By Lori EhdeLuverne’s Hot Dog Night attracted 34 wiener dog race entries and a half-dozen hot dog eating contestants Thursday, July 8, for the 42nd year of the annual event.Hundreds of spectators packed the City Hall area of Main Street for the wiener dog races, which easily topped the list of attractions for the night.Organizer Dan Statema shook his head in disbelief, when he surveyed the crowds from inside the 20-yard race strip."I had no idea it’d be this popular," he said Tuesday between heats. "I was hoping for five to 10 dogs, but it was worth a shot, because it didn’t really cost us anything. … Hopefully, it’s one of those events that builds on itself in the future."With 34 entries, the event unfolded with seven heats of four dogs per heat. One team dropped out, so five dogs ran in the final heat.There were two semi-final heats, with four dogs per semi-final, and the first and second places of the two semis raced in the championship round.Baxter, the 3-year-old Dachshund of Cory and LeAnne Bouma, Brandon, S.D., emerged the champion.Cory, a 1990 Luverne High School graduate, said Baxter’s had some experience in wiener dog racing."He’s raced before in Detroit Lakes, and we did work with him," Cory said.The Bouma strategy that proved successful was to lure Baxter with his favorite treat, a Scooby Snack."We let him sniff it and give it a little lick, and then we walked away with it to the finish line," Cory said.He said Baxter faced stiff competition in the finals. "He won literally by a nose," Cory said. "The second place dog would have won if he hadn’t stopped before stepping over the finish line."Cory, son of Luverne’s Henry and Betty Bouma, said he won’t let Baxter’s success affect his pet’s lifestyle too much."We’ll have to bring him back next year to defend his title, but I don’t see us traveling with him."Chamber Board member Greg Leuthold organized the event with Statema and said he was pleased with the outcome of the first-time effort."I think everybody enjoyed it," he said."I had people tell me that was the biggest crowd they’d seen in quite awhile for Hot Dog Night."Bleachers were set up to accommodate roughly 50 spectators, but hundreds crowded the race strip, which was partitioned off by plastic orange snow fence."We’ll have to improve it somehow next time so more people can see," Leuthold said.The hot dog eating contest was another novelty of this year’s Hot Dog Night in Luverne.Papik Motors sponsored the event, which drew six somewhat reluctant contestants.Gretchen (Papik) Jepperson’s husband, Ryan Jepperson, was easily the first-place winner after consuming six hot dogs in five minutes.Other contestants included Jordan Papik, Janine Papik, Gregg Fuerstenberg, Jon Schomacker and Laura Clark.First-place prize was a Papik Motors Hot Dog Eating Champ t-shirt, and all contestants received a free oil change and hats.Other Main Street activity included a Spotlight Dancers performance, Tae Kwon Do demonstration, mini train rides and music by Audience of One.The local group, Country Grass, formerly known as Heartland Prairie Band, played on the lawn of at the Carnegie, and 4-H members performed their annual Fashion Revue on the front steps of the Hinkly House.Merchants typically grill more than 10,000 hot dogs and serve 300 gallons of drink during Hot Dog Night as an expression of appreciation to the community for doing business with them.