Saturday’s rain muddied some shoes and brought out the ponchos in force, but seemed to do little to dampen the enthusiasm of the thousands who showed up at Pimlico for the 141st running of the Preakness.
Officials announced 135,256 people were in attendance, a Preakness record.
Nick Fitman, 23, showed up prepared, draped in a poncho topped with a giant flower that could, in a pinch, be mistaken for a black-eyed Susan. “A lot of people say I’m a dinosaur,” Fitman was saying mid-afternoon. “April showers bring May flowers.”
“I listened and it’s going to get windier and colder,” Toni Favazza, a Preakness vet of some 45 years, said as she sported a fur coat to go with her pearls and wide-brimmed hat. “I decided might as well put it on. I can always take it off. Preakness is such a special occasion.”
Casey Brent and Mackenzie Garvin took a break from the Horseshoe Casino and Visit Baltimore hospitality tents — and the drizzle — under a small tent in the Preakness Village.
“It’s something Baltimoreans look forward to all year,” Garvin said of Preakness. “A little rain’s not going to stop us.”
Morgan Kelly, 15, came to Pimlico with her parents. They had dry seats inside, but that didn’t stop Morgan from venturing outside to hear one of her favorite bands, All Time Low, during their performance on the infield.
Morgan’s mom, Bethany Kelly, 45, pledged it would be the only time they ventured out of their seats.
Despite the record attendance, 22-year Preakness vet Laurence Leavy — known at sporting events as “Marlins Man” for the bright orange Florida Marlins jersey he wears — was disappointed by a grandstand that was only half full by mid-afternoon.
“I think the crowd got scared away by the weather report,” he said.
A steady drizzle resumed at Preakness by late afternoon. About a quarter of an inch had fallen at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport by 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, sporting a pair of muddy boots to go with his khakis, fedora, sport coat and tie, predicted the rain would be the only hitch in the day’s proceedings. And people would cope, he said.
“I think the ladies are going to have to get rid of the high heels and put on some rain boots, but other than that, everything’s going to go off without a hitch,” he said. “I think a lot of these horses like to run in the rain and the mud, so we’re still going to see a great race.”
One fan who refused to be deterred by the weather forecast was Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Saturday morning, she tweeted, “LOVE my #Preakness2016 hat/don’t care if it rains/wearing it & the dress!”
Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said there have been a few ejections from the infield, but no security incidents out of the ordinary. “It’s a good crowd,” he said. “It appears to be a tame crowd.”
Sun reprters Colin Campbell, Scott Dance and Quinn Kelley contributed to this report
