I am making my reservations for the 05 Preakness and am in the process of selecting my seats. I am most interested in the Turfside Terrace seating. From what I gather, these seats are in a tent on the stretch. The price is $350 per for both days. Does anybody have any experience with these seats? This seems like a good deal because it also includes parking. Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated.
I've been to about 14 Preaknesses or so. The area around Pimlico is not the best neighborhood, however Preakness Day is as safe as it gets as there are so many cops around. The seats you are talking about are very nice. You'll have no problems placing wagers, taking a wiz or whatever. The worst part about the Preakness is dealing with the drunk rednecks that bake in the sun all day after drinking their case of Bud. It is a lot of fun though.
Its that bad, huh.
I figured on driving down from Jersey on Thursday, maybe catching a little Black-Eyed Susan action on Friday, and then the Preakness. I've heard how bad Pimlico is, and I sure as hell am not going there for their normal card. Pimlico is certainly one track I avoid at all costs. With that in mind, how does it set up for simulcasting? I was hoping to catch two favorites of mine Friday night, Mountaineer and CharlesTown.
I figured on driving down from Jersey on Thursday, maybe catching a little Black-Eyed Susan action on Friday, and then the Preakness. I've heard how bad Pimlico is, and I sure as hell am not going there for their normal card. Pimlico is certainly one track I avoid at all costs. With that in mind, how does it set up for simulcasting? I was hoping to catch two favorites of mine Friday night, Mountaineer and CharlesTown.
I've been to the Derby 8 times, Preakness twice and The Belmont twice. In 2003, actually did the triple crown. Love horses. Your correct, those seats are in the infield, next to the turf track. Check out www.preakness.com. Of all the triple crown race tracks, the Preakness is my least favorite and the lowest in class of the three. Have a great time! I will be at Derby '05.
The Preakness is fun. Pimlico definetely needs an upgrade but it is not a sh**hole. You will have a blast. Pimlico is not the slums of Baltimore. Once again if you were to walk around today, you might be a litle nervous. On Preakness day, there are 100K people with cops everywhere. It is not Churchill Downs by any means but it is still a blast.
Turfside Terrace
I have attended the Preakness each of the last 3 years in the Turfside Terrace area. The view is a unique one. When they run the few turf races on the card, you are no more than 15-20 feet away from the horses coming down the stretch. It's awesome. Seeing the performances of Funny Cide and Smarty Jones in the stretch from that vantage point is truly special. You will miss the action down the backstretch, but there are plenty of monitors to view. The lunch is okay, nothing special. With the tickets going up to $350 (formerly $250 if my memory serves me correctly), it had better be an open bar now. It was previously a cash bar. Also of note, you have to buy two tickets in order to get the parking pass. I only had one last year and raised hell with the MJC because their preliminary info didn't say anything about having to buy a pair, now it's made very clear in all of their publications. Drawbacks are that you are stuck on the infield for a long period of time following the Preakness and can't leave until the connections and various VIPs are returned back to the frontside. At that time you might as well wait for the last race to go off as well. Also it's been well documented that the area isn't great. I don't mind that, but it's certainly not an area meant to accomdate 100,000 people, most of whom will be baked in the sun and drunk out of thei mind. Makes getting out quite an adventure. But I'll more than likely be doing it again this year. Every year it's this and the Belmont. Hopefully I won't get screwed in their ticket lottery again this year.
I have attended the Preakness each of the last 3 years in the Turfside Terrace area. The view is a unique one. When they run the few turf races on the card, you are no more than 15-20 feet away from the horses coming down the stretch. It's awesome. Seeing the performances of Funny Cide and Smarty Jones in the stretch from that vantage point is truly special. You will miss the action down the backstretch, but there are plenty of monitors to view. The lunch is okay, nothing special. With the tickets going up to $350 (formerly $250 if my memory serves me correctly), it had better be an open bar now. It was previously a cash bar. Also of note, you have to buy two tickets in order to get the parking pass. I only had one last year and raised hell with the MJC because their preliminary info didn't say anything about having to buy a pair, now it's made very clear in all of their publications. Drawbacks are that you are stuck on the infield for a long period of time following the Preakness and can't leave until the connections and various VIPs are returned back to the frontside. At that time you might as well wait for the last race to go off as well. Also it's been well documented that the area isn't great. I don't mind that, but it's certainly not an area meant to accomdate 100,000 people, most of whom will be baked in the sun and drunk out of thei mind. Makes getting out quite an adventure. But I'll more than likely be doing it again this year. Every year it's this and the Belmont. Hopefully I won't get screwed in their ticket lottery again this year.
You mean the parking pass is only if I have two tickets? I will have to call and make sure, because like you, I am flying solo and I would also raise hell to the Jockey Club. The tickets are $350/per for both days, but I think I'll just try the Terrace for Preakness day. On Friday I would be more interested in live plus simulcast. Even though it is tradition, I have always felt that the formal atmosphere that surrends racing/owners/trainers, etc. was rather silly. As I am sure they get a kick out of all the degenerates that lay down their SS checks on their 6/5 first-time starter that couldn't get out of the gate. So I'll probably get a kick out of the redneck drunks in the infield. Probably the same crew that would kill to be on the infield of another kind of racing that gets a ton of wagering action.
