Thy Name Shall Be...Kegasus

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I'm not a big fan of horse racing, but the marketing campaign of the Preakness Stakes caught my eye this year, and apparently many other eyeballs as well.

The Kentucky Derby is noted for its stateliness: the hats, the mint juleps, etc. The Preakness, on the other hand, has gained a reputation for the opposite: a beer-swilling, Port-a-Potty racing infield crowd. When the Preakness reigned in these folks a few years ago, attendance dropped.

Horse racing isn't as popular as it used to be, so when the crowds stopped coming, the Preakness knew it had to do something in order to bring them back. It started with $20 bottomless beer mugs. Now, Kegasus--half man, half horse, all party manimal (or something like that). Kudos to the Preakness to thinking outside of the box: they received tons of publicity, scorn from Maryland lawmakers, and most importantly, increased attendance at the race this weekend.

What do you do next year for an encore?