It started the same way so many other of these races had. In a pack after rounding first, Relish bumped Mustard aside. Ketchup returned the favor as the animated Hot Dogs rounded third. The sequence had frequented the animated Hot Dog Races played on the Camden Yards scoreboard through the Orioles’ first 34 home games. The race always ended with Mustard or Ketchup crossing home plate first.
But Sunday was different. Relish, which hadn’t managed a single Hot Dog Race victory through five Orioles homestands and lost the first two races of this one, finally defeated its longtime condiment foes for the first time in 2021.