Presidents Race
The predecessor to the Presidents Race was the PNC Dollar Derby, an animated cartoon displayed on the giant video board during the 2005 inaugural season at RFK Stadium.
Sponsored by PNC Bank, the Dollar Derby cartoons depicted a car race between three US historical figures whose faces appear on U.S. paper currency: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander Hamilton.
[3] The race still began with an animation on the video board: the four cartoon presidents dashed through Washington, D.C., and headed towards RFK Stadium.
Immediately after disappearing from the screen, the costumed live-action presidents emerged from the right field corner as 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) men with large caricature foam heads.
Beginning in the 2007 season, the animated lead-in was replaced with a taped video of the caricature-headed presidents running from the White House, around various Washington landmarks, and heading towards RFK Stadium.
Images of George, Tom, Abe, and Teddy are featured on stadium signage and at the team store/gift shop, which is now named "Rushmores."
The reasons for Teddy's failures had consistently varied, ranging from tripping, confusion, being attacked by a man dressed as a shark, attempting to tweet while racing and subsequently falling over, to striking up conversations with fans and forgetting to run.
In 2006, he was also disqualified for cheating when he drove a golf cart past his competitors, and for emerging from the visitors' dugout instead of running the length of the first base line.
George, Tom, and Abe each won the race on their respective days, and they were escorted by the "Secret Service" to guarantee the runaway victories.
[7] Soon after, a "Let Teddy Win" website and social media campaign was launched by Nationals fan Scott Ableman, tied to the upcoming presidential election.
When the race started, the Nationals bullpen held George, Tom, and Abe back to help Teddy to victory.
Teddy's losing streak was extended with the stadium's inaugural game, as he ran off-course across the outfield and was distracted by members of the opposing team.
The theme of sabotage was also introduced in 2008 as Teddy was tackled or tripped just short of the finish line on several occasions by visitors from the stands, including costumed bananas, panthers, and mascots from other teams.
[13] On Sunday, July 26, 2009, during a game against the San Diego Padres, Teddy used a motor scooter to pass the field and cross the finish line first.
On September 8, 2009, Teddy appeared to have won his first race, but was disqualified for recruiting an extra mascot onto the field to interfere with the other presidents.
After the game, Werth expressed frustration with Teddy's losing streak, saying, "What’s the poor guy got to do to get a win?...A great American president.
George fell at the beginning of the race, and Teddy had tried numerous antics to defeat the others, including throwing a rack of basketballs in front of Abe.
After Teddy passed 500 losses in August, 2012, national press interest increased, culminating in a featured segment that ran repeatedly on the ESPN TV Network.
[20] McCain called for a congressional investigation into Teddy's losses, prompting president Barack Obama to respond with a statement of bipartisan support shared via his press secretary Jay Carney aboard Air Force One.
On August 15, 2014, at Nationals Park, Teddy avenged his five-year humiliation in Pittsburgh by tackling Potato Pete near the finish line in what SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt called “the greatest highlight I’ve ever seen.”[25] On September 28 of that same year, Teddy, with a little help from The Penguins of Madagascar, won his first season-long race title.
During this absence, the team held exhibition races between the presidents outside the stadium, which were shared via video and on social media on some game days.
Herbie made his debut during an April 10, 2016, game against the Miami Marlins, and, like Cal in his first race, emerged victorious.
The presidents have made numerous appearances at the White House, including the annual Easter Egg Roll,[35] and the Independence Day fireworks.
