I began watching horse racing in my senior year of high school. I recall during my graduation party, everyone in attendance had stopped what they were doing and watched the Kentucky Derby. It was exciting. All of the hype was coming down to a 2 minute race. My entire family was cheering as undefeated Smarty Jones came from behind and coasted to victory. I knew I needed to be a part of that excitement, either at the Kentucky Derby or another major race.
In the summer prior to my senior year, my dream came true. A few of my college friends and I purchased infield tickets to the 2007 Preakness Stakes. I really didn't know what to expect at the track, but I knew it would be a great summer trip with my friends.
With my renewed interest in horse racing, I made sure to watch the Kentucky Derby two weeks prior to the Preakness. The Derby was fantastic. Street Sense came through in the end overtaking Hard Spun in the last furlong and Curlin ended up finishing 3rd. The next week I finished up finals and waited for my trip.
Once we arrived in Baltimore, Maryland we had to find parking. This was by far the worst part of the trip. A local business was charging $60/vehicle to park. However, after we parked and grabbed our coolers, a man came running out saying we could not park there. We explained to the man, the owner of the store, that the individual had told us we could park. He gave us his business card showing his ownership of the store and said for an additional $75 we could park in his other secure lot. We ended up paying the additional cost to park.
It was still quite a long walk to the track. We finally arrived in the infield. None of the races had started yet, but you could feel the excitement. People were everywhere. Some were dressed up, but others were college groups like us. We staked out our ground and started to party. Throughout the day, the weather was pretty crappy. It rained through a majority of the races leading up to the Preakness Stakes. This didn't prevent us from Gambling on a few races and of course having a few Black Eyed Susans (The Official Drink of the Preakness).
Now to the race. The clouds cleared and the sun began to shine. The crowd was going crazy. People in the infield began to head towards the edge of the track. We decided to stay put and stand on coolers and chairs. It was difficult to see anything, so we watched the race on the big screens. Street Sense was obviously the favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby, but it seemed to be anybody's race. I decided to put my money on Hard Spun.
The race began. Hard Spun took off and through the half-way point was leading the Preakness. I was obviously very happy, expecting to cash in being the poor college student I was. However, in the last furlong, Street Sense began to show his strength. Both he and Curlin took off leaving all of the other horses in the dust. My chances at winning were over, but the race was still close. It looked as though Street Sense was going to repeat and have a chance at the Triple Crown, but out of nowhere Curlin took it to another gear. It was a photo finish and too close to call. The crowed waited in suspense until finally over the loud speakers, Curlin was announced the winner. I was wet, tired and hungry but overall I was grateful that I had been part of a piece of horse racing history.
In the summer prior to my senior year, my dream came true. A few of my college friends and I purchased infield tickets to the 2007 Preakness Stakes. I really didn't know what to expect at the track, but I knew it would be a great summer trip with my friends.
With my renewed interest in horse racing, I made sure to watch the Kentucky Derby two weeks prior to the Preakness. The Derby was fantastic. Street Sense came through in the end overtaking Hard Spun in the last furlong and Curlin ended up finishing 3rd. The next week I finished up finals and waited for my trip.
Once we arrived in Baltimore, Maryland we had to find parking. This was by far the worst part of the trip. A local business was charging $60/vehicle to park. However, after we parked and grabbed our coolers, a man came running out saying we could not park there. We explained to the man, the owner of the store, that the individual had told us we could park. He gave us his business card showing his ownership of the store and said for an additional $75 we could park in his other secure lot. We ended up paying the additional cost to park.
It was still quite a long walk to the track. We finally arrived in the infield. None of the races had started yet, but you could feel the excitement. People were everywhere. Some were dressed up, but others were college groups like us. We staked out our ground and started to party. Throughout the day, the weather was pretty crappy. It rained through a majority of the races leading up to the Preakness Stakes. This didn't prevent us from Gambling on a few races and of course having a few Black Eyed Susans (The Official Drink of the Preakness).
Now to the race. The clouds cleared and the sun began to shine. The crowd was going crazy. People in the infield began to head towards the edge of the track. We decided to stay put and stand on coolers and chairs. It was difficult to see anything, so we watched the race on the big screens. Street Sense was obviously the favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby, but it seemed to be anybody's race. I decided to put my money on Hard Spun.
The race began. Hard Spun took off and through the half-way point was leading the Preakness. I was obviously very happy, expecting to cash in being the poor college student I was. However, in the last furlong, Street Sense began to show his strength. Both he and Curlin took off leaving all of the other horses in the dust. My chances at winning were over, but the race was still close. It looked as though Street Sense was going to repeat and have a chance at the Triple Crown, but out of nowhere Curlin took it to another gear. It was a photo finish and too close to call. The crowed waited in suspense until finally over the loud speakers, Curlin was announced the winner. I was wet, tired and hungry but overall I was grateful that I had been part of a piece of horse racing history.
Our Group Posing for a photo in the infield!!