What Is Pigeon Racing And How Do These Birds Compete

Get Your Racing Homer Ready for Pigeon Racing

I stumbled upon a booth at the Fall Festival called the Evansville Racing Pigeon Club, and I thought it was a joke. Pigeon racing? For real? The rabbit hole I have since embarked upon has taught me one thing: Racing pigeons are an incredibly fascinating group, and pigeons deserve more credit.

What is a Fancier and How Pigeon Racing Works

I'm absolutely fascinated with this sport, and not just because they have some pretty cool names for, well, everything. First of all, the type of pigeon they use for this is called racing homers. I don't care who you are; that's awesome. The owners and operators of these birds? They're called fanciers. Reba would be proud. These folks breed, train, and raise these pigeons. Between the bird and the fancier, the racing part comes in when these birds are set free and have to return to their homing lofts. The process is very complex, but at the end of the day, the bird with the highest average speed wins.

Evansville has a Pigeon Racing Club

I was able to spend some time at the Evansville Pigeon Racing Club booth at the Fall Festival, and while I have no idea who the young ladies I spoke with were, I can say they were an absolute delight. If that's the kind of camaraderie involved in this club, sign me up! Evansville has a club, and it looks like they've just started making an impact, posting records for 2024 Young Bird and 2025 Old Bird, the series on which this entire sport is based. I can't wait to continue down this rabbit hole, but in the meantime, I encourage everyone to check out this interesting sport and the fine folks supporting it in the tri-state.