Preakness Stakes
Editor’s note: Winning Post is CNN’s monthly horse racing show. sitcom The Brady Bunch.
But the middle sister needn’t be overlooked.
In fact, if the Preakness Stakes the second horse race in America’s prestigious Triple Crown is anything to go by, sometimes the quiet ones have the greatest stories to tell.
The Kentucky Derby may be the first and most famous of the trifecta won by mud splattered jockey Joel Rosario atop thoroughbred Orb earlier this month. jockey Rosario
But the Preakness, which is run in Baltimore this Saturday, also offers a fascinating history, unique atmosphere, and special significance in the march towards the third race in the crown, the Belmont Stakes.
Here are five fun reasons why the Preakness Stakes is one to watch:
The trophy is so valuable, not even the winners are allowed to hold it.
The mammoth 13 kilogram, solid silver Woodlawn Vase, created by [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] tiffany and Co. in 1860, is worth $1 million making it the most valuable trophy in American sports.
Read: Flying high From ‘cattle class’ to ‘horse class’
But the immense pressure of safeguarding it for an entire year was too much for the wife of 1953’s winning owner Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who instead convinced her husband to leave it the hands of organizers.
The trophy now remains on permanent display at the Baltimore Museum of Art, with winners instead given a $30,000 replica trophy.
Sometimes if nature won’t bloom, you’ve just got to paint it yourself.
So it goes for [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] the iconic "Black Eyed Susan" blanket, traditionally draped across the shoulders of the winning horse.
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.
But because the Black Eyed Susan the official flower for the state of Maryland doesn’t sprout until June, artists must instead paint the center of the daisies black.
The paintwork continues atop Pimlico Race Course’s Old Clubhouse, where each year the weather vane is daubed in the winner’s colors.
As soon as the [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] race is over, the [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] 1.5 meter wide weather vane, featuring a miniature horse and jockey, is painted in the winning jockey’s silks.
Read: The art of living forever Equine taxidermy
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 [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] 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."
[عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا]
