Broadcasting legend Mary Carillo breaks down the business of NBC’s National Dog Show

International Tennis Hall of Famer Mary Carillo is, obviously, a tennis mind by trade, having won the 1977 French Open alongside doubles partner and fellow Douglaston, Queens (NY) native John McEnroe. Now, though, Carillo’s coverage can be found all over NBC Sports. Notably, Carillo has become an indelible part of the dog show world after joining NBC Universal’s coverage of the Westminster Dog Show in 2009.

It’s gotten to the point where strangers will go up to Carillo at airports asking her about their dogs’ health. That’s what she told me she experiences in the wake of her long-term coverage of dog shows, which includes the National Dog Show.

The National Dog Show airs on NBC and Peacock following the network’s Thanksgiving Day coverage of the Macy’s Day Parade. This year’s edition will take place November 14-15 from the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and broadcast roughly two weeks later.

I spoke to Carillo about the annual all-breed conformation competition and how it differs from her coverage elsewhere in sports, which has included the Olympics since 1992, tennis, and features on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

On what the vetting process looks like for the National Dog Show field…

“So it's 2,000 dogs, but that doesn't mean it's 2,000 different breeds, obviously. There are seven categories of dogs, from sporting to toys to terriers. A whole bunch of dogs show up, and there's a qualifier before you get to the final day. The final seven dogs, the best in each group, make it into Best in Show. And then, the person who decides has not been allowed to watch throughout the whole day. They have to come in cold, and the judge of the Best in Show has to know a lot about every single breed. A lot of the handlers, the trainers, the breeders, they know about their specific dog. But the final judge has to know about all seven groups…

“All year round, you have to accrue points at different dog shows. You have to earn it. It’s like tennis, basically. It's like my sport. You have to earn ranking points, basically, that allow you to even come to the National Dog Show. I mean, there's a dog show every weekend. It's... It's kind of remarkable. There are always dog shows, new breeds are added – that's a whole different conversation – but you have to be an AKC (American Kennel Club) recognized breed. There’s got to be 1,500 different areas where that specific dog is considered a licensed breed.”

On why the show resonates with viewers after amassing 22.8 million total viewers in 2025…

“First of all, it’s Thanksgiving. It's a family day, right? You don't have to go to church; it’s all day long, and so it starts with the parade, and then comes our show, and then there's football. So, I mean, you can just leave it on NBC all damn day long, and somebody's gonna probably watch it. … I've covered Wimbledon's where we're happy if we get a couple of million people watching. It's the biggest showcase in my sport. The Olympics, I've gotten to work a bunch of those, and that gets a good audience. But a lot of that also depends on what the event is and if there are Americans. So the ratings kind of bounced around. This dog show, it stays strong…

“David Frei brings it up a lot. If you are a dog owner, you're sitting on the couch with your dog, like, you want your dog’s breed to win, you know? Even though he's out cold on the couch and he's drooling, you want your group to win... Like, it becomes a thing.”

On how her mindset for coverage of the National Dog Show differs from covering the Olympics or tennis…

“I mean, for the people, the trainers, the owners and the handlers, it is serious. I mean, I'm sure they get great joy from it, but it's a serious business. For me, it's a bowl of ice cream. I love dogs. You know, I don't hug a lot of athletes. With the dogs, I go up and down, and they all know me now because I've been there so many times at the National Dog Show. I know the handlers. I know these people now. And they know how much I love my job. They can tell that this is exactly where I want to be for these couple of days. I don't go in with a furrowed brow…

“All year long, David Frei sends me stuff or Steve Griffith sees an article that he shares with me. It’s an ongoing thing. And then I get there a couple of days early to do features. Sometimes I travel and do features before we even get to Pennsylvania. So that's what it is to me. It's uniquely different from anything else I do.”