Riggs sits on the throne after being crowned the winner of the 28th Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 23, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Riggs hardly looks or acts like a beauty king. A 3-year-old male bulldog, Riggs is a drooler with protruding¹ teeth and a penchant² for attacking noisy appliances, begging for crumbs³ and hopping⁴ on furniture.

Fortunately for the canine⁵ from Prairie City, Iowa, those traits endeared him to judges Monday in the "Beautiful Bulldog" contest, an annual event held to draw attention to the 98th running of the Drake Relays. The relays, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious⁶ track and field events, will attract nearly 8,000 athletes.

Riggs beat out a 50-dog field to take the crown. Contest organizers acknowledge the event is more about a winning personality than beauty.

"The last thing you're going to get with a bulldog is beauty," said master of ceremonies Dolph Pulliam. "But bulldogs have character. They have a certain look...they're the kind of dog you look at and you get scared. But you know what? These are the friendliest darn bulldogs in the world."

Many thought Riggs' chief competition would be Hank, the offspring of the last two contest winners. Last year's winner, Hannah, gave Riggs a snarl⁷, but he kept his cool, plodding⁸ down the runway both gracefully⁹ and glacially.

The brown and white dog was dressed in a form-fitting costume in Drake's blue and white colors.

"He's the most beautiful bulldog (with) his attitude and his demeanor¹⁰." said his owner, Cordell Miller¹¹. "He's very excited."

Riggs celebrated¹² by posing for photographers and munching¹³ on a doggy bone, leaving crumbs and drool on his throne.

"He's pretty low key, until it's time to eat," Miller said.