Give Me $100 on the 10 Bird

By Timmy Watson in News on Oct 8, 2006 6:17PM

It is really too bad the Chicago Bears, one of the most talked-about teams in the NFL, won't have many hometown fans watching today. Why? Because it just so happens the biggest pigeon race on earth is happening today.

Known as the Windy City Class, these "race horses of the sky" are transported to Iowa, where they are released in the early hours of the morning, and they head back to Chicago.

Harry Kroll, of Chicago, has won the region's speed record three of the last five years. Kroll is part of a dwindling group of pigeon racers in Chicago, due to the 2004 assault on pigeons banning the bird in residential places.

The prize for the race is $10,000, and Kroll will need it. The price for a purebred pigeon can cost several thousand dollars and not all the pigeons make it back to Chicago. These beauties can make it up to 90 mph. If you are interested in getting into pigeon racing but don't have the money, we are pretty sure they come free with any urban area.