Yesterday, our 38th annual Zoopolis 500 took place at the Indianapolis Zoo. On a beautiful May morning, hundreds of spectators came out to watch the beloved tortoise race, where last year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, Tony Kanaan, acted as grand marshal.
The five competing tortoise were given a current Indy car driver’s name (Ed, Marco, Helio, Pippa, Alex) and were all set to go. With the waving of a green flag, they were off!
For the most part, all of the tortoise stayed on course (except for Helio wanting to head back up the ramp), and the race went at a true tortoise pace…slower than a race car.
As soon as the tortoise got to the end of the ramp, the speeds picked up and the crowd roared as they all headed toward the fruit and milk finish line.
Marco was the big winner of the Zoopolis 500 and Tony Kanaan was happy to wave that beloved checkered flag.
There’s nothing like reaching the finish line at a race, and all of the radiating tortoise did a wonderful job!
We presented the winning crew chief with an ice cold bottle of milk and let the tortoise continue snacking on some of their favorite foods. What a great day at the zoo!
