Pittsburgh said that their turtles could reach speeds of up to per 30 seconds. A later proponent of turtle racing once claimed that the fastest turtles he traveled up to , though he only raced them over short distances. At the 1974 Canadian Turtle Derby, the champion turtle raced from the center of a circle to its edge in thirty nine seconds. The size of a turtle is not necessarily an indicator of how fast the turtle will race. Some turtle racers have been surprised at the speed that smaller turtles exhibit. History Turtle racing initially became a popular pastime in The Bahamas in the early 20th century. The earliest known turtle race to occur in the United States took place in Chicago in 1902. Dubbed "The Strangest Race Ever Run" by the Chicago Daily Tribune, seven turtles raced across a lawn while being ridden by small children. Although spectators attempted to lure them toward a finish line with cabbages, they were not able to coax the turtles to move in a straight line. A turtle race that took place in 1911 gained notoriety due to the participation of several celebrities, including playwright George Ade and former Massachusetts Governor Ebenezer Sumner Draper, who organized a race between two large turtles while passengers on a Caribbean cruise. The next early turtle race to occur in the United States took place in Miami Beach in 1921. This event saw Loggerhead sea turtles racing in a pool. Another early American turtle race was started in the 1920s at the 101 Ranch in Kay County, Oklahoma and was held annually until it stopped in 1931 due to the Great Depression. In 1928, turtle racing was introduced to Hawaii by a man who brought thirty two "racing turtles" there from San Francisco. Turtle racing has since become popular in Canada. Boissevain, Manitoba, located near Turtle Mountain, began hosting the Canadian Turtle Derby in 1972. The Canadian Turtle Derby was initially a private race among several local turtle owners. It soon grew in popularity and began to feature parimutuel betting. Molson donated an electric starting gate to the event, which they claimed was the first electric starting gate to be used in a turtle race. Although there were just 83 turtles in the 1972 event, the field swelled to 447 turtles by 1983. The race takes place in a circle. Other festivals around Canada host races