AUBURN - They called it “Miss Thang.”

While some people named their plastic rubber duckies typical human or pet names, Taylor Marie Dixon's duck was granted that sassy title, a nickname for Dixon herself.

Dixon, 5, earned that name “cause she walks around like she is 5 years old going on 20,” joked Dixon's father, Jeffrey.

The Dixons, of Auburn, were some of the several hundred onlookers pressed up against the fences in downtown Auburn early Monday afternoon, praying their ducks would pick up a strong current in the Owasco Outlet.

Ryan, 9, was optimistic that his duck, named after his undefeated baseball team, would place first or second in the 18th annual Auburn Kiwanis Duck Derby.

“I'm going to see if I can get very lucky,” said Ryan, who was hopeful he would soon be headed to Disney World - and Las Vegas (if his sister's duck placed, too).

Robert Dailey was also betting on winning the Sin City trip. The Dailey family had four ducks entered in the derby, in which participants buy a numbered duck and root them on to the finish line.

“There's my duck, the one that's in first place!” Dailey's son Ryan, 9, said hopefully.

As the ducks neared the bridge over Route 34, children and adults alike oohed and aahed, looking to the waters below. The crowd began to stir, and a large cheer went up as the first ducks reached the end.

It took several minutes for the nearly 6,000 ducks to make their way down the outlet, with some becoming entangled in weeds or blocked by rocks.

At $5 a pop, the thousands raised will benefit charities throughout Cayuga County, said Susan Wolf, president of Auburn Kiwanis.

Katie Dennis, an Auburn resident who played the duck derby for the first time this year, recognized that her chances for winning a prize were slim.

The mother of 1-year-old twins, she was crossing her fingers for the YMCA membership.

“At least I could have a few minutes to myself,” she said with a smile.

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net