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Rhodesian ridgeback

AKC's 2025 Fast CAT best-of-breed sheet says 27.894 mph for Junior, a Rhodesian ridgeback, over 100 yards in 7.333 seconds.

A rhodesian ridgeback can run 27.894 mph (44.9 km/h), an official figure.

Also known as Junior
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Top speed

Published as 27.894 mphPublished as 27.894 mphPublished as 27.894 mph

AKC Fast CAT best-of-breed tabulation, 2025. Rhodesian ridgeback Junior, owned by Jane Gentzen & Arin McCully. Time 7.333 seconds for 100 yards. The sheet's Speed in MPH cell is 27.894. Handicap 1 is a points multiplier, not a speed. This is a course average, not a stride peak, and it is not the greyhound's 1,201 feet (366 m) Guinness race.

OfficialAmerican Kennel Club (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 1.2× Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 43% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 7.3 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a rhodesian ridgeback run?

A rhodesian ridgeback can run 27.894 mph (44.9 km/h), an official figure.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Rhodesian ridgeback is labeled Official. Ratified by a governing body such as the FIA, World Athletics or Guinness World Records.

What is the source?

The figure cites American Kennel Club, “2025 Fast CAT best of breed winners.”

Where does Rhodesian ridgeback rank?

Rhodesian ridgeback is 10th of 14 on Fastest Dog Breeds.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

AKC's 2025 Fast CAT sheet says 27.894 mph for Junior, a Rhodesian ridgeback, over 100 yards in 7.333 seconds. The mph is that course average. It is not the greyhound's 1,201 feet (366 meter) race.

Dog
Junior
Time
7.333 s
Speed
27.894 mph
Course
100 yards, Fast CAT

  1. A 100-yard lure chase

    Fast CAT times a straight 100 yards while the dog chases a lure. Junior's 7.333 seconds is the clock, and 27.894 mph is 100 yards divided by that time. A radar on one stride is not the sheet. A ridgeback is a hound. Junior's 27.894 mph in 7.333 seconds is the 2025 Fast CAT breed best, the course average, not a lion-hunt story.

  2. Not the greyhound course

    Star Title's greyhound record is 1,201 feet (366 meters) in 19.57 seconds. Junior's 100 yards is a shorter, different test, so the 27.894 mph is not averaged into that record and the greyhound's 41.8 mph (67.32 km/h) is not copied onto this breed.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 44.9km/h27.894mph12.5m/s24.2knRanked figure

    AKC Fast CAT best-of-breed tabulation, 2025. Rhodesian ridgeback Junior, owned by Jane Gentzen & Arin McCully. Time 7.333 seconds for 100 yards. The sheet's Speed in MPH cell is 27.894. Handicap 1 is a points multiplier, not a speed. This is a course average, not a stride peak, and it is not the greyhound's 1,201 feet (366 m) Guinness race.

    The 2026 invitational, where it names this breed, was a later heat and is not this rank.

    Official
    American Kennel Club (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Dog
Junior
Course
AKC Fast CAT, 100 yards
Time
7.333 seconds
Speed
27.894 mph

Context

Background

AKC's 2025 best-of-breed sheet says 27.894 mph for Junior, a Rhodesian ridgeback. The time on that row is 7.333 seconds. Fast CAT is a 100-yard lure chase, and the regulations say the time is converted to miles per hour. The figure is the Speed in MPH cell. The handicap column is how points are scaled, and it is not a separate figure as a speed.

That 27.894 mph is an average over the 100 yards. It is not a radar reading of one stride. The greyhound's Guinness mark is a longer race and a different number, so this row does not replace it. A later invitational heat, when the 2026 article names one, is extra detail and not the figure.

Head to head

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