The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year old thoroughbred horses: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. The Derby was two weeks ago at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KT, the Preakness is today at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD, and the Belmont will be in three weeks at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY. To win the Triple Crown a horse must win all three races, a feat that hasn't been done since 1978 when Affirmed did it.
To get in the spirit of things, Peter and I drove to Belmont Park earlier this week to get a feel for the Park and to get a sense of what it might be like (x 10,000) on the big race day. This day the park was nearly empty so we were able to roam all over from the paddock to the Trackside Apron and all four levels of the Grandstand. Nine races were run which was a lot of fun to see from such a variety of perspectives. Peter bet on six of the nine races and won just over $100 on a trifecta in the fourth, which made us break even for the day, given the price of gas.
Needless to say we went laden with camera equipment and we had a ball. Here are just a few of the photos we took and are sharing with you all to get in the mood.
BTW, if you don't know, Animal Kingdom won the Derby this year ...
When I lived outside of Chicago I remember going to the horse races in Arlington Heights. It was great fun!!!!! The pictures are magnificent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Sally | Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 02:14 PM
I've always been fascinated by the triple crown. Read lots of wonderful books about it. Normandy, France (where I am from) is the like the Kentucky of France!
Posted by: Valerie Jardin | Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 12:32 PM