Preakness 2015

After a year of waiting, it was finally time to go watch the Preakness races in Baltimore.  Friday night we went up late after Emily's softball game and stayed in Frederick so we only had 40 minute drive Saturday morning.  Surprisingly, it didn't take us long to get up and get ready and meet at the Baltimore hotel that Kevin and Karen were staying at by 9:15 am.

Arrived at the hotel in Baltimore

We loaded the car up with snacks, water, hats, and tickets...  Luckily, WE were still in Waynesboro Friday evening when Karen realized she had forgotten the tickets!

Tickets ready.  On our way to the track

When we got to the track there weren't many people out for the 10:30 race, so it was nice to walk around and figure out where everything was.  Then it was time to look at the race day book and start making our picks for the 14 races of the day:)  It was so much fun reading about the horses, jockeys and talking to Kevin and Karen about who they thought would win.  We bet $2 per race and usually only bet to win, although we did bet to show one time and still lost that one. ;)

Who are those two hotties out on the track early?

Karen and Kevin

I picked out the #13 horse in one of the middle races just because of the way he looked, but Jeff picked out #12 because of his ranking.  Of course we bet on #12 not #13 and my horse came in way ahead of the field....grrrrr.

Watching the horses get ready for the first race of the day

It was very cool to watch how they pulled the starting gates out onto the track and then quickly pulled them off again with big tractors.  In between the races they would water down the track and turn the sand.  However, for the big race they smoothed out the track completely.

The starting gate

Horses getting warmed up 

Our seats were literally right on the rail, so we were very very close to the horses.  It was strange to only see the end of most races or to move our eyes from the track to the big screens and back to the track.

Thank goodness for the hats....85 degrees!

Even though it was quite hot in the middle of the day, we were able to cool down by going inside to bet and people watch.  We found the perfect cool spot in an upstairs betting area and kept going back to that spot when we needed to cool down.

We had a great view of all the horses

We made a trip to the infield, through a tunnel under the track, around 11:30 to get some food for lunch.  Wow, what a party they had going on over there...It looked like something straight out of spring break; girls on stilts pouring shots down guys throats, beer mugs that were refillable, shirtless guys, and a plethora of drunk college kids.  I had my fill of the infield in about 15 minutes and was ready to head back to our section.  I ended up having 2 bbq sandwiches during the day along with plenty of snacks and water.

I liked this one who kept smacking his lips 

Feeding them apples

Getting crowded now! 

Our view of the big screen 

Got to see plenty of pretty horses helping out all day long 

Pretty sure this was the winner of the Dixie Stakes

One of the horses in the Dixie Stakes

The track

The crowd from our seats

As you can see in these pics, you had to keep your ticket attached to your clothes the entire day otherwise you would not be able to get back to your seats.

Our crew on the the rail 

After 4:00 pm the sky started to get cloudy and we kept a close eye on the radar.  We even went inside several times based on the radar hoping we'd miss the crowd that would rush in with the bad storms headed our way.  However, the storms seemed to slow down and wait for the final race.  I was not happy that we were inside when the clydesdales came by!  We headed back out to watch the trainers bring the big guns out for their warm up.  At this point, it was really dark and ominous, but so cool to see the horses up close! 

American Pharaoh making an early pass

American Pharaoh

Bob Baffert and crew

Dortmund

Dortmund, so big! 

As the last horses made their debut Jeff and I decided to head inside.  You can see how dark it was in the picture below.  We had perfect timing because within seconds there was a torrential  downpour.  You could not even see the race track because of the rain.  There was thunder and lightning as the horses and jockeys continued to get ready.

Karen and Kevin....right before the storm!

While we were stuck inside, Jeff ordered us two black eyed susans to drink so we could get our commemorative glasses.  They drinks were very good, but I let him have most of mine so that I wouldn't get a headache.  We kept trying to watch the screen and text my dad to figure out what was going on down below at the track.  They were making people come inside because of the storm, but I did not want to miss the race if it went off on time.  As soon as we heard them called to the posts, we took off outside in the rain and got to our seats just in time to watch the race.  

Black Eyed Susan

Someone having a few drinks while we stayed out of the rain

Here they come!

American Pharoah out front!

Look at that lead

American Pharoah's win was amazing!  It was such a thrill to watch them come around the turn and open up in the straight away right in front of us.  It think the rain made it even more exciting!  Now our fingers are crossed that he will win the Belmont and fulfill the triple crown.  How amazing would it be to be part of that?!  It is certainly a day that I will always remember regardless of how the Belmont turns out.  But there is no doubt that we will be geared up and ready to watch the Belmont in a couple of weeks!

This reserved usher or whatever you call them was fist pumping after the win

Wet, but happy!

Our winning bet (got $9.50 back)

The crazy people stopping in the 'hood to listen to Jamaican music and party with the locals.  No thanks. 

Until next year...