Preakness Winner’s Flowers Not What You Think
Friday, 16 May 2014 | by Pat's Picks

It’s a tale so widely believed that it’s even in the official media guide. The black-eyed Susan, doesn’t bloom in time for the Preakness. So florists dab black paint in the center of thousands of yellow daisies to make them look like Maryland’s state flower. The Baltimore Sun reveals that for at least a decade, the blanket of flowers draped over the Preakness winner has been made of neither Susans nor daisies, but rather the viking pom, which has a brown center and is apparently close enough to black that no one’s noticed the difference.
SOURCE: Baltimore Sun