Kat’s Eye: The Perfect Result

Preakness Day got off to a great start for me when my friend, Matt Smoot, brought me and his wife Courtney a “real” cup of coffee around 7am.  After breakfast (a cold slice of leftover pizza for me - my favorite!) a shower, and a heavy application of sunscreen, we hit the road to Pimlico Race Course to watch our friend, jockey Victor Espinoza, contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown - The Preakness Stakes.
Traffic was moderate as we rolled up to the Press Annex parking lot, just outside the gate to the barns on the backside of Pimlico.  It was just before 10 a.m., but I was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which we navigated into a parking spot - compared to the relative chaos of Churchill Downs two weeks prior.
As we walked through the press gate onto the backside, we immediately encountered Sal Sinatra, VP of Racing for Pimlico.  Courtney, Matt and I had met Sal last fall when Team Sherman and California Chrome contested the Pennsylvania Derby while Sal was Secretary of Racing at Parx Racing.  Always genial, Sal greeted us with hugs and a smile as he awaited the arrival of local politicians, ranging from the mayor of Baltimore to the governor of a neighboring state who is contemplating a presidential bid.
I commented to Sal that the barn area looked great and asked him how Black-Eyed Susan Day went.  His reply was that the handle was up significantly, and everything - so far - was going smoothly.  Later in the day, things would change.
As we walked through the horsemen’s entrance into the clubhouse, I received a text message from Victor letting me know that he would be arriving at Pimlico around noon.  I’ve previously written that Victor enjoys the opportunity to sleep in, and this day was no exception. I was just glad to learn that receipt of the photos I had sent him earlier that morning had not disturbed his sleep.
As promised, a little before 1 p.m. Victor texted me again that he was in the Jockey Room and invited me up to the lounge.  My friend, Courtney, joined me as we traveled the narrow staircase to find our friend waiting in line to order some Maryland crab cakes prior to his first race of the day.

After placing his order, Victor sat with us for a few minutes and we talked about Friday’s races, and getting ready for the Big Show.  In his usual style, he did not linger on his less-than-stellar day on Friday, but said that the track was “weird”.  When I asked if it might be that way for the Preakness, and inquired what he might do if he found the same conditions, he just said, “I’ll ride my race.  There’s really nothing you can do but just hope your horse has a good trip.”
Victor, Courtney and I briefly discussed the power that would come with being able to control the weather and traffic before he bounced over to the Equicizer, signed posters for future auctions to benefit charities like the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund, and returned to collect his crab cakes when they were ready.

Although our friend was happy and composed, he was burning up excess energy, jogging on the stairs and working out on the Equicizer before the valets began to prepare equipment for the ninth race.

Jockey valets (pronounced VAL-its, by insiders) assist with preparing the horse and jockey for the race.  At Pimlico (and I hope my friend Sal forgives me …) the valets use just about every surface available to them to prepare saddle towels, pads and saddles to be taken down the narrow stairs to the saddling area.  In defense of the track, which is over 150 years old, space is at a premium, and valets perform their duties in closest proximity to their jockeys and mounts.  Still, it’s an amusing operation to watch prior to each race.

Courtney and I waited for the jockeys to follow the valets down the stairs, heard the call to the post and watched on monitors in the lounge as “riders up” was called and the horses were led from the paddock out onto the track.  When we were clear to exit the lounge, we found an empty and peaceful paddock that deserved to be photographed.

While the race ended with Victor, once again, covered in dirt from the track, we were happy to see everyone sound as they ran back to the wire.  Two more races yielded similar results, but I held hope that my friend was well positioned for the big race.

Unbeknownst to him, Victor was the winner of the Horse Cock bet in the 10th race.  An unsanctioned wager, this bet is initiated when the race is on the turf and the gate is as far back as possible.  For $5, participants choose the horse they feel will reach a predetermined point on the course - generally a rail just before the turn.  The surrounding crowd thinks my friends are nuts when they hear the cheering and observe the high-fives that are exchanged as horses are rounding the first turn, but this is something that makes racing even more fun.

As racing progressed, I wandered up to the press box for some truly awesome red-skin potato salad and a slice of cherry pie, before stepping out onto the roof with the litany of local law enforcement that were on site.  While the view from the roof above the press box is impressive, when the wind blows hard enough you can feel the entire building move.  Unsettling at minimum, after a few sharp gusts, I decided to bale.

As the action was picking up approaching the big race, a friend of Matt and Courtney’s brought her pony alongside the track so that we could see how he was decked out for the Preakness Stakes.  Immediately following that, the U.S. Park Police trotted their team out along the home stretch, followed closely by the Budweiser Clydesdales.  

My husband and I have a draft horse - a beautiful Percheron named Kryptonite - and we love them to no end.  It always brings a smile to my face when I see how the crowd reacts to these huge, beautiful animals as they move so gracefully in tandem across the track.  It makes me want another.
The sky was turning gray and we watched the camera man from NBC Sports begin donning his rain gear.  When asked what he knew that we did not, he spun his monitor toward us so that we could also see the band of green, yellow and red that was the weather system about to be upon us.

As the rain began to fall - very lightly at first - the crowd in the clubhouse boxes slowly migrated to the shelter afforded by the upper deck.  The camera man, however, held his position.  
The angry sky opened up and rain let loose in buckets with the wind driving waves of water sideways as the post parade marched past the crowd, now huddled under the upper deck and out of the weather.  

As post time approached and lighting was striking out to the East, a few fans walked out into the now declining downpour to be in good position to watch the race.  As I saw entrants being loaded into the gates, I handed the balance of my camera bag to Courtney and jogged through the rain to my position on the rail, shielding my camera from the water.
It was a strange start to the race, as the horses left the gate with hardly any notification, and were soon pounding the rain soaked ground in front of me.  As the pack moved past my position, just ahead of the first turn, Victor and American Pharoah had already taken up the lead position, on the rail and they looked comfortable.  As comfortable as you can be when you are soaked.

As they rounded the track and headed into the back stretch, I watched on the monitors as it appeared that Victor had AP in a fairly relaxed gallop.  As they rounded the final turn and headed toward home, Victor tapped Pharoah twice and the colt hit the accelerator, pulling away from the competition in the sloppy mess that the track had become.
Well in advance of the finish line, with a lead of seven lengths, Victor was already standing up in the stirrups with his hand raised in the air, signaling victory.  I snapped photos as they romped across the finish line, grateful for the margin of victory and the safe trips for all horses and riders in the deluge that will be remembered as the 2015 Preakness Stakes. 

Seven horses and riders ran back to the wire, were untacked and quickly led from the track, while Victor Espinoza was interviewed on horseback, answering how it felt to be the first jockey in Thoroughbred racing to have a third opportunity at a Triple Crown.
I laughed when my friend spoke of how he changed his strategy when the rain started pouring, explaining his decision to take American Pharoah out to the lead early since he was already wet and was not interested in getting dirty, too.

It took some time for the ground crew to groom the track and clear the spectators and connections for the featured race to allow the final race of the day to take place.  By now the rain had all but stopped as my friends and I started to walk back to the gate near the barns on the backside to get to our car.
I sent Victor a congratulatory text message that will probably go unanswered for a couple of days.  After all, he’s the most in demand jockey in horse racing.  For Bob Baffert, Zayat Stables and Victor Espinoza, it’s on to New York, the Belmont Stakes and the hope of a Triple Crown.  My immediate thoughts are for warm, dry clothes, but in three weeks, I plan to join them.