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My report from outside of Preakness
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Today at 2:15PM I decided to run from my house in Reservoir Hill to the Preakness in Pimlico. I ran through Druid Hill Park and got on to Greenspring. I took Greenspring all the way to Cylburn Avenue. I made a right onto Cylburn and started to run toward Pimlico road. I could see the helicopters hovering over the track through the hazy sky. It seemed to be at least 80 degrees outside. There are some amazing hills on Greenspring that I did not bargain for so I was sweating but getting a great workout. Anyway, on Cylburn there were many open parking spaces. At this point you are very close to the track and you can easily walk there. As I got closer to Pimlico road more and more parking spaces had chairs or cones in them. Residents were clearly trying to save their personal spaces but today there was no need to do that. I assume that in the past it must have been hard to park around there. I made a right on to Pimlico toward the track. This is where I first saw people trying to sell parking spaces in their front lawns (or front parking areas for businesses). It appeared that they were having no luck. People looked desperate and tired. I made a left on to Belvedere Avenue which boarders one of the large parking lots at Pimlico. Across from the lot there were many residents trying to sell parking spaces and food. It appeared some had sold spaces (why people paid for spaces there when they were free just around the corner is beyond me). A large barbecue was underway but there were no people passing by to purchase food. On Belvedere is where you start to see the sad poverty that is right next to the track. I saw many woman carrying babies in tattered clothing. The women looked depressed. At times it appeared I was in a third world country. There was a feeling of desperation in the air. The crowd at Pimlico was clearly much smaller than usual and the people who used to walk through this area on Preakness day had not been there. The bring your own beer ban was having a major negative impact on this side of the track. To see it first hand is a great reminder of what corporate ignorance and greed can accomplish. If you would have seen what I saw on Belvedere Avenue then you would have wondered why the Mayor or the City Council President (who once represented this area!) did not try to reach some type of compromise with Magna Entertainment. The saddest part of all this is that the Mayor and City Council President will once again overwhelming win this precinct in the 2011 election. Mayor Dixon was spotted inside Pimlico wearing a beautiful green dress while her constituency stood outside in rags wondering where all the money spending partiers went.
After running on Belvedere for a while I crossed the street to the parking lot side. The parking lot was not filled. I saw one guy drinking something in there. I soon noticed large "NO TAILGATING" signs. G-d forbid a Preakness attendee patronize a local liquor establishment and drink in the lot! Magna needs to get every penny they can get! Pigs! I soon got to Park Heights. I made a right on to Park Heights right near where my mother grew up. The Police presence increased around here. You would see pairs of cops just standing there. There were not many others walking on the street. Here is where I started to notice the "NO VENDING" signs. I made a right on to Hayward Avenue and then a left on to Winner Avenue. At this point you could see more parking lots that were not full and some corporate people pulling up in their SUV's. There were also many locals wandering around here. I think I saw one or two kids with empty shopping carts. There is a liquor store around here that was not doing any business. Ouch. I made a right on to Rogers Avenue where I started to see more "NO VENDING" signs. A few people had set up food stands in their yards. They seemed to be doing some business. There were some cars parked in front yards here. I was approaching one of the main entrances to the track. There were many Preakness Ticket stands that were completely empty. I saw one person buy 2 tickets. There were barricades set up for long lines to enter the track. Not one person was in line. There was a huge security force just standing there. I could see the infield from parts of Rogers and when I made a right on to Northern Parkway. It did not seem crowded at all. Lots of local kids were just wandering aimlessly along Northern Parkway. I did not see anyone selling T-shirts. I did not see anyone selling anything. Across the way in Mount Washington you could see some front lawns that were packed with cars but again I did not see one official Pimlico lot that was sold out. I then made a right on to Pimlico road. There is a side entrance to the infield here. It was CLOSED. There were about 25 security people and cops guarding it though. I heard Rob Roblin announce ZZ TOP (I think it was them at least). They started to play. You could hear everything. It was sad. I then ran through a half empty parking lot and ended up on Preakness way. I had seen enough. I made it back to Cylburn and then Greenspring. I got home around 3:45. I ran over 10 miles.
I assume the attendance will be down by at least 20%, probably much more. I also assume those in charge will lie about the attendance. This no BYOB situation can not be allowed to happen again. It is literally destroying the economic situation of many people in the surrounding neighborhood and many establishments in the Baltimore area. I saw it with my own eyes. It was terrible. We can not allow Preakness to die.
