On Friday Tim excerpted this:
Organizers of the Preakness Stakes, the second event in horse racing’s Triple Crown, want a tamer experience on Saturday for the 134th running of the race. Fans can no longer bring their own beverages to the infield. Sixteen-ounce beers will be sold for $3.50, and they will come in plastic cups instead of unopened cans.
...[Tom Chuckas, the president and chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club] said infield ticket sales were down about 15 percent from this time last year, though he expected potential losses to be offset by the increase in beverage sales. The price of admission remains $50 for tickets bought in advance and $60 for those purchased on race day
On Monday Rick Bozich, columnist at the "hoity-toity, prim and proper, frilly hat wearing, mint julep drinking home of the Kentucky Derby" local paper, says:
What we learned on Saturday is the folks who usually pack the Pimlico infield are more interested in an outrageous party than a good race. Preakness attendance plunged nearly 31 percent from 112,222 to 77,850, the smallest crowd for the Triple Crown's second leg in 26 years. And last year's turnout was down 7.5 percent from the 2007 Preakness record of 121,263.
Even holding income constant in a recession year, the folks from Balmer really love a party and hate when they can't BYOB.