After having a fun experience at Preakness 148, Nestor Aparicio gives Dennis Koulatsos a Pimlico refresher course and why it’s a fun day to participate in a Maryland tradition of sports and culture.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
preakness, people, race, orioles, bruno mars, baltimore, dennis, dress, ran, maryland, event, sports, weekend, years, horse, saturday, put, track, money, baseball
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Dennis Koulatsos
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Looking back at W N S, T, Towson, Baltimore, Baltimore positive or positively into the post Preakness parade around here, which it used to mean baseball season, I think it still does. It’s crabcakes season because it’s almost Memorial Day, we’re gonna be doing the Maryland crab cake tour with our friends at the Maryland lottery conjunction with our friends at window nation at fallston. And we’re going to be up at the local award winning restaurant association of Maryland says Jeff in the year, we’re going to be sampling the crabcakes real beautiful menu up and false and everyone up there in Harford County tells me we got to get there. We’ll be there on Tuesday. And then you’ll hear it later on in the week. And it’s been a little bit of a fractured month. There’s there’s Preakness there’s baseball there was we began the Lamar thing and the draft thing and all of that, and now we’re finally up. Exhaling a little bit on Memorial Day weekend. Dennis Colossus joins us here. He’ll be here on Thursday from three of the five that again on Sunday morning for the Memorial Day weekend. You know, if I know you, you’re probably watching the PGA Championship. I know you’re not like a horse racing guy, but I have a feeling you’re into the Preakness and this oriental sweep thing north of the border. I mean, I’ve been talking for a month now since baseball started in the LA Marathon, sort of kicked in and then went away and he got his money sports has been is back again in in a way that makes me makes the sports guy in me, where I’m at the track watching the game at the game watching the track following the NBA coming home watching golf and hockey on a Sunday. Dennis it’s um, this all went away with the plague. And I think there’s a period of time where the Orioles have been so irrelevant that it made baseball, which was really a big part of the meal around here for most of our lives. This has been a fun, fun spring man.
Dennis Koulatsos 01:53
And it’s about to get even more fun enough stress sauce story that the bottom Orioles released their steady connect uniforms. I don’t know if you’ve seen them yet. But they have big Baltimore right across the chest. So it says Baltimore they have to be on their hats. To it’s a production from Nike. The font is inspired by the Maryland Institute College of Art. It’s a good thing. They’re doing great things on the field and also in a community.
Nestor Aparicio 02:20
Well, I saw the uniforms that were rumored to be the ones and they looked very, very plain. And it turns out that they are the same ones, right. They they have a little color on the sleeve. But they’re orange and black, white Baltimore, orange swoosh. And, you know, for the city and I’ll say this, and I’ve been talking about this all morning because it takes what happened last week, which is show a Otani, you went back to the ballpark all of my clients, lots of my friends. Everybody went back to the ballpark. And if I didn’t see you at the ballpark, I ran into you at the race on Saturday, right? Like the race was vibrant. There were people out there it was the right yep, there were no fights, no, the running of the urinals, none of that. There were couples and groups of single women and groups of dudes and young people. And it was a wide mix of people. African American people were not spotted at the Preakness 30 years ago. Trust me, I was there. This was like a real Baltimore melting pot of what they want the race to be and Bruno Mars and it rained and whatever and Bob Baffert, we lost the horse. There was a lot of protesting going on or animals out there. But I as a sports guy is a guy that’s lived this status. And I’m pleased that I’ve lived long enough to see the race still here. And vibrant to the point where if you went to the race Saturday, and I know you got to sell cars, the third Saturday of May I realized that, Dennis, it’s something to bring your girl out to. It’s something everybody should do. People should go to the Preakness. They really should.
Dennis Koulatsos 03:56
Yeah, I saw your comments on Twitter Nestor, you said that to a lot less people at the track this year as compared to years past. He talked about 2018 and 2019. And the size of the crowds back then as opposed to now.
Nestor Aparicio 04:11
I look they did away with the Preakness that I knew and you and your your buddies from Essex that would run around out there and shipping in 1000s of college kids on school buses to get annihilated. Right. Like I did all that I ran buses out there. That’s what it used to be right. And then Tom chukkas came in and they had that year when nobody went so you’re actually watched it on TV, right? I’ve never really watched the Preakness coverage on TV to see how the city is portrayed to see how the state’s portrayed the car racing is portrayed. And I listen I was out there all day Saturday. I got hot I got cold I got sunburned. I got rained on. We had four seasons out there, right. I ran in the West more I ran into former Republican guy governors, I ran into two mayors that have gone up the river, all on the same day, like all in the same space. It’s such a celebration for the state. And they’ve tried to put this thing together and hold this thing together. And I don’t know what the tracks going to become. And I’m assuming 51 weeks from now they’re going to run the race again. I’m just saying for what it represents for the state and the Orioles and the Ravens kind of coming together and underarmor with their thing, and John Harbaugh is out there and Marlon Humphrey is out there. And Russell Simmons was out there. I saw pictures by Cal Ripken is out there. It’s it’s just a really special thing. And as I get older, and it’s something that’s going on my whole life, it’s not the same as it used to be. I think they’ve made it better. And I think as much as I’ve gone to Kentucky Derby and I’ve always said why can’t it be like that here? There’s so much more they could do. I did the crab races last week. And this is about when I get with Brandon Scott. And when I get with Westmore, and when I get with the people that are involved with the race whether Belinda Stronach is ever going to meet me and sit on the show. I don’t know I really they got a new name now first, first bet first. I don’t even know what it’s I’ve walked past it all day three, all new branding, all this stuff. I just I pray for some peace for them. That this can continue to be something good for our community because like, we had a really great day and I went out and bought my wife. I didn’t buy her one dress on Friday, Dennis I bought her eight dresses. I went out to the store Friday. I shopped for her I brought all these dresses. She could take them back the ones she doesn’t want, right? So she had to work. She put on a pretty dress and a hat and after all she’s been through. She loves horses. She likes drinking. She loves Bruno Mars. She likes socializing. She likes good weather. She likes nice people. She likes exercise. So it was just a really nice weekend and the Orioles winning is really nice and seeing basketball and hockey that are relevant and seeing golf and seeing this guy, this PGA pro it a whole lot more. It’s just I mean bullying today about sports, and about what I witnessed for the city. Dentist, I sat in traffic on Thursday, trying to get downtown. You know why? There was a baseball game that mattered. That’s awesome. That’s, I mean, I sat in traffic on Thursday. It was good traffic, you know, good, good,
Dennis Koulatsos 07:21
good traffic and bad traffic and that was good traffic. The Celtics and Lakers on a brink of elimination the NBA, very much at the forefront of sports. He talked about Kafka and the PGA Championship. Ravens signs Josh Johnson don’t know that that move excites me moves the needle. Teddy Bridgewater would have been a great story I know that are tied up against the cap, but you hit a lot of great points this weekend and a distant fishing Sunday. And as you mentioned, a lot of great stuff is happening. Orioles right there walking down the rails. It seems like they’re walking them down our day.
Nestor Aparicio 07:54
Do you feel the Preakness at your dealership on a weekend or do you not? Well, we
Dennis Koulatsos 08:01
usually wrap around a wrapper around a sales contest so that our sales people the first one that sells a car gets to pick his horse and national treasure was the first one off the board, and so on and so forth. So the sales team got to pick seven horses Earl Lee and then of course the post times 705 or so. So we were gathered around TV set hooting and hollering with the customer that we had watching the race for a couple of minutes that lasted.
Nestor Aparicio 08:27
Dennis I’m 30 You know that? Right? So like I would if I had a Friday night sale in my pocket, I could bring it in Saturday morning, right? Like I saw Glengarry Glen Ross you know, I noticed so I’ve been ABC and you know what I mean? I know that I know so Saturday morning How do you that how does this well I want to hear this this is so I’m your sales guy. I show up 838 o’clock Saturday morning I’m ready to go first card
Dennis Koulatsos 08:51
first card we know we said first place pays 500 and second place pays for 303rd Place pays 200 etc. And also if we exceeded the 30 sales we doubled the prize money team sales already for vehicle Saturday and so first place became $1,000 So it’s not bad on top of your one 500
Nestor Aparicio 09:13
around 630 quarter to seven and then by nine 939 30 Yep kind of doubled them up Mr. Coons double the money double that money
Dennis Koulatsos 09:22
we double that money so it’s just it’s it look it gets us engaged involved talking and and even a customer that we’re here late Saturday night that they were able to witness that witness and it got quite loud because of course it was a it was a very very close race that towards the end.
Nestor Aparicio 09:36
I’m gonna say some and I know you’re not going to go because it’s a big day in your dealership. But um, because I’ve seen you dressed up I’ve seen you out with fish. And I’ve seen you with Dan Marino at wonderful events right? I mean this and this is really a shame that they don’t have me running the racetrack at this point or me running the Orioles. Just an agenda. I’ve come a long way with this right from On the bird soaker incident to them now having a section where they do it profoundly the Preakness for me and the weekend, seeing my wife and a dress and a hat seeing everybody else’s girl, or single girls or that is I’ve never felt more like that it’s a community event. And I’ve brought this up a couple of times, because I’ve gone to 40 pregnancies. It was not an event where young African American people brought their girl and drowned and brought people out. It was not an event where young 1819 20 year old girls put on dresses, and came out, it was an event where they put on maybe a bathing suit, or the dudes put on life. I mean, I forgot I didn’t know for years, it is a they’ve turned this in to Derby light or the Maryland dirty and they’ve turned it into something where your girl should be bothering you because their girlfriends all went out and wore a dress and did all that to say, hey, next year, can we do that? Because it’s just turned into a better event and I you know,
Dennis Koulatsos 11:07
what time did you get to what time did you get on a Saturday? Well, I mean, now you got me thinking about next year.
Nestor Aparicio 11:13
Alright, I got there, they run the everything about it’s different. Okay, so if you and you never win, I’ve never been, you have nothing to compare it to never been to a track of any type. It used to be 8am Open the gates people get hammered first race at like 1010 30
Dennis Koulatsos 11:29
you get every other anybody drinks gets like rowdy, the whole nine yards, the pre there
Nestor Aparicio 11:33
was bands 98 Rock would have three bands at 11 one and three. There was always like up a bigger band cheat trick would play it three or ZZ Top would play at three. And the big race was always 515 525 40 liking that. And there was always the 11th or 12th race of the day. There’ll be one more race and everybody goes home at six o’clock. Hammered sunsetting get out of here go to the Orioles game if they’re home, whatever you do, right. And it was always 130,000 people in a space that there’s no parking there’s no people there’s bus most people came on boss, quite frankly, on beer buses. Like for years and years and years. That’s the way it work. The way I remember the Preakness chukkas broke it remember 10 years ago when they took the beer out of the infield, they made you buy it, you can’t bring your own booze in anymore. Now we’re a generation away from that they had their ZZ Top things. They had Bruno Mars, these people tried to wreck the race. Let’s be honest, they’ve been trying to kill this race and steal it and take it somewhere else. They went through that period in 14 1516 1718. They tried to screw it up. They tried to kill it literally. Now they’re back to watering it again. Bruno Mars Dennis is the biggest actor
Dennis Koulatsos 12:46
in the world. I saw Bruno a couple of years ago was fantastic that six rows back was fantastic.
Nestor Aparicio 12:52
Mars is as big as Star nominal.
Dennis Koulatsos 12:56
Plate. What time did he come on? Okay, so
Nestor Aparicio 12:58
we went out in the morning and I’m like, is he playing it? 234 the the race isn’t until almost seven o’clock now. Right and run the race really late for TV. Right? And for NBC and like all that. So it’s a made for television production like that. So it’s changed everything about the heartbeat, that if you’ve been the Preakness is in the past. We went and like no offense, they’re terrible at what they do. The marathon, the people that run it, if you go to preakness.com and are looking for information on race that you can’t even find it. It’s awful. They have no infrastructure, like they really don’t, they can barely get me my past. I mean, David Joseph, thank you. I know you’re understaffed over man like all of that. But we didn’t know when Bruno Mars is playing. And then my wife’s like he’s playing at eight o’clock. And I’m like, that doesn’t make any sense. Everybody’s going to be hammered and sunburn and wanting to leave by then. Right? It didn’t make any sense to me. We went out there at not not by accident. We wanted to get out there 1212 30 We got there about 115 130 We ate before we went because we were unsure of this and that. We got out there and we parked and we came in Back to the media stall area and I ran into Bob Baffert. And it was just me and my wife and Bob Baffert, a little contingent and they were game faced. And he barely said hello to me, like he broke like kept going. I said, Something’s wrong. His horse had just fallen. And we didn’t know that he was walking back like we had the OH MY GOD face. I mean, I’ve known Bob 30 years I like it was his horse just died and it was awful to see him in that condition at 130. So we got out to the track and we found the grandstand. Now, Dennis, I can tell you that they the grandstand has been exiled right like it’s covered in a black tarp because you it’s untenable. You can’t have people sit there. It’s it’s a desert pasture area inside the track. Okay, so the grandstand doesn’t exist anymore. clubhouse is still there. Still functional waterstone running elevator didn’t work to the seventh floor of the press box you get to get to the press box you go straight seven floors straight up and down. There’s no elevator. So I mean the things falling apart, okay? I mean I’m not. I’m not here to sugarcoat that. I’m here to talk about the event and the day and they built these million dollar tents in the infield. The infield is really where it’s at. The infield has upscale food drinks, they drink it, they eat yo, they they grandstand. You know, they give you a grandstand experience inside, and it’s not cheap. But it’s a beautiful day. Everyone is dressed up. Everyone is ready for a day. Everyone is in a good spirit. By the time Bruno Mars came on at eight o’clock, it started the rain and hard. So it was not ideal in any way. Everybody got hammered by rain. It was not a perfect event. We lost a horse earlier in the day. That is I have never seen more protesting of horse racing and of creatures and of these creatures dying. It’s everywhere outside the track. I mean, the PETA people have come down hard like they have a dog racing like they have on the circus. This is next up and they’re coming after the horse racing industry. Now, I’ll say this from a racing standpoint and a Baltimore standpoint, I ran into four governors. I ran into four mayors of Baltimore, I ran into every politician you can imagine I ran into Cal Ripken, Marlon Humphrey, John Arbol, Gayle King, Russell Simmons. I mean, all sorts of people come to the race. But I just think they’ve really lost their way that Dennis doesn’t feel invited and they haven’t come after your Maryland pride or your Baltimore pride, because they got me over the weekend in being out there in feeling like this is like the Orioles have been reborn. And you feel something for the Orioles last week, in a way going down there. You feel like we should all be a part of this, right? Like, I feel that way about the Preakness and that’s why I’m being a bully and with you not everything was perfect. I my jackets got drenched. I got drenched. We look like wet rats. But it’s something that I went out and picked out a dress for my wife for the first time in five years. You know what I mean? So like being able to, to have that kind of an event. That’s it. That’s an annual event. I saw a lot of people out there that either have never been to a Preakness or haven’t been the many that had a girl that was dressed up and they were dressed up. And they were doing something special. And maybe for the first time or one of the handful of times they’ve done it. And I have a feeling I’m not the only one that had a really good time at the track Saturday, despite the weather. I had a really good time.
Dennis Koulatsos 17:54
Did you all stay for the Bruno Mars concert? And did it all go off? Eight o’clock.
Nestor Aparicio 17:58
It went off at 80000
Dennis Koulatsos 18:01
How long did you stay?
Nestor Aparicio 18:02
Keep only played 50 minutes. It was a light version of his
Dennis Koulatsos 18:07
body defense such a fantastic performer. I mean, seriously, he’s amazing.
Nestor Aparicio 18:10
He was unbelievable. And we had an unbelievable time. It was very memorable. And I think the whole thing was great. And I I’m just on record for everybody that thinks we should kill the race. Have it go away. The Orioles. I never wanted the Orioles to go away. I want him to be fixed. Like that’s what free the birds was about, by the way. Then you want to talk about marketing. I’m walking through the track late in the day. It was it was late after the race. It was like seven o’clock. A guy comes by me and he yells free the birds. 508 just keeps going by me. And I’m like, Wow, 17 years ago, I remember you know, you give me your Oriole experience. You had a good time at the Oriole game last week. And you’re of the mindset that people should go back right.
Dennis Koulatsos 18:56
I had a great experience. We went Sunday and for Mother’s Day and then we went Monday evening to watch show Hey Otani and he put on the show got on base five times saw historic events event not that anyone’s ever seen since 1964. We had a blast. You know, we love the Orioles. And unfortunately, both of the games we went to we lost but then they came back. But it’s just nice to go to the park. You see, it’s intimate. You see a lot of your friends like you said it’s small to more. You connect the community you connect with the team. I just can’t wait to go again and now have have all kinds of vendors offer me tickets and in the past I would give them away. But guess what now I’m gonna start taking advantage of them.
Nestor Aparicio 19:36
I’ve got a friend named Nestor that’s looking for a free ticket.
Dennis Koulatsos 19:39
Yeah, I’m always I’m always done for free tickets. Absolutely. Well, they’re
Nestor Aparicio 19:43
in New York all week. And there’s a there’s a heartbeat to the city and the vibrancy even to the Preakness when they’re sweeping Toronto over the weekend and going to New York and coming home this weekend. And the notion is it’s a homestand I’m gonna go to a game right that’s how you that’s how You look at it that’s that’s the the entry way. That’s the gateway drug right is there in you know, they’re not in first place but they might be by the end of the week but there they would be in first place in any other division. Okay? They’re they’re really good
Dennis Koulatsos 20:12
sign there are so many baseball are based on a record. But look, I have a parking pass near the stadium. So it’s not a big deal for me to park park a couple of blocks away to short walk. And I like seats behind home plate. I like being there. close to the action. So yeah, it’s a lot of fun.
Nestor Aparicio 20:28
Well, Dennis, for me, the sports heartbeat of everything that went away during the plague that’s gone away with the Orioles not being relevant. And with the Preakness is, I mean, look, the Preakness is 51 weeks away, okay, I will be a bully in about the Preakness three weeks from now or four weeks from now are telling you to buy ahead or go to the Maryland Million or any of that, right. But in the aftermath in the in the in the halo of the honeymoon of going, is it a yes or a? No? It should be a yes for everybody in Baltimore. And the reason I’m saying this is I saw all of these young people, this isn’t about all whippersnappers or people whipping out for 500 bucks to sit with me and Barry Glazer in the in the, you know, the hoi polloi, or whatever this was about. A lot of people have an especial memory with their girlfriends, with their boyfriends with their buddies, with their friends with their girl with their guy at an event and it felt like a Baltimore event. It wasn’t a bunch of frat boys coming in. These were Baltimore people making it a Baltimore thing. And I love seeing that I really did. I liked seeing the community own the event over the weekend.
Dennis Koulatsos 21:36
All right. And as you know what, you got me excited about the Preakness now, so next year, by the grace of God, we will be there we’ll buy the dress, we’ll buy the tickets, and we’ll show up. I think
Nestor Aparicio 21:45
that if you went if my friends were floating around, if my clients and friends took a day, and we all said look, it’s not going to be a cheap one. We’ll put a couple 100 bucks in because we want to do the buffet and just do it nice. Do it the right way. Get a hat, you know, dress up, take some pictures, beat groups. You know, we didn’t better race all day, we looked at the form and we just never I’m not I’m not a gambler. I didn’t better write a better race. Just so you know. I didn’t win. I didn’t lose. Although I did see. We were watching the race. My wife was up on a chair. I had her up on the chair with her hat on she’s watching the big race. And I turned around I saw a guy win 24 grand, you know, he’s like 24 grams, you know, he was hugging his body that is 120 $4,000 a lot of money. So they were well yeah. So I saw people excited. And and for that and I’m excited about the Orioles and and honestly watching the PGA thing with the live thing and Brooks Kafka watching this. PGA pro. You know, I had Richard Shepherd on last week from forest Forest Park from our classic five partners. And you know, here’s this young African American golf pro in West Baltimore inviting people out all week. It’s been up on our website all week. And at the end, he made sure he said hey, this the PGA Championship there’s a guy like me, who’s my golf pro who went off and is playing the tournament and lo and behold a week later this guy’s the mike block, right? He’s the biggest star in American history. Right? Yeah, absolutely no duty at all in one of the
Dennis Koulatsos 23:13
features. And it was a hole in one it wasn’t a roll I just dropped right into the cup and stay there that was an amazing shot.
Nestor Aparicio 23:19
Um, that’s why we like golf right that’s why my wife switched from baseball to hockey to golf on a Sunday afternoon like after spending a day with horse racing. Dennis we’re almost like a sports radio station again they’ll tell you
Dennis Koulatsos 23:31
our we love we love our sports right? No shortage of content that seemed like the viruses behind this and nothing but but smooth sailing ahead
Nestor Aparicio 23:40
and listen, just to let everybody know that I’m not I’m still nasty nasty when I need to be I rereleased the Peter principles just so you can see how it used to be all right. So you can see how far we’ve come. I’ve released up chapter two of the Peter principles that his co authors will be here he’ll be releasing all of his chapters from three until five on Thursday is that that is Colossus show and at the Colossus show is the way to find him out on Twitter as well is that that is Colossus and on Sunday morning, getting ready for Memorial Day weekend. Give me a little security Boulevard primer as to what we’re going to find and I saw Johnny yo out there making the new security area out there the old security square area what are we gonna find out there this weekend cuz I tell you what, financing is crazy right now you still have some zeros,
Dennis Koulatsos 24:27
zeros man. The zeros are driving a lot of traffic to our store. We have some zeros we have some 0.9% on most of our vehicles and that’s driving a lot of traffic and the other piece is we have inventory we have over 200 new and 200 pre loved vehicles on the lot so it’s we have more inventory than most of our customers, friends neighbors and they can they can take advantage of the savings and also not just up at the fantastic selection that we have going on right now. We also have no payments until after Labor Day so you can drive all summer without making a payment. That’s a big story around here.
Nestor Aparicio 24:58
Well for you with this the The financing part of this it because I talked to Leonard a lot about money, right? So what he does for a living, how many people come in there and get a little sticker shocked by that part of the transaction that you have no control over other than Ford Motor Credit comes in and says, Hey, you know, we’re gonna put these cars up, and I would think those cars are for my wife, even though the sport that she drove, she will greatly consider a different vehicle and a different just to say, hey, what do you have that deal? That’s a deal.
Dennis Koulatsos 25:31
Yeah, everybody’s looking for the deal. So we do have deals for everyone. Even for cash buyers. Why Why pay cash for something? Well, you can get 0% financing for 36 months, you can put that money in the bank and earn 5% right now on the high yield savings account alone. You can put your money there, you don’t have you can pull it out anytime you want to, should you choose to purchase it, but I’d rather see our customers earn 5% and take advantage of the 0% that Ford is offering. So most people these days, they are credit rating, credit score conscience, and they want to get the best interest rate. So most of our customers that come in here, they know that they know the deal. And that’s what drives traffic for
Nestor Aparicio 26:08
let’s just go on up. I mean for cars and houses. I think it’s changed the way everybody has to sell and the way that that consumer looks at it, what they’re looking for. But he’s got deals. He’s out there, Coach Baltimore, you can find him at a security. You can find them out on Twitter, you find them on his phone as he always reads the phone number off here. And we’ll be here again on Thursday from three until five. I hope I got you excited about sports. That is Colossus. I’m super
Dennis Koulatsos 26:31
excited about you got me more excited about the Preakness next year. Now that’s that’s the deal.
Nestor Aparicio 26:35
He’ll be here Thursday and he’s here with us and I’ve got you gotta get me an orange coons shirt so I look. I look cool. We are WNS da 5070, Towson Baltimore. You never stop talking Baltimore. Positive. Stay with us.
