Pigs’ Feet and Road Hogs : Competition: Amid the roar of the crowd, the fastest swine around put hoof to turf at the Ventura County Fair. The winner gets a cookie.

The eight young pigs in the All-Alaskan race team travel and train together. But when the starting bell rings, it’s every pig for himself.

“They’ll routinely cut each other off at the corners,” said Dave Fotsch, personal manager of the racing pigs at the Ventura County Fair. “They are serious. “

All contestants get a shot at the trough of pig feed at the finish line. But the winner gets the chocolate-chip cookie that sits on top. “So the first one to finish is the only one to get dessert,” Fotsch said.

When the trotters hit the turf four times a day, at least 200 spectators show up to cheer on their favorite cookie-crazed contestant. Sometimes race fans stand seven rows deep around the miniature oval course.

It’s full-boar racing at its best.

Brian Hamilton, a 6-year-old from Moorpark, was one of those captivated Monday by the speed, noise and drama of All-Alaskan Pig Races. Pacing back and forth, the boy with the toothless smile was fretting over the odds of his long-shot pick: Strawberry, a small, black pig from Nevada, was up against the defending champ, Kobuck, a red swine from Alaska.

It was the kind of race that would separate the boars from the swine.

When the gates swung open and four pigs shot out, Brian cheered and threw his hands into the air. As his favorite came around the final turn, the boy jumped for a better view of the finish line.

But when the sawdust had settled, Kobuck emerged once again the top swine.

Drooping his head, young Brian shuffled back to his family, insisting that he was never much of a pig-racing fan anyway.

Other spectators remained unapologetic. Oklahomans Jim and Betty Murray showed up half an hour early to claim front-row seats. “We saw this on TV in Oklahoma,” Betty Murray offered. “They really get moving,” her husband added.

Fotsch believes that the pigs take the race just as seriously as the fans.

During a particularly fast heat on Monday, Kobuck completed the 150-foot course in nine seconds flat. That’s about 11 m.p.h. At that speed, a pig could pull a hamstring.

“There is nothing scarier than a pig spinning out of control on the corner,” Fotsch said.

The pigs are recruited for racing at the tender age of 4 months. They weigh about 50 pounds and stand about two feet high. The All-Alaskans are of the Duroc or Hampshire breed, or a combination of both.

Fotsch said that when the pigs pass their prime they begin to attract scouts from Oscar Mayer.

The competition is so fierce that most of the races are won by a snout. Very few hog ties.

Pig racing originated in Alaska, Fotsch said. “The people are crazy about pig races in Alaska for some reason,” he said.

Fotsch said the All-Alaskan Pig Races began five years ago, when his boss handpicked a team of piglets to race at fairs and carnivals along the West Coast.

“We just found that pigs from Alaska are the fastest pigs,” he said.

To make it more exciting, Fotsch said the races pit four Alaskan pigs against four from the Lower 48.

Although wagering is not allowed, Fotsch said he has overheard fans betting as much as $20 on a race.

The pigs race for six months a year. During the off-season they can often be found relaxing at their favorite resort, “Club Mud,” he said.