Washington Fair in Yakima. They were announcers for one of three All-Alaskan Racing Pigs teams making the circuit. When not announcing, they tend the racers in their Piggy Penthouse.

Fair start. Noll grew up in a dog mushing family in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was in charge of exhibits at the Tanana Valley State Fair when he saw a tiny picture of a pig race in an industry magazine.

He latched on to the idea, and put together his first show for the fair. He kept the project going when he moved to Washington for graduate school. He trained racers and took them to fairs and festivals.

"It was doing well so I decided to keep it as a side project even after I went on to other careers," he says.

Noll created multiple teams of pigs and announcers to reach more venues. He and his wife Deanne had five children, each of who managed their own team their first summer after graduating high school.

"The tradition in our family is the year they turned 10, I would take them on the road as my helper," he says. They were in charge of the photo booth and merchandise.

At the end of each show, a specially trained pig named Strawberry runs from the track to a tent to take pictures with fans.

"The kids made sure the tables were stocked and helped with transactions. At the end of the day they counted the money and filled out the paperwork. It was their first introduction to business," he says.

The kids were never on the road full time, but they did get to help on the farm. Noll buys 6 to 8-week-old pigs to train for the shows.

They come to his acreage where they mostly spend time acclimating to people. They learn some basic sounds they associate with food and action. During this time a 'Strawberry' usually emerges.

Pig names are kept the same, despite each team rotating through multiple groups of pigs each season.

The Strawberry of each group is usually highly food motivated and likes people, making her ideal for her special duties as the face of the team. Once Noll breaks in the first batch of racers, they gradually add new pigs that quickly learn from the others. Each pig stays on the road for a maximum of two months.

They travel in cleverly designed trailers that are climate controlled and provide everything the stars need to be comfortable and clean.

About a decade ago, Noll discovered the heritage breed Gloucestershire Old Spots, which he now uses exclusively for the show. He buys 60-80 hogs each year. When they age out, he finds dedicated breeders to sell to on the road. This work has helped boost the breed's numbers in the United States and spread the genetics far and wide.

"We connected with The Livestock Conservancy which works to preserve these breeds. The temperament of the breed works really well for us and we're helping preserve these genetics," Noll says.

There's also a human impact. After one fair, a woman approached to get her toddler's picture with Strawberry. She mentioned her daughter was the fourth generation to have this photo and that it had become a family tradition.

"That rocked me back on my heels. This was a side hustle that I kept going," Noll says. He never thought it would go so far. ‡