Muñoz takes top duck race prizes

This year’s Great American Duck Races in Deming came to a surprising conclusion Sunday, after several minutes of suspense, when Osvaldo Muñoz of Deming, a past duck race champion, was announced as the first-time winner of both $1,500 grand prizes.

“It’s just luck,” the elder Muñoz declared moments after being named the winner, holding his nine-year-old daughter, Kyanna, close as they were photographed near the duck pen. “It’s not even the same duck!”

Yet the father-daughter team are repeat winners. The elder Muñoz won the top prize for dry track last year. In 2018, Kyanna (then age 4) won the dry track championship. The year before that, her father won on the dry track.

The duck races went on hiatus for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunday’s outcome came after several minutes of suspense. Muñoz had already come out on top for the dry track competition, and was also a finalist in the wet track run that concluded the duck races.

Judges perched overhead and event staff found it to be a close call. Chief Quacker Joanna Costilla and event staff reviewed video footage repeatedly beneath their tent. The announcer initially announced an unprecedented tie, before the officials reversed that decision and declared Muñoz the winner by a nose (or bill, if you prefer).

Muñoz said he adopted his winning duck last year, along with a companion, but wouldn’t be doing that this year. The GADR staff invite adoptions of the racing ducks, requesting that people adopt at least two since the ducks need companions.

Algernon D’Ammassa can be reached at [email protected].