NATCHEZ — The conditions, the views and the beautiful colors made day two of the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race simply pristine.

“All 57 balloons flew this morning,” said Sally Durkin, public relations director for the festival. “It has been a spectacular race day.”

Durkin said the race this year has gone a lot better than last year.

“There is no comparison,” she said. “Last year only about half of the pilots flew. This was a banner year.”

The morning flight kicked off at 7 a.m. as pilots were told to fly westward toward the first target near the Natchez Mall.

Pilots launched from many sites along U.S. 84, with many at the Tracetown Shopping Center.

The first two targets for the morning race were both located behind the Natchez Mall, and for those involved most closely with the race, the target doubled as a tribute.

A giant smiley face with an X and a star on the cheek marked the spot for pilots.

The smiling face was an inside joke in honor of long-time pilot Dan Martindale, a regular at the Natchez race, who died in the time between last year’s race and this year’s race. Martindale, a dentist by trade, raced a white balloon with teeth holding toothbrushes for years.

Race organizers inflated his balloon at Friday night’s glow, and flew it Saturday morning as part of the race.

Martindale’s balloon led the way to the next target of the morning race.

Balloonmeister Bill Cunningham flew Martindale’s balloon across the river, marking the site for which other pilots had to aim.

Though a number of pilots tossed beanbags toward the smiling target, fewer made a throw at the final target. Slow winds kept balloons aloft, but barely moving, for much of the morning.

Hot-air balloon pilot Mike Hickey of Royal, Ala., was one of many who didn’t make it to the final target.

“We were in the air for over an hour,” he said. “That’s a pretty long flight.”

Hickey said being at the mercy of the wind makes it tough to get close to the target, let alone hit it with a toss.

At the end of the day, the pilots in the top three positions were, first place, Jim Burke, of Defiance, Ohio; second place, Sam Edwards of Lakeway, Texas; and third place, Pat Cannon of Lewisville, Texas.

The weekend flights wrap-up today with scheduled 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. takeoffs.