Sunday, May 8, 2011

Best Mother's Day Ever

Last Mother's Day my daughter gave me the best present ever.
The gift didn't arrive on Mother's Day nor was it celebrated on
Mother's Day, but even to this day it makes me smile from ear to
ear to think about it.
So I suppose you're wondering what it is ~ I have to give a wee
bit of history before I reveal the gift.
I am a lover of horse racing ~ especially the Triple Crown races.
I have watched The Derby, Preakness and The Belmont since I
was a small child.  It is my favorite time of the year.  We don't have
much horse racing here in Ohio, so my in person watching is
limited to when we visit my brother and his wife in San Diego and
we visit the Del Mar races ~ what a beautiful track!  The track is
called "Where the surf meets the turf" and that describes it exactly.
From the stands, you not only see the track, but the mountains, 
palm trees, and the ocean.
Well, last year, my daughter surprised me with tickets to The Preakness.
Although I had lived in Baltimore for 15 years, I had never been to the
races in Maryland.  She bought the tickets on Ebay, so we had no idea
what kind of seats we would have, but let me tell you ~ they were GREAT!
We were 3 rows from the track directly in front of the finish line.




Right beside out seats was the winner's circle where the pictures were
taken with the owners.







Some of the horses were hosed down immediately after the race, directly
in front of us, so there was always something to entertain us between races.




This is Nicanor, the full brother and spitting image of the famous Barbaro.
When he stepped onto the track, the cameras started clicking. 
Everyone wanted to see if Barbaro was reborn in Nicanor.  Sadly he
did not win, but he sure is a beauty.




The horses were saddled for The Preakness directly across the track
from out seats, so we had a great view of all these famous thoroughbreds
and their trainers.




Here is Super Saver, The Derby winner and favored to win The Preakness, 
but it was not to be.




This is my favorite picture.  The starting gate was at the opposite end of
the track from where we were sitting and yet it feels like it is
happening right in front of us.  This is when I first realized what a good
camera I had.



 
Yesterday was The Derby and in two weeks, The Preakness will take place and
all these memories will be revisited again.
I will never forget this day.  I told my daughter to never try to top this
present because everything was perfect.  I don't ever want to
visit another Triple Crown race because I can't imagine it ever
living up to that weekend.

Dresses and shoes ~ $100
Tickets ~ $250
Event Parking ~ $95
Memories ~ Priceless
 


 
To all the Mothers out there ~ wishing you a wonderful and
memorable Mother's Day. 
~
Linking with
~
A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
 
 

7 comments:

Victorian1885 said...

Happy Mother's Day..it looks like a great time!

Wanda

La Vie Quotidienne said...

How fun! Happy Mother's Day.

Anonymous said...

Cindy this looks like a fabulous Mother's Day gift!! Wow and to get such great seats!! Did you win any money? That would have been the cherry on the sundae!!

Very quiet day here for me. Got the front room presentable though not completely done. So pleased with the way it is looking!

Happy Mother's Day friend! I hope things are slowing down a tad for you and that you are resting.

bee blessed
mary

A New England Life said...

I'm not really into horse racing but for someone who is that must have been an incredible day! Did you wear a hat? Or is it lot in style at the Preakness?

Debbie said...

I'm not a horse racing fan per se; it's really the whole festivity surrounding the big ones that enchants me. What a wonderful gift. You will never forget it!

Stitchfork said...

Absolutely priceless! How fun!
xo Cathy

Pat said...

I really enjoyed coming along for the tour! I love horses and racing, and to me the best place to be is down by the rail!

Pat

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