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90K rubber ducks float down Chicago River

Duck derby
Duck derby FILE PHOTO: Rubber ducks float in the Chicago River during a charity fundraiser on August 07, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO — A truck-full of yellow rubber duckies was dumped into the Chicago River, all for a good cause.

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The flotilla of more than 91,500 ducks started when the truck dumped them from one side of a half-raised bridge as part of the annual Chicago Ducky Derby, The Associated Press reported.

Chicago Rubber Duck Race More than 90 thousand rubber ducks are dropped into the Chicago River as part of the annual Chicago Duck Derby for Special Olympics Illinois in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Cybele Mayes-Osterman) (Cybele Mayes-Osterman/AP Photo/Cybele Mayes-Osterman)

After about 15 minutes, the organizers plucked a winner and runner-up from the water.

The event was a fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois and included not only the duck race, but also a festival.

People “adopt” the ducks for the race — $10 for one or $30 for a “quack pack” of six — with the event raising more than $480,000.

Since 2005, the derby has raised almost $5 million, WLS reported.

A $10 donation gives a Special Olympics athlete a lunch at a competition, while the six-pack supplies gold medals for a team.

The person with the fastest duck won an SUV, with the runner-up getting $2,500 in cash, the AP reported.

It was the 21st year of the event, WGN reported.

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