Its gonna be a frat boy riot now....

Preakness organizers ban outside drinks in the infield

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/02/02/daily43.html

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer ZZ Top and beach volleyball will replace beer cans as the highlight of the 134th Preakness infield party.

Organizers of the Preakness Stakes on Thursday ended a longstanding tradition allowing patrons to bring their own beer onto the infield at Pimlico Race Course. As the Baltimore Business Journal reported Wednesday , the Maryland Jockey Club will move toward more of a ?festival? atmosphere at the May 16 event that will include ZZ Top, rock band Buckcherry and professional beach volleyball.

Sixteen-ounce beers will now be sold for $3.50. Tickets to the infield will remain flat in 2009 at $50 each.

?Change is inevitable,? said Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, at a press conference Thursday. ?Our goal at the Maryland Jockey Club is to upgrade the infield experience.?

Preakness is the second leg of horse racing?s Triple Crown. The infield party draws more than 90,000 revelers annually.

Chuckas said the decision to ban all outside beverages, especially beer, was partly a ?control issue.? The infield has been under fire for many years following incidents of party-goers throwing beer cans and running on top of porta-potties.

The Jockey Club made a similar move last year by banning racing fans from bringing in alcohol to the grandstand at Pimlico on Preakness day. Attendance in the grandstand dropped by around 10,000 people in 2008, organizers said.

Coolers and backpacks containing food only will be permitted in the infield.

?Stopping the BYOB, as I call it, is a more positive step for the masses,? Chuckas said, adding that the corporate side of the infield will remain unchanged.

By adding bands and volleyball, Chuckas said the Preakness should be able to draw more fans in their mid-20s to early 30s, as opposed to college kids.

Seth Hurwitz, chairman of concert promoter I.M.P., was charged with bringing the bands to the Preakness.

?I think the potential is here to make this as desirable as the Super Bowl halftime event,? Hurwitz said Thursday.

A third local band will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the music, Elkridge-based Corrigan Sports Enterprises is overseeing the professional women?s beach volleyball doubles tournament taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Preakness day.

The company will bring in more than 240 tons of sand to construct an Olympic-size court. There will also be seating around the court.

Preakness officials will also set up a 40-by-80-foot tent on the infield. The tent will house an authentic NASCAR vehicle, RockStar Guitar Hero games and four oxygen bars serving flavored 02.

Jockey Club officials also based the new infield model after the Virgin Mobile Festival, which was held at Pimlico the last two years and did not allow fans to bring in outside beverages.

?We really believe at the Maryland Jockey Club we?re going to put on a heck of a deal,? Chuckas said. ?And for your dollar you?re going to get one heck of an experience.?

He said the new Preakness format has nothing to do with Jockey Club parent Magna Entertainment's bid for slots machines at Laurel Park.

num wrote:
Sixteen-ounce beers will now be sold for $3.50. Tickets to the infield will remain flat in 2009 at $50 each.

let's hope this is the start of trend - ya hear me, seth?

Buckcherry!  Woo-hoo!

16 oz. beers for $3.50!!! Hey, Seth….  ;D


First Merriweather, now Pimlico. You know, if anyone can turn around the troubled Preakness, it's Seth. I've got full faith in the man. You GO Seth!!! All the way to the finish line! Very good move on Pimlico's part. Take that, Kentucky Derby!

Jaguar wrote:
16 oz. beers for $3.50!!! Hey, Seth….  ;D


First Merriweather, now Pimlico. You know, if anyone can turn around the troubled Preakness, it's Seth. I've got full faith in the man. You GO Seth!!! All the way to the finish line! Very good move on Pimlico's part. Take that, Kentucky Derby!

;D

Jaguar wrote:
16 oz. beers for $3.50!!! Hey, Seth….  ;D

no offense, but i think the lede here is that you can no longer bring cans/projectiles to the preakness

http://deadspin.com/5147190/a-cherished-preakness-tradition-is-no-more
http://deadspin.com/5009690/im-doing-it-for-you-big-brown

HoyaSaxa03 wrote:

Jaguar wrote:
16 oz. beers for $3.50!!! Hey, Seth….  ;D

no offense, but i think the lede here is that you can no longer bring cans/projectiles to the preakness

http://deadspin.com/5147190/a-cherished-preakness-tradition-is-no-more
http://deadspin.com/5009690/im-doing-it-for-you-big-brown

Yes, I get that but I'm trying to carry that over to the club.

I know that's going to piss off a lot of infield partiers but Pimlico has been in financial trouble for awhile. Seems like the man is coming up with all kinds of fair balance ways of satisfying everyone. Helps to pull in a little more money for the track at a decent price by today's standards. Don't have to lug as much either though your choices will be limited.

Nice that they are adding music too. Just hope that it's done in a matter that the extreme sounds don't upset the horses. While I personally can't stand either of the bands, you have to consider that there will be a real mix of people. Sounds like good overall homogenous choices to try to please as many people as possible to get things started.

You have to realize that Pimlico and the Preakness have been on the verge of dying or leaving Baltimore for good. A little sacrifice and some nice gains on eveyones' part is what it all seems to me.

  Technically, at first glance, this is a BAD idea because I think that was a big catch to the preakness that it was BYOB.  Perhaps if the atmosphere is really cool, people will weigh in the fact that they are paying extra for the bands.  I dont really know since i have zero insight to the minds of those who go to the Preakness infield!!!

  I like how the one guy in the article thinks that by having Buckcherry and beach volleyball he will attract less of a college crowd. 

num wrote:
I like how the one guy in the article thinks that by having Buckcherry and beach volleyball he will attract less of a college crowd. 

potw!

num wrote:
  I like how the one guy in the article thinks that by having Buckcherry and beach volleyball he will make this as big as the super bowl halftime show, which is consistently the largest global audience for a live musical performance every year

there you go ;)

Everytime I see the title of this thread that horrible song "Zoot Suit Riot" by that terrible retro swing band pops into my head.

<shuddering> ME </shuddering>

Countdown to Seth combining the Preakness and VFest into one overblown spectacle of epic proportions…

never been to the preakness but i watch it every year.  i guess if it becomes less ocean city and more dewey that wouldn't be so bad.

  I am actually going to Preakness this year, but I will NOT be in the infield.

Jaguar wrote:
All the way to the finish line! Very good move on Pimlico&#039;s part. Take that, Kentucky Derby!

i suspect that some derbiites are snickering a little, saying that the preakness needs a rock show to keep people interested. 

sweetcell wrote:

Jaguar wrote:
All the way to the finish line! Very good move on Pimlico&#039;s part. Take that, Kentucky Derby!

i suspect that some derbiites are snickering a little, saying that the preakness needs a rock show to keep people interested.&nbsp;

Oh, the people have been interested. They've always been very interested in the Preakness. Many serious horse people even consider the Preakness a more important race than the Kentucky Derby because they've weeded out so many horses in Kentucky just for the show. They come in from miles around. It's also a race that has a lot more excitement due to the fact that it sets the tone as to whether or not there will be another Triple Crown winner. You get a block of the creme de la creme of that year's horses rather than just a big mix of good horse genes in a race that just trims the crop. Then there are the locals who regard it sort of as a gigantic party that starts off the Summer season of fun in the sun. That's more what the infield is all about. Not my scene at all as I'm much more interested in the horses but I'm all for the excitement of the festival as long as I don't have to deal with the madhouse. I've never been much for being in the thick of big crowds and festivals myself but sure don't want to kill anyone elses' buzz.

It's the rest of the races and the upkeep of the track itself that has threatened to close the track; hence, kill or move the Preakness. Another up for Seth bringing the V-Fest there which I have no doubt helped the life of the track.

I like the idea of making Preakness a better event and helping Pimlico.  But as a recent college grad, I can tell you none of the people I know would go to Preakness this year becuase of that.  None.  The point for every college kid aka 75% of the infield is to get wasted and not even care if you see a horse, trust me that happens.  I think attendance is gonna drop hard.  Because if you're trying to appeal to 20 somethings you don't get ZZ Top or Buckcherry.  Just my thoughts.  I personally don't care about Preakness, I'm just curious as to the money/ profit aspect.

mdh9857 wrote:
I like the idea of making Preakness a better event and helping Pimlico.&nbsp; But as a recent college grad, I can tell you none of the people I know would go to Preakness this year becuase of that.&nbsp; None.&nbsp; The point for every college kid aka 75% of the infield is to get wasted and not even care if you see a horse, trust me that happens.&nbsp; I think attendance is gonna drop hard.&nbsp; Because if you&#039;re trying to appeal to 20 somethings you don&#039;t get ZZ Top or Buckcherry.&nbsp; Just my thoughts.&nbsp; I personally don&#039;t care about Preakness, I&#039;m just curious as to the money/ profit aspect.

i think jimmie's chicken shack was already booked.

walkonby wrote:

mdh9857 wrote:
I like the idea of making Preakness a better event and helping Pimlico.&nbsp; But as a recent college grad, I can tell you none of the people I know would go to Preakness this year becuase of that.&nbsp; None.&nbsp; The point for every college kid aka 75% of the infield is to get wasted and not even care if you see a horse, trust me that happens.&nbsp; I think attendance is gonna drop hard.&nbsp; Because if you&#039;re trying to appeal to 20 somethings you don&#039;t get ZZ Top or Buckcherry.&nbsp; Just my thoughts.&nbsp; I personally don&#039;t care about Preakness, I&#039;m just curious as to the money/ profit aspect.

i think jimmie&#039;s chicken shack was already booked.

POTW!  ;D

Had planned to tear the above statement apart piece by piece but you did it all with such brevity.

Also, mdh9857 did such a fine job at defining exactly why I have never been on the infield and have absolutely no desire of ever doing so.

I had absolutely no idea the Preakness was such a huge watershed event in this area.  But then again, what do I know…