A man dives face first into the mud in the infield on Preakness Day at Pimlico Race Course. Photo / Getty
100,000 people. Massive amounts of mud. There was only one way it was going to go in the infield at Pimlico Race Course during the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes yesterday.
Fans began to dive into the big puddles while others tried to evade the mud, which proved to be impossible.
Preakness Infield 2018 @ 11:15am: a bro is elbow deep in the mud. Friend bro debating whether or not to help. pic.twitter.com/ZPYqHeWOtD
By late afternoon, the rain and drizzle that soaked the grounds all week - and a crowd of 134,487 all day - had largely abated, replaced by a thick blanket of fog that gave the proceedings a spooky, mystical vibe. On a clear day, you can look out from Pimlico's upper levels and see the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the city's south side, some 15 miles away.
On Sunday, you could barely see the infield.
Justify, with the Kentucky Derby already secured, won the Preakness and will race at Belmont Park on Long Island with a chance to become just the sport's 13th Triple Crown winner.
"When they turned for home and I couldn't see them, that scared me to death," said Kenny Troutt of WinStar Farm, Justify's owner. "And finally they showed up right there, and boom."