Photos: It’s a cold November rain for the annual “Duck Race” at the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo/Special To The Chronicle Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close It’s a cold November rain for the annual “Duck Race” at the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 2 of 7 It’s a cold November rain for the annual “Duck Race” at the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 3 of 7 It’s a cold November rain for the annual “Duck Race” at the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 4 of 7 Here, a duck stands on a pond inside the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 5 of 7 Central Park Zoo veterinarian Sarah Smith (R) takes a duck used to participate in the annual duck race to evaluate it. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 6 of 7 It’s a cold November rain for the annual “Duck Race” at the Central Park Zoo. Photo: John Minchillo, Special To The Chronicle Image 7 of 7 The Central Park Zoo’s annual duck race is open to the public. Photo: John Minchillo / Special To The Chronicle
A handful of duck lovers braved the cold November rain to get a glimpse of the Central Park Zoo’s duck race, which is more popular than ever.
The annual event, which has been running since 1969, is known for giving people a chance to see the Central Park Zoo’s three ducks by performing a duck race of their own. They dive into a pond and swim through the park, hoping to retrieve a toy duck, which is then tossed into the dunk tank.
In all, there are eight ducks in the race and duck race participants earn badges for visiting the zoo and its grounds.
The duck race is held between the fifth and seventh Saturdays during the month of November.
A parade of ducks
The zoo has its annual duck race, but sometimes it can be difficult to track down the ducks.
“In January or February, we can’t track them down in January or February,” said Sarah Smith, Central Park Zoo veterinarian.
The ducks are released into