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Kegasus debuted as the mascot for the infield party for the 2011 Preakness Stakes portrayed by a human in a centaur costume. Dubbed "Lord of the InfieldFest", the Kegasus name came from combining Pegasus and a beer keg. Unlike Pegasus, Kegasus was not a winged horse, but was half man, half horse.
The March 2011 announcement of Kegasus as the party mascot provoked controversy, with some complaining that the Preakness was glorifying binge drinking.
In response, a spokesman for the race noted that the ad campaign was an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic.
The Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland is the second of the three legs of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown and is run the third Saturday each May. In addition to the racing, Preakness Stakes day has long been known to boast a raucous party in the infield of the racetrack.
Over the years, the chaotic infield party had become known for such events as the "Run of the Urinals", in which young men would run along the tops of the rows of porta potties as other racegoers threw beer cans at the participants. In the 2009 edition, racetrack management no longer allowed racegoers to bring in their own alcohol which slowed but did not deter the drunken infield crowd.
With the alcohol ban, race attendance dropped to 77,850 after topping 100,000 for eight consecutive years. In 2010, in an attempt to boost attendance, the Preakness launched a controversial ad campaign, "Get Your Preak On" and instituted the "Mug Club", which included an infield ticket and an unlimited-refill beer mug. The track also hired more popular bands than usual to play to the waiting crowds, and ticket sales recovered to 95,760.
The introduction of Kegasus came in March of 2011 as the star of a new marketing campaign to attract people to the infield party. The centaur was described as a "party manimal", with a nipple ring, body hair and a beer gut. The mascot urged racegoers to be "legendary", a term used to replace any reference to drinking and over-indulging.
According to the created tale, Kegasus is the "Son of Preaknesius — God of Thoroughbred Racing. The campaign also came with the catchphrase: "A 10-hour party to celebrate a two-minute race. Now you're talking."
Kegasus attracted criticism from a number of sources. Upon the announcement, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates indicated his disgust with the campaign, stating his view that the mascot was infantile and creates a negative image. A media professor at the University of Maryland said, "If the goal is to let them know they will be able to drink to excess, it does communicate that." According to The New York Times, many viewed the campaign as vulgar.
As a rebuttal, the Maryland Jockey Club President noted that "Kegasus speaks directly to our infield-fest demographic with his no-nonsense personality and total embodiment of a good time." He further defended the campaign by stating that we've "never hidden the fact that we want people to come to the infield and party."
Kegasus survived two years in his role as the infield party mascot before being put out to pasture. But to this day, his name has managed to live on in horse racing lore.