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Toilet options abound at track
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Kohler’s bathroom trailers feature more luxurious amenities than the run-of-the-mill port-a-pot.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Behold the Insta-wiz — patent pending.
Ardmore, Pa., resident Vin DiDonna, 25, plans to party in the Preakness infield today for the first time, but friends warned him about the lengthy lines and questionable conditions of the provided portable toilets.
A little brainstorming and a trip to the hardware store later, he had an answer: A shower curtain attached to three hula hoops, paired with a bucket of scented kitty litter and, of course, an attached toilet paper dispenser. A personal, collapsible bathroom, or as DiDonna promotes it, “urinary solutions for the active tailgater.”
“Seriously, who wants to disappear for an hour trying to find a Port-A-Potty, then waiting in line, only to get to the front and almost get sick from the smell of it?,” DiDonna said.
Connecticut-based A Royal Flush put about 600 portable toilets in place around Pimlico, said Alex Townsend, a regional sales manager with the company. She said this year they’ve also been set up in a staggered formation to prevent a repeat performance of the YouTube hit “Running of the Urinals,” featuring attendees sprinting across the roofs of toilets last year.
On the other end of the lavatory spectrum from the Insta-wiz, the small green trailer at the end of a row of Pimlico stables might be mistaken for one of the many horse trailers surrounding the track.
But the trailer, surrounded by landscaped mulch and flowers is actually a luxury port-a-pot, one of 11 set up around Pimlico. Saturday will be the first year the facilities, created and provided by bathroom fixture-maker Kohler, will appear at Preakness.
The amenities don’t come cheap, though. While they’re free to use if you can find them, a week’s rental runs $3,100 for the 24-foot trailers, $4,500 for the 32-foot variety and $4,800 for the wheelchair-accessible facilities, not including transportation to the site and later waste removal. The trailers are located in the infield, around the grandstand, in the corporate areas and near the stable areas.
Kohler representative Stephanie Dlugopolski said the luxury bathrooms have been met with surprise and pleasure by their uses. But one patron of the posh facilities Friday didn’t seem to have strong feelings about the experience.
“Well,” he said with a half-smile and a shrug, “it is what it is.”
acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com
ecampbell@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:11 PM MST on Mon., May. 19, 2008 re: "Toilet options abound at track"
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10:54 AM MST on Thu., May. 15, 2008
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10:18 AM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008
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8:30 PM MST on Fri., Oct. 19, 2007
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1:27 PM MST on Mon., May. 21, 2007
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12:16 PM MST on Sat., May. 19, 2007
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Danny Burns said:
I was at Pimlico this past weekend and the bathrooms were absolutely filthy. I was lucky enough to of had the opportunity to use the Insta-Wiz and it was magical. It provided full privacy and was much more sanitary than anything else out there. Thanks again Vin for coming up with the idea...you are truly a genius!!
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Rafael Alvarez fan said:
if the preakness leaves Baltimore, it's not the preakness now, is it?
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AMERICA CALLING said:
if i could move it i would maryland as it is today doesnt deserve it who wants to come to crime city to see a race of this type maryland voters have no class they elect jerks they cry about it then elect them again wake up people
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Examiner Reader said:
Move it. Baltimore and Maryland do not want this race. They prove it day-in and day-out. Besides, who wants to visit a tree-lined slum and attend a horse race? Shut down Pimlico and make it public housing. More votes for the demoncrats that way.
157 agree | 151 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Yes for Maryland slots. West Virginia sucks money from Virginia and Maryland. I hate to see Preakness move . It is good for jobs . Maryland deserves to have nice horse race facility with all bells and whistles like everybody else.
195 agree | 214 disagree
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Move Preakness Advocate said:
I have been going to Belmont for the last 7 years and have now been to the Preakness twice. Once in the infield and this last time in the GrandConcourseReserve. Aside from enjoying a few races and beers, I don’t think Pimlico is worthy of hosting the second leg of the Triple Crown. It's completely unsafe, both outside the stadium and inside the infield. The overpriced tickets are one thing, but the $70 to park is outright obnoxious! Not to mention it opens up the flood gates for some of the seediest characters looking to make a quick buck by turning their front lawn (or the abandoned lot next it) into a parking lot. I also think everything is priced so high just to keep some of these same people out of the Preakness. It would be one thing if the price of admission reflected condition of the stands and betting booths, but it just doesn’t- Pimlico is in dire need of a make over. Unfortunately, so is most of Baltimore because I've never seen so many boarded up houses in my life.
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BC said:
I can tell you unequivically, that if the Preakness were to move, the cause would be solely the responsibility of the track owners. They will do anything to get slots, including making threats to move the race.
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