At the Iroquois Steeplechase, the foxhounds kick off the horse races with a howling fun dog parade

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While the jockeys and the horse owners compete for the top purses at the Iroquois Steeplechase, the perennial favorite event of this 85-year-old tradition is the parade of foxhounds.

More than 20 foxhounds, a breed specifically trained to run alongside horses and hunters, took to the turf course Saturday to kick off the race day as fans cheer and take photos and videos.

The huntsman and his team, who are called whippers-in, has the sometimes difficult task of keeping the hounds on course, especially when they can get distracted by the tens of thousands of spectators in the infield and all their delicious tailgating food.

One hound loved the attention from the fans so much that she veered off course, said Charles Montgomery, a master and huntsman with the Mells Foxhounds, the hunting group that runs their pack in the steeplechase. “She had the best time. She loved going into the beer tents,” Montgomery said.

She loved it so much, she ran to the beer tent again the next year, so now she's not invited back to the race, Montgomery said.

The Iroquois Steeplechase is one of the premier American steeplechase races, with a total of $730,000 awarded in purses, on a grass turf course with hurdles that opened in 1941 as a Works Progress Administration project. The Nashville race was founded by members of the Hillsboro Hounds, another fox hunting club in the Nashville area.

Steeplechase racing and fox hunting are wedded together, said Stephen Heard, one of the trustees of the Iroquois Steeplechase and a member of the Mells Foxhounds group. The tradition came from the British Isles, where horses were raced from church steeple to church steeple and trained to jump obstacles like fences while hunting with dogs.

"Many of the horses that we use fox hunting are ex-steeplechase horses, Heard said.

With 25,000 spectators who are eating and drinking in tents and in the stands, the dogs need some time to adjust to the noise and smells.

“I took one dog last year and he heard the speakers and he said, ‘This is not for me,’” Charles Montgomery said.

“It's high pressure,” said Boo Montgomery, one of the whippers-in. When a child held out a fried chicken leg through the rails one time, it was a temptation no hound could resist. “You couldn't fault Brightly for stopping and having a snack,” she said, of one of the foxhounds.

Charles Montgomery said he usually will bring the veteran hunting hounds who can guide the younger ones along the course. On the morning of the race, the hounds bounded off their trailer, eager to sniff grass and chew on sticks and roll in the clover.

The hounds wear GPS-equipped collars whenever they hunt and when they come to the racetrack. That came in handy last year when a dog got spooked and took off into the wooded park nearby.

While the racetrack is not their normal working environment, the hounds seem to enjoy the challenge that comes with kicking off the horse races, Boo Montgomery said.

“It's a great exposure for hunting to get to see these hounds and the horses,” Boo Montgomery said. “It's nice to be able to show off.”

Hounds run past the grandstand during the Parade of Mells Foxhounds at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Charles Montgomery spends time with his hounds before the Parade of Mells Foxhounds at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Genevieve Kennan leads the hounds during the Parade of Mells Foxhounds at the Iroquois Steeplechase, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Foxhounds bark as they look out of their trailer at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Hounds runs on the track during the Parade of Mells Foxhounds at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden endured plenty of criticism after the first two games of Cleveland's Eastern Conference semifinal series against Detroit.

With the Cavaliers in danger of falling into a 3-0 hole that no NBA team has ever overcome, the 17-year veteran showed he can still come up big in the clutch.

Harden hit three shots in the final two minutes Saturday to lift the Cavaliers to a 116-109 victory over the Pistons in Game 3.

“I love it. When my number’s called, just getting to my spots,” said Harden, who finished with 19 points and seven assists in 40 minutes. “Don(ovan) Mitchell had been working so extremely hard throughout the course of the game, just trying to find opportunities to help him. So that last minute and a half, two minutes, however long it was, it presented itself. And for me, just going out there and taking my shots.”

Harden was 8 of 14 from the field after going 3 of 13 in Thursday's 107-97 loss at Detroit. His long-distance shooting also picked up as he went 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. He was 3 of 20 from beyond the arc in his last four games before Saturday.

“It’s the James Harden I’ve seen for how many years he’s been in the NBA. That’s the James we needed tonight,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We were searching and we got some good screenings into the matchups we wanted and he went to work.”

Harden was scoreless in the fourth quarter and took only two shots during the second half on Thursday, along with a critical turnover in the final minute that ended any hopes of a Cleveland comeback.

The 2018 NBA MVP had nine points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, with seven coming in the final 89 seconds.

With the shot clock running down, Harden drove the lane and hit a 16-foot step-back jumper with 1:29 remaining to push Cleveland's lead to 108-104.

After a driving dunk by Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Harden came up big again. He drove past Duncan Robinson and made a floating 7-footer in the paint to put the lead back up to four.

Cunningham responded with a 3-pointer before Harden provided the decisive blow with 25 seconds remaining on a step-back 3-pointer while being guarded by Tobias Harris to make it 113-109.

″(James Harden) We understand that he hit some tough shots and made an impact on the game. But we can be tougher than that," Harris said.

After committing 11 turnovers the first two games of the Detroit series and averaging 5.2 in Cleveland's first nine playoff games, Harden had only three on Saturday. It was only the second time he has committed fewer than four this postseason.

“I’m literally here to find my spots and figure out what needs to be done and try to contribute in the best way possible. So I mean, chatter is going to be chatter regardless. I mean, whether you do something good, whether you do something bad,” Harden said. “I’ve done an unbelievable job throughout the course of my career of just understanding what the job needs to be, especially as I get older and doing whatever it takes to win the game. So that’s the most important thing.”

Mitchell, who had 35 points and 10 rebounds, said there is a balance for opponents in figuring out who to guard because of the scoring ability of him and Harden.

“Having the ultimate trust in him and vice versa I think is why those moments happen. Every game calls for something different and you've got to be able to just kind of find a way to manipulate it and be selfless. And I think as a collective, that’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) shoots over Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris, left, in the second half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA playoffs basketball series Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) shoots as Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) defends in the first half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA playoffs basketball series Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)