Dachshund Hot Dog With Third-Graders

Kramer the dog came up short in his bid to win Heather Sievers’ third-grade class a pizza party at last week’s “Wiener Nationals” benefit race at Los Alamitos Race Course. But not all was lost. The Irvine students will get a party, but it’ll feature hot dogs instead.

Kramer, a ball-obsessed dachshund named after comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s stumbling sitcom sidekick, won the first heat at Saturday’s third annual wiener dog race, but came in fourth in a field of eight in the final run. Spike, a two-year veteran of the races, took the $500 grand prize, according to Orlando Gutierrez, racetrack spokesman.

Siever, Kramer’s owner and a University Park Elementary teacher, had promised her students a pizza party if her pet won. The children wrote 20 letters of support to get 2-year-old Kramer in the race, and several pupils showed up Saturday to watch him run.

Race officials and the event sponsor, Wienerschnitzel, couldn’t let Kramer’s supporters go home unhappy, and decided to co-sponsor the party. Why no pizza? Wienerschnitznel doesn’t have any on its fast-food menu.