Change creates opportunity but it is never met without some resistance. That is common knowledge. And rarely does a 50 year old tradition such as Autumn Oaks present the need for change at least as far as the administration of the event is concerned. Last year’s running of this most prestigious event for coonhounds was historical by design and very, very similar, in terms of format, to what it has been for the past 50 years. This year it’s going to look a little different; particularly if you have a Grand Nite Champion in your dog box.

In fact, several of the countries major events have undergone a similar change in recent years. The Grand American was one of the first to implement a format change that no longer crowned the highest scoring dog without some form of hunt off. A hunt off advances a set number of first round cast winners to a final round to determine the overall winner. The goal of a hunt off is to take the luck of the draw factor out of the equation of producing the highest score. A hunt off may be more taxing on hunt administrators, dogs and handlers alike, but they are without question more fair en route to crowning a true champion. There is no question that the UKC World Championship is a true championship format. Well now you can add Autumn Oaks to the list because National Grand Nite Champion honors are going to be based on a multi-round format.

Earlier this year a change with a similar goal of creating a more equitable playing field was announced. It did meet with some opposition as was expected. Also as expected, it garnered a lot of support. Far more support than opposition. The support came not so much as approval of the particular format but because of the goal to create a level playing field and the commitment to do something about it. Out of the discussions that followed came many follow up suggestions. Most of those ideas had already been discussed in one form or another. But there were some new ideas…some good ideas. As the word spread and owners and handlers called in support of the change, it became obvious that the goal of a more level playing field was being well received and would in turn be supported by more entries. From an administrative standpoint, that has created more of a challenge than originally anticipated and further change was determined to be necessary. Long story short, UKC has made the decision to revise our original plan in regards to the Grand Nite Champion format at Autumn Oaks. The basics of the updated format are as follows:

The National Grand Nite Champion of Autumn Oaks will be determined as follows.
All Grand Nite Champions will hunt on Friday night with hunting guides and hunting judges assigned by UKC. The Top 16 plus point Cast Winners from Friday will be drawn out on Saturday night and will hunt off the fairgrounds with a non-hunting guide and a non-hunting judge selected by the UKC.

All plus point Cast Winners from the first round on Saturday will hunt in a late round on Saturday for one hour. This cast will have a non-hunting guide and non-hunting judge(s) assigned to it. The winner of this cast will be the National Grand Nite Champion of Autumn Oaks. A total score of plus points will not be required on this cast to determine a winner.


National Grand Nite Champions of Breed will be determined as follows.

1. The highest placing dog within its breed on Saturday night.
2. Highest scoring cast winner from Friday if breed is not represented in Top 16.
3. Highest scoring non Cast Winner from Friday if no cast winners with plus points.