CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: RACE NO. 6 OF THE DAY; PREAKNESS VILLAGE VIP PASS; CHRISTINE A. MOORE MILLINERY HATS ON SALE; STARTING GATES; THE WOODLAWN VASE, THE WINNER’S TROPHY
Saturday saw the running of the 141st Preakness Stakes on a wet and muddy track that changed the odds in the second leg of the Triple Crown. The win went to Exaggerator, one tough mudder, who surged in the final stretch to beat Nyquist — winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby and favored horse to win the race. While it is disappointing there will be no Triple Crown winner this year, it was a big win for Exagerrator, his over first over Nyquist after 4 attempts — including the Kentucky Derby, in which Exaggerator came in second.
As a guest of Longines, the Official Watch and Timekeeper of the Triple Crown, I got to see it all go down first hand. One of the coolest moments of the day was coincidentally being in the administrative offices of Pimlico Race Course, as the winner’s trophy, the Woodlawn Vase, was carried in by Army Sgt.1st Class Jonathan McGlone. The Woodlawn Vase was first awarded in 1861 to a stakes winning mare named Molly Jackson in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1917, it became the official trophy of the second jewel of the Triple Crown and was awarded to the Preakness winner Kalitan.
Sadly, however, the day began on a somber note with the death of two horses. A 9-year-old gelding, Homeboykris, who collapsed from a heart attack and died while being led back to his stall after winning the first race.
BEFORE AND AFTER
Praymeda, a 4-year-old filly, broke her leg in the fourth race of the day and had to be euthanized on the track. Even more heartbreaking was the fact that Praymeda was owned by Gretchen and Roy Jackson, owners of the famed race horse Barbaro, who 10 years prior shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness, and was later euthanized.
Despite the rain, however, and these darker events, it was still an action packed day of horseracing and a day to remember for this editor on her first trip to a Triple Crown race.
