Preakness Race also known as the run for the black-eyed susans.

Perhaps you have not heard of the run for the black-eyed susans…or perhaps you didn’t know, that even if you had heard of the run for the black-eyed susans….. you did not know that the beautiful blanket of flowers draped over the winning horse is actually yellow daisies.

Well, you should know that this race is coming up on May 19th……that would be next Saturday.

What am I talking about?

The Preakness Stakes horse race that is held in Baltimore, Maryland, two weeks after the run for the roses or in other words, the Kentucky Derby race.

That is right!

This is also the race where as soon as the winner crosses the finish line…a painter climbs a ladder to paint the winning jockey’s silks colors on the weathervane jockey atop the old Clubhouse at the Pimlico Race track.

The unusual tradition started in 1909 after the building’s original arrow-shaped weather vane was struck by lightning and replaced with the ornamental iron rider.

Sign painter Michael Willinger took on the job in 1987, saying: “It is just the thrill of being able to participate in a big local and national event like this. Let’s face it, it’s the only televised sign-painting job in the country.”

And perhaps you did not know that before the race, there is a singing of song much like the Kentucky Derby where My Old Kentucky Home song is sung…there are singers singing “Maryland, My Maryland” at the Preakness race.

So why, you may ask, are there yellow daisies instead of the Maryland state flower, the black-eyed susans… in the blanket of flowers draped on the winning horse?

Well, It is not the right time of year for the state flower to bloom…that would be in June or July….sooooooo in an effort to make the yellow daisies look like black-eyed susans, their centers are hand painted with a black lacquer so they look like black-eyed susans.

Genius!

The blanket takes three days to create, featuring 80 bunches of normal yellow daisies strung together and attached to a rubber base, with the underside covered in thick felt.

Oh, and there is more.

The Preakness is the second leg in the Triple Crown Race and the race track is the shortest of the Triple Crown races.

The track is only 1 3/16 miles long.

Also, the race has a nickname because it is in between the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness is known as the ‘middle sister’.

Of course it is.

There is a trophy for winning this race….it is called the Woodlawn Vase…however it is so valuable that NO ONE, not even the winners are allowed to hold it.

Sigh!

The huge, solid silver, Woodlawn Vase, was created by Tiffany and Company in 1860, and is worth $1 million,….. making it the most valuable trophy in American sports.

Here is the story behind this valuable treasure.

Originally, it was the responsibility of the current owner of the Preakness’ winning horse, to safeguard this vase for the entire year, until relinquishing it the following year to the new winner.

In 1953, the winning horse owner, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt’s wife said that she did not want to be responsible for protecting the valuable vase for a full year….and she convinced her husband to leave it in the capable hands of the race organizers.

Pretty clever way to rid one’s home of one monstrous, kinda gaudy and pretentious vase.

So now the silver vase with the horse on top remains on a permanent display at the Baltimore Museum of Art with the winners given a mere $30,000.00 smaller replica.

Let’s move on to another similarity to the Kentucky Derby…

The cocktail of course.

No, it is not a southern Mint Julep…it is a Black-eyed Susan drink also known as a Mellow Yellow…and the picture above is from the 2015 Preakness where American Pharoah won the race on his way to win the Triple Crown at Belmont.

Of course there is….And to match the yellow daisies…it has to be yellow, right???

It does not have Kentucky bourbon, instead it is made with Rum and a little vodka….and a few other fruit juices and can be topped with a maraschino cherry, orange, lime and/or pineapple slice.

And it is served in a glass.

Sorry, no special glass like the mint julep glass/cup.