Twenty thousand spectators enjoyed a day at the races during the Winterthur Museum’s 30th annual Point-to-Point.

The 100-acre grounds of the museum, located on the Kennett Pike in Greenville, were transformed into a steeplechase track during the May 4 horse races.

The event, a fundraiser for Winterthur’s educational programs, raised about $250,000 for the museum, said Victoria Saltzman, senior communications director for Winterthur.

Fog and gray clouds disappeared before the start of the first steeplechase, in which horses ran around the track while jumping over 17 hurdles.

Jody Petty, a Unionville, Pa., resident, won the first race riding the horse South Monarch. His time was 6:54:82. He also won the next race, riding a horse named Rochester, with a time of 6:48:65.

He said he was excited to ride Rochester because he knew what the horse was capable of on the racetrack. It was a thrill to win, but Petty, 36, said he was calm and focused on the racetrack.

“Your mind just goes blank and you go to work,” he said. “It is all business out there on the racetrack. It is just like driving in rush hour traffic, maybe with a little more excitement.”

‘Beautiful sport’

Horseracing is exciting to watch because of its fast pace and heated competition, said Mike Drake, a Trolley Square resident. He bet $10 on the Horse Heros Among Us and, though his horse finished second, watching the race was still a thrill, said Drake, 41.

“I think it is a beautiful sport,” he said. “It is fun to see how powerful the animals are, how special they are.”

The excitement of a horserace is a good way to bring a family together, said Jodi Engelmann, a Hockessin resident who brought her sons, 8-year-old Jeffrey and 5-year-old Jack, to watch the horses.

Engelmann, 39, said she was glad the event had family-friendly activities, like pony rides and stick horse races, so there were things her children could enjoy.

During the stick horse races, children pretended to ride toy horses while running across a section of the racetrack. Caroline Dance, a West Chester, Pa., resident, won a stick horse race on her toy horse, Eight Belles.

She said she named the horse Eight Belles as a tribute to the horse that had to be euthanized after the Kentucky Derby on May 3. Dance, 8, said she would like to race horses professionally and the stick horse races could be the start of her career.

Lots of snacks

On a hill overlooking the race track, thousands of people relaxed at tailgate parties, snacking on everything from potato salad to Cabernet Sauvignon during the horse races.

“They have horse races?” asked Rob Greenwalt, 38, a Newark resident an avid tailgater, as he reached into the trunk of his car to refill his wine glass.

Nearby, a group of about 100 people watched as Perry Santacecilia, 43, a Wilmington resident, carved a 110-pound roast pig to make sandwiches.

Wilmington-resident Kelly Forwood said she did not sleep the night before Point-to-Point so she could put the finishing touches on food for the tailgate party.

“Point-to-Point is all about family, friends, good food and class. The bulk of tailgating here is not chugging beers and playing quarters,” she said. “You put a little extra into it to show you care.”

Forwood, 39, said the party at Point-to-Point is essential because it is a chance to catch up with friends and teach children the importance of taking time to enjoy life.

She said Point-to-Point is also a way for her to keep in touch with her English heritage, since steeplechases, horse races across open country, originated on country estates in England.

Attending Point-to-Point is like going back to a time when horses and country estates were the norm, said Tony Thompson, a Greenville resident. Thompson, 68, who parked his 1953 Silver Don Rolls Royce with 50 other antique cars at Point-to-Point’s car show, said the event made him feel like a wealthy gentleman during the early 20th century.

The event also featured a parade of antique carriages, a parade of foxhounds, a bagpipe band and a carriage pulled by the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Tony McDonald, 53, a Pike Creek resident, said the antique cars, carriages, horses and steeplechases are great entertainment and recall a period of American history that everyone should remember.