Charm City's crab derby returns to Lexington Market for Preakness Week
BALTIMORE -- A Preakness Week tradition returned to Lexington Market on Wednesday: The Crab Derby.
Celebrity "crab jockeys" lined up on the market's new outdoor plaza to race live blue crabs provided by Faidley's Seafood for the first Crab Derby since 2018.
Jockeys coaxed their crabs down a ramp by spraying them with water, dangling a buoy in front of them and cheering.
It was a hard-fought battle, but Orioles' legend B.J. Surhoff ended up taking home the Faidley Cup.
"I just looked for the best crab when I looked in the pot, you know? The little ones have a tendency to want to sprint so I didn't want a big one," Surhoff said. "I think I just had the best crab, you know? You've got to know how to pick them."
The race was followed by a crab-picking contest. Contestants were given three crabs and a mallet to see who could finish them first.
No one stood a chance against the winner, Jeanette from Baltimore. Jeanette said she has been training in the off-season by eating crabs all year long. She'll be taking home a $100 gift card to Faidley's Seafood.
Lexington Market has come a long way since it hosted the very first crab derby in 1859. The derby was started as a way to settle an argument about who had the fastest crabs.
Damye Hahn of Faidley's Seafood said her father reintroduced the event in the 1970s as part of Preakness Week. The event was put on ice for the past several years but Hahn said she's thrilled to bring it back to Lexington Market.
"We've got this beautiful plaza to have it on," Hahn said. "it's a great space and hopefully it will just grow from here."
