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Kegasus Helps Bring In Record Crowds To Preakness

By: Patrick Madden // May 22, 2011
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The Maryland Jockey Club says organizers have marketed this year’s Preakness to a younger demographic, people in their 20’s and 30’s, who aren’t your typical race horse fan.
Maryland Jockey Club
The Maryland Jockey Club says organizers have marketed this year’s Preakness to a younger demographic, people in their 20’s and 30’s, who aren’t your typical race horse fan.

Organizers of the race made a very conscience move to grab back some of the fans that deserted the race when they stopped allowing people to bring their own beer into the in-field.

Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, says despite critics who say that the Kegasus marketing campaign is tacky or degrading to the sport, the race for its own survival needs to attract the 20-35-year olds who may view the Preakness primarily as a social event. And Chukas says the hiring of Kegasus appears to have paid off.

According to early estimates, the crowd at Saturday’s race was about 10 percent larger than last year.

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