Racin’ Bacon : Recreation: The All-Alaskan pigs steal the show while running for their supper at the Antelope Valley Fair.

Forget the dog days of summer. At the Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival on Sunday, the afternoon definitely belonged to the pigs.

And not just any old pigs. These young porkers, born and raised in Alaska, sported names such as Late for Dinner and Win Or-B-Bacon and ran at a pretty impressive clip.

“These pigs are professional athletes,” said Bart Noll, a Fairbanks native who owns the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs.

Noll and his company of eight porcine wonders drew squeals and cheers as they put on several racing shows Sunday for visitors to the annual fair in Lancaster. Under a blazing sun, with the reward of a well-stocked feeding trough as incentive, Noll’s pigs minced as quickly as they could around and around a dusty track to determine which would be the Carl Lewis among them.

“The only thing that can slow a racing pig is an injury . . . like a pulled hamstring,” Noll, 33, joked to a crowd of about 80 spectators gathered for a mid-afternoon show.

The 3-month-old crossbreed pigs, already about 50 pounds apiece, come from a suburb of Fairbanks called North Pole. Selected at the beginning of the summer, the animals hit the road from May to October for performances at fairs throughout the West.

A detailed listing of odds on each competitor told fair-goers Sunday which contestant was most likely to bring home the bacon. For Tootie Hubbard of Quartz Hill, a pig aficionado, it was enough just to see the bandanna-clad creatures up close.

“I grew up on a farm,” said Hubbard, 33. “There’s nothing cuter than a baby pig.”

A few yards away, 5-year-old Tyler Willy watched intently as Late for Dinner trotted out from the starting pen in the final round. The pig lost, but Tyler didn’t mind.

“I like pigs--my grampa used to have some,” the boy said. “I like the big ones.”

What for? “To pet them and eat them,” he replied.

The races, held daily until the fair closes Sept. 2, are in the kid’s corral, near the petting zoo and pony rides.

Fair General Manager Jim Pacini said the event has gone smoothly since it opened Friday. Attendance for the first two days totaled more than 58,000. Last year, the 11-day fair attracted more than 300,000 visitors, he said.