#1 Sports Event
While this race dashed the hopes of those wishing for the Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming to continue on to the Triple Crown, it still offered excitement to the record-breaking crowd of more than 140,000 attendees at the 142nd running at Pimlico Race Course. Winner Cloud Computing pulled out a surprise victory in the final stretch, edging out Classic Empire, another favorite to win. Budweiser, Pepsi, and iHeartRadio were among the event sponsors. Ratings for the race’s broadcast fell slightly, but the thoroughbred contest still won the day on television. Next: May 19, 2018
#2 Sports Event (up from #3)
At 20 years old, Alexander Zverev became the youngest player ever to win the tournament on May 20, marking his first win in the city. In the women’s draw, Ekatarina Makarova claimed her third win at the tournament. Attended by some 72,000 tennis fans, the event this year featured a player’s party at the Rammy awards, which honors restaurants. To blend the sport element into the gala and make athletes feel welcome, decor included table tennis, tennis racquets, and fake grass. Next: July 28-August 5, 2018
#3 Sports Event (up from #4)
The marathon’s season this year included the MCMmmys, a virtual award for which runners could nominate themselves or others through the race’s social networks each week leading up to the marathon on October 22, held in Washington and Virginia. Categories were most inspiring weight loss, best running family, and most motivated Marine relative. The weekend—which was headquartered at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center—also included the MCM Health and Fitness Expo, from which many Facebook Live sessions were broadcast. On each day of marathon weekend, organizers reached 1.8 million viewers on Facebook and one million on Twitter; there was a total of 184,000 views of the Snapchat filter. Next: October 28, 2018
#5 Sports Event
Nearly 2,000 amateur competitors were joined by professional athletes for the first time this year, bringing 20 competitors to the September 10 contest. A $20,000 purse was added to the Triathlon, which is produced by Premier Event Management and owned by IMG. Comprising a 40-kilometer bike ride, a 10-kilometer run, and a 1.5-kilometer swim, the race included all three parts after water cleanliness issues prompted the cancellation of the swim in 2016 and three prior years. Also new, the top three finishers per age group received slots in San Francisco’s 2018 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. First place finishers also won a complimentary race entry. The event raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Next: September 9, 2018
#6 Sports Event
New this year, organizers of the 10th annual college football game will add a Military Bowl Salute to Heroes dinner honoring a dozen or so Medal of Honor recipients and first responders. The game itself, presented by Northrop Grumman and benefiting the U.S.O., will pit an American Athletic Conference team against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, in Annapolis, Maryland. It will air on ESPN and be produced by the D.C. Bowl Committee. Social media accounts will feature highlights of the event’s first nine years. In 2016, 26,656 people attended the game, where Wake Forest beat Temple. Next: December 28, 2017
#7 Sports Event (new to the list)
The bipartisan event this year generated more than double its usual 10,000 ticket sales, and raised a record-setting $1.5 million—roughly twice the 2016 total—after a gunman opened fire at a Republican practice the day before the June 15 game at Nationals Park. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, two police officers, and two others were injured, but Congress played ball as scheduled the day of the game. Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre presented the game ball to injured Capitol Police special agent David Bailey, who threw out the first pitch while on crutches to thunderous applause. Democrats prevailed, 11-2, but the winning team gave its trophy to the Republicans for Scalise’s office. Next: Summer 2018
