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MS Society Gets The Win At Preakness At The Piazza

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Pimlico Race Course may be over 100 miles away, but the Piazza at Schmidt's Commons in Northern Liberties had a very Preakness feel to it Saturday.

But this event is about more than just the horses.

Lexi Chiarantona was one of about 1,000 people at the 5th annual Preakness at the Piazza, fitting right in with her bright pink hat...

"Everybody is wearing hats and floral and bow ties and everybody looks very well dressed," she said.

She enjoyed getting to see the race on the massive screen on the Piazza wall.

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"It was really exciting. Everybody was really into it," she said. "Although the horse we wanted to win lost by a millisecond, still a great race."

Don Godfrey had a good time too, saying it "almost" felt like he was in Maryland.

"Everybody comes out, gets dressed up, grab a drink, grab some food," said Godfrey. "I got a nice, plaid sport coat on, red bow tie, a nice, blue shirt and some white pants."

"It's a beautiful day, a lot of very stylish people, everybody is here in very good energy," adds Matthew Doroshow. "I'm out here to support a great cause."

That cause is the MS Society. The goal of the event is to raise money for multiple sclerosis research and local services for people living with MS.

And for the gamblers...

"We'll randomly place the horses on the X-axis and the Y-axis, just like a Super Bowl pool and the winning horse, we find that point on the board," explains Caitlin Smith, who was in charge of one of two Preakness betting boards.

Money from that went to MS Society too.

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