Quogue Association Duck Race Is Big Success

It was a beautiful evening for a duck race. And all ages were on the Post Lane Bridge on Friday night to watch the expected splash and flotilla of 2,000 ducks emerge under the bridge on their way to the finish line.

The turnout to watch the plastics duckies get dumped over the east side of the Post Lane Bridge was only rivaled by the number of people who gathered at the village dock to watch the end of the race and listen to live music by Tribal Legacy, a reggae-style band, who were making their second showing at the annual concert.

The yellow ducks were escorted down the canal by four kayakers and Hunter Reiher, son of Jim Reiher, vice president of the Quogue Association, as he floated on an inflated duck to the finish line.

At the Quogue dock, volunteers scooped up the winning ducks.

All along there were rumors that some had doctored their ducks--pinewood derby style--with pennies, corks and mini-sails. In fact, the first two duck to cross the line were disqualified; they'd been hacked. And the judge for the event, Alan Lazarescu, was more than willing to call him out at the awards ceremony. Ralph Worthington was the culprit. It was hard to get away with it, because everyone had to write their name and number with a Sharpie on the duck.

And the winners were...

The third-place winner was Haley Schoeck. She said she will be donating her prize, $500, to Anderson Cooper's fund for Somalia.

The second place winner Dina Ferguson was not at the event.

First place winner Randy Cardo, who was not at the event, said he will donate his $1,250 to the Surf Club of Quogue's scholarship fund.

To watch video of the duck race, click here.