AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — A track for live horse racing in suburban Seattle turned prehistoric over the weekend as more than 200 people ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes.
The 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs — an event that started in 2017 as a pest control company’s team-building activity — ended in a photo finish on Sunday, with three competitors hitting the finish line together.
Ocean Kim took top honors in the 100-yard (91.2-meter) dash after officials agreed Kim, of Kailua, Hawaii, hit the finish wire just ahead of the pack.
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Dionte Gilbert (84) leaps across the finish line against Seth Hirschi, back, during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Racers, including eventual winner Ocean Kim (5), leave the gates for the championship race during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Brody Huttenlocker, 8, center, waits in line as participants queue up to race during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Dozens of participants in inflatable T-Rex costumes line up to race in the first set of heats during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
A discarded costume lies on the grass during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Logan Domingo, left, practices a roar with other participants during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Cameron Corbin (43) takes a spill near the finish line while racing in the first set of heats during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Participants in inflatable T-Rex costumes run down the racetrack during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Championship winner Ocean Kim flexes after winning the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) -
Jake Garrett rests on the grass between races during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Second place went to Colton Winegar of Boise, Idaho, who entered as Deno the Dino. Seth Hirschi, of Renton, as Rex Ray Machine, finished in third.
The actual T. rex roamed the planet between 65 million and 67 million years ago. A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about 2.5 billion of the dinosaurs ever lived.
Hollywood movies such as the “Jurassic Park” franchise have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.
