At the Preakness

At the Preakness, horses race;
The crowd is quite excited.
After winners are declared,
Observers are invited

To witness a tradition
Which, since nineteen hundred nine
Has been special to all racing fans
And cool in its design.

See, atop the Members’ Clubhouse,
A historic weather vane
Of a horse and jockey waits there
For the colors it will claim.

Lawrence Jones, the current painter
(At his job since ‘88)
Climbs a ladder to the cupola
To bring things up to date.

He applies the owner’s colors,
Which the winning jockey’s worn,
On the weather vane to show the world
A champion’s been born.

So today, for Cloud Computing,
(That’s the winning horse’s name)
Red and white have just been painted,
Horse and owner’s claim to fame.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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Johnson Avatar
May 23, 2017 at 8:15 PM
I seen them painting, I just wasn't paying close enough attention that I understood what the deal was. Thanks for filling in the blanks. Cool tradition. Did you bet?
Rigoler Avatar
May 21, 2017 at 7:22 AM
Not a horse person, Ilene, except at a good distance. And I wonder, how popular (or compulsive) would racing be if money were not a factor in its excitement?l But each to his (win or loss) I say. / M
Pigeon Tart Avatar
May 20, 2017 at 9:24 PM
Love this Ilene, I lap it up! :)
Smith Avatar
May 20, 2017 at 8:49 PM
It is a wonderful tradition. A fine race they had today.
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