137th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Returns to Madison Square Garden, 2/11 & 12; Tickets on Sale 10/17

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) announced today the 137th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will return to Madison Square Garden on February 11-12, 2013. Entries from all over America and the rest of the world are once again heading to New York City for the world's most famous dog show at the World's Most Famous Arena.

This year, Group, Junior Showmanship Finals and Best In Show will take place at Madison Square Garden during the evening, with competition beginning at 8 p.m. on Monday evening and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. All breed winners from each day will be benched at MSG beginning at 6 p.m. Breed judging and benching will take place during the day at Piers 92/94 (West 55th Street and the West Side Highway) from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Westminster has been competing at The World's Most Famous Arena since 1879, being one of only three tenants to stage their event in every one of the four incarnations of Madison Square Garden.

Live television coverage will be on CNBC and USA Network from 8p.m.-11p.m. ET.

NEW AT WESTMINSTER IN 2013

Show entry limit increases to 3,200 dogs: the increase includes dogs that are not champions ("class dogs") being eligible to enter for the first time since 1991. Dogs are required to have won at least one major of three points or more to be eligible, but do not have to be AKC champions. At Westminster, class dogs will be able to win points towards their AKC championship title with an award of Winners Dog or Winners Bitch.
Grand Championship Points (GCH): With the addition of class entries, wins at Westminster awarded by the breed judge (Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch) will win points towards the AKC's Grand Championship title. For details, see akc.org/grandchampionship. This award will take the place of Awards of Merit previously offered by the club.

Addition of National Specialty winners as invited competitors: National Specialty winners in the 2012 calendar year will be added to the list of dogs invited to pre-enter in advance of the entry closing date. The top five dogs in breed standings for the period Jan. 1-October 31, 2012, will once again be invited to pre-enter.

Addition of the Reserve Best In Show Award: The Reserve Best in Show winner will be chosen by the Best In Show judge from the remaining group winners in the ring after the awarding of Best in Show. This is a new AKC rule as of July 2012. Westminster actually did award Reserve Best In Show from 1911-1925.

Two new breeds eligible in 2013: The Treeing Walker Coonhound (Hound Group) and the Russell Terrier (Terrier Group) are the breeds newly recognized by the AKC and eligible for Westminster for the first time in 2013. There are 187 breeds and varieties now eligible.

Group judging, Junior Showmanship finals and Best In Show competition will still be staged Monday and Tuesday nights at Madison Square Garden.

Seats for the evening judging at Madison Square Garden may be purchased through Ticketmaster and Madison Square Garden beginning on October 17, 2012 at ticketmaster.com or 866-858-0008; or at thegarden.com. Madison Square Garden ticketing will be RESERVED SEATING ONLY for the evening judging. These tickets will allow access to the benching area where all of the daily breed winners will be on display beginning at 6 p.m. Competition begins at 8 p.m. on Monday evening and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

Monday at 8:00pm: Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding Groups
Tuesday at 7:30 pm: Junior Showmanship Finals, Sporting, Working and Terrier Groups, Best In Show

For The Piers daytime schedule and ticketing information, visit www.westminsterkennelclub.org.

MSG Entertainment (MSGE), the live entertainment arm of The Madison Square Garden Company (Nasdaq: MSG), is a Worldwide Entertainment company recognized for its signature combination of event production and entertainment marketing. In addition to the nearly 900 entertainment concerts and events that take place each year at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, and the Forum arena in Inglewood, California, MSGE has an exclusive co-booking agreement with Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center/ Wang Theatre. MSG Entertainment's live events include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which has played to more than 70 million people in 88 different cities across North America. More than five million people attend MSG Entertainment branded events annually including concerts, special events, and family attractions.