Preakness Stakes 2006

Well, the Preakness was a pretty heartbreaking experience. Barbaro...my Derby pick, the Derby winner and the horse that was to break the two and half decade plus Triple Crown drought broke down a few hundred yards out of the gate. His pastern bone was shattered into more than 20 parts. The tarp came out. Even the most grizzled railbirds (like Bill) had a lump in the throat. He got loaded in the van though, and wasn't put down. The bone never broke the skin. But Bobby is far from out of the woods. Good luck Bobby. Man, I hope you live.

The Preakness was as usual, the Preakness. This year, Bill saw a guy get his finger bit off in a fight. And I have to say, I saw the SWEETEST chick fight EVER! Amazing. It took like 4 security guards to pull them apart. This year, however, I took a less than helpful posture toward random college drunks. Instead of bringing them to first aid, I decided it was easier to just shove and kick bodies out of the way. We waited in a 45 minute melee up to my knees in mud, piss and warm beer to get in. I was not in the best frame of mind. Here's the evidence...



This is the melee at the gates. I was standing next to a guy with a 6 inch blade (at least at 11 AM, he was still using it to shotgun beers.)



Kathy (Mrs. XVP) is pretty disgusted with this whole scene. This is her second Preakness, so she knows what to expect.



Ok, this was the sweetest chick fight ever...they just kept going. They started going at it after they were broken up for the third time. There's always at least one chick fight at the Preakness, but this one was the best. What makes it so funny, is that they were actually fighting over some guy. Considering the quality of the men one can find at Preakness, I find hysterically funny that two chicks would actually fight over one.



Note: Do not black out drunk by the 4th race at Preakness...its a real possibility that you'll get your undies ripped off...while you are wearing them.



This guy blacked out, and ended up with some guy's balls on his head. Nasty.



This guy talked his girl into hitting the vodka slip and slide topless. So...so classy.



Shortly after she asked him to hold her bra and shirt, he tossed it to an eager crowd of frat boys. What a great guy! You got a winner there girl! Don't let that one get away!



The ubiquitous funnel...



The even more ubiquitous "man hug."




Look at the size of those cops. They're pretty stacked. That kid is big...but those cops are bigger...and there are two of them. He got dropped SO fast by these cops and hauled up even faster. It was pretty cool. I didn't get a picture of the front, but his t-shirt actually said, "Do not arrest this man."



100,000 plus attendance, and I end up next to can of O'Douls. Wild.



The Team Belmont car sign. Bar-ba-ro! Bar-ba-ro! Tragic. That's how the day ended up.



Frat boys + coolers = all American Preakness fun!



The aftermath!



Team Belmont leaves Preakness again...intact. Amazing.