If you want to get your blood pumping as a pigeon racing enthusiast, you need to keep your eyes firmly fixed on Ter Apel. This past weekend, pure sports history was written there by none other than Jan Keen. This is not your average story about a lucky winner who happened to have the wind in his favor. This is the tale of an absolute grandmaster showing the entire province how to elevate this beautiful sport to a stratospheric level. Pigeon racing in general received the magnificent promotion it so richly deserves.
On Saturday 30 May 2026, at exactly 13.20 hours, no fewer than 7382 pigeons were released in Rethel. A total of 505 fanatical enthusiasts from Section 10 held their breath back at the lofts. The conditions were brutal for these true athletes. The thermometer hit 30 degrees, the sky was lightly clouded, and a weak, variable wind was blowing. This simply meant that no gifts were being handed out. No strong tailwind to distort the results, just pure strength, orientation, and character were required to dominate this race.
And then the unbelievable happened. The absolute top of the race results was completely claimed by the Jan Keen Pigeons colony.
Knowledge and Class: The First Nominated Up Front!
As pigeon fanciers, we really need to pause and appreciate this for a moment. Jan pulled off something that only the absolute best on this planet can achieve. He clocked his absolute first nominated pigeon first. This is the bird he put all his cards on beforehand, the master’s absolute favorite. The crack with ring number NL.23-40706368 flew the distance of 418.147 kilometers with a staggering speed of 1400.403 meters per minute straight to the first prize in the section.
My fans and followers really need to realize the gravity of this, because it is the ultimate demonstration of stock knowledge and sheer class. You have to know your birds inside out, read their form perfectly, and possess a legendary strain to clock your top favorite ahead of thousands of other elite competitors. This is no accident, this is pure magic.
The Hard Numbers: Sensational Race Statistics
To truly grasp the total dominance of this loft, we have to look at the insane statistics Jan put up this weekend. This is a complete masterclass that left the entire field in the dust:
The 15-Minute Gap: The winning bird arrived at 18.18.35 hours. The second bird from the loft did not hit the landing board until 18.34.12 hours. This means that NL.23-40706368 built a massive lead of no less than 15 minutes and 37 seconds over its own top-fit loft mates. In pigeon racing, that is an eternity!
Top 10 Percent Dominance: An incredible 10 of the clocked birds flew comfortably within the top 10 percent of the total results. That shows unprecedented depth at the absolute top level.
The Law of the Favorites: Along with getting the first nominated up front, Jan also clocked his fourth nominated nicely early in the results at prize 617. This proves that the selection system in Ter Apel works flawlessly.
Here is the impressive overview of the early prizes won by Jan Keen against 7382 pigeons:
Prize 1 (First nominated, NL.23-40706368, speed 1400.403 m/m)
Prize 16 (29th nominated, speed 1330.802 m/m)
Prize 129 (6th nominated, speed 1240.524 m/m)
Prize 195 (34th nominated, speed 1224.540 m/m)
Prize 311 (30th nominated, speed 1202.185 m/m)
Prize 313 (32nd nominated, speed 1201.724 m/m)
Prize 541 (10th nominated, speed 1171.754 m/m)
To make the total triumph complete, the train from Ter Apel thundered on unstoppably with prizes 585, 601, 617, 792, 820, 847, 862, 878, 952, 992, 1091, 1195, 1238, 1325, 1788, 2180, and 2445.
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The Foundation of the Dynasty
This fantastic success obviously did not just fall from the sky. Jan has been celebrating successes on national stages for 50 years, and he still does it every single day with tremendous joy and a healthy dose of bravado. In 1995, he laid the foundation by sourcing pigeons from Louis van Loon in Poppel. The legendary Blue Arrow became the stock father, and his winning genes still flow abundantly through today’s champions.
Just think of Superman, who was crowned 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds back in 2006. Or take Michael, who flew into the national top 10 of the NPO no fewer than 5 times, including a first national prize from Etampes. With breeding lines like these, it surprises no one that the highly coveted Gouden Duif (Golden Pigeon) of the entire Netherlands also moved to Ter Apel in 2011.
This is exactly why we all love this sport so intensely. It is pure enjoyment and a fantastic promotion for our hobby. At PigeonBoss.com, we live for this kind of unparalleled class. Jan, you have raised the bar for the competition once again. A deep bow for a phenomenal performance!
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
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