Pig-racing brothers excite crowds

For Darren Noll, inheriting the family business entails much more than balancing books and stocking the store. It also means hauling a trailer full of 4-month-old female pigs around the Western United States.

Noll’s parents started racing pigs 20 years ago when he was only a baby in Fairbanks, Alaska and the sport took off immediately.

Nowadays, the Noll brothers take their All-Alaskan Racing Pigs on the fair circuit five months out of the year, their favorite stop being the Orange County Fair, where visitors can catch the races in the livestock area several times daily.

“Making people laugh is very rewarding,” said Noll, the eldest of five brothers who serves as emcee for the event. “We get fans that come out to the fair every year to specifically see our show.”

The energetic crowds in Orange County make this Noll’s favorite stop.

“We call it the Super Bowl of pig racing,” he said. “This is the only place where we get our own stadium and the crowds have so much energy.”

The event draws Sherri Dieckman of Corona del Mar and her two grandchildren to the fair every year. The group joined a full house of more than 500 spectators for Tuesday’s 3 p.m. race.

“It’s my favorite thing at the fair,” she said. “I’m an outdoor girl so I like the pigs and the country atmosphere.”

This year’s eight competitors include Harry Porker, Soapy Smith, Spiderham and Sourdough Jack, who can clear a 15-inch hurdle.

The pigs are handpicked from farms near the Noll’s home in Eugene, Ore., and complete an intensive four-week “spring training” before hitting the road.

While traveling, the racers are treated like kings, Noll said, adding their trailer is air-conditioned, they drink only filtered water and they sleep on fresh wood chips each night. Each pig races for about two months before retiring to “Club Mud,” meaning they are sold back to the farm to become market pigs.

When the fair concludes this weekend, Noll and his brother Chad will accompany the pigs to the Ventura County Fair, the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Wash., and elsewhere before concluding the season at the Big Fresno Fair in October.

After five years of managing the business, Noll is retiring to finish his accounting degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and to pursue an internship with a top accounting firm.

Though he’s sad to leave, Noll is confident the business will remain in the family.

“There aren’t many small business that can say they lasted 20 years,” he said. “It was my parents’ blood, sweat and tears that went into establishing this business and it has truly supported the family for all that time. It helped pay for my college.”

The All-Alaskan Racing Pigs compete at 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m. daily, as well as 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, in the livestock area at the Orange County Fair.

To see a video of the pig racing, click here.

To see staff photo galleries of the OC Fair, click here.

SUMMER BOOK DRIVE

From noon to 6 p.m., all fairgoers who donate one new children’s book or three used children’s books receive free fair admission and a voucher for one free carnival ride. All donations benefit Orange County public elementary schools through Reading by 9.

HINDER AND PAPA ROACH

The Badboys of Rock tour, featuring Hinder, Papa Roach and Buckcherry, will stop in at the Pacific Amphitheatre. Last year, Hinder’s single, “Lips of an Angel,” charted in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 and Pop 100 lists. The show begins at 6 p.m. and tickets are $29.50. For more information, go to www.ocfair.com.

KODI LEE BAND

Performing at 5 p.m. on the Main Mall Stage, 11-year-old Kodi Lee of Irvine has dazzled audiences around the world. Kodi, the ambassador for the Festival of Children Foundation, is a prodigious savant with music, and is able to sing and play songs after hearing them only once. To learn more about Kodi, go to www.kodilee.com.