Go,Pegasus,Go

It is getting close to Preakness time here in Maryland. For those of you that may not know Preakness is one of the races in the famed Triple Crown. I have never been one to pay much attention to horse racing. A big fan of having more than one horsepower ! The horse racing industry is in big trouble. The revenue to keep the track going is just not there. The casino business has tried to hitch their wagon to the race tracks whenever possible. Not happening at the Preakness. For a whole lot of reasons the State of Maryland and the horse racing people can't seem to get together on this. Whatever. The point is the Preakness was in jeopardy of not happening or being sold. Think of the Kentucky Derby not being in Kentucky anymore.
On race day tickets are sold for the infield. A big party ensues. Lots of drinking. In the past you were allowed to BYOB. More than one participant needed assistance leaving the infield. Some didn't leave in a vertical position. Two years back the BYOB policy was revoked. A lot of complaining was heard about that ! Nevertheless,liquid refreshments are sold in the infield area and the party continues. The last two years the party has been subdued just a bit with a little less drunkenness. Alas,revenues are down. The owners of Pimlico decided to launch a new ad campaign. Maybe an infield Mascot would help. The mythical centaur was chosen. In case you are not up to speed on mythological creatures,a centaur is half horse, half man.
They named him Pegasus ! He is being billed as a party animal ! It is hoped this Mascot would appeal to a younger more edgy style crowd. It has made an impact !
Allow me to tell you this. Enough money is generated on the one day to keep the track operating for the entire year. That is how important the Preakness is to the track and the State of course benefits as well.
Quite a few groups and at least one State representative have condemned this advertising campaign. The biggest complaint is that they feel it is encouraging excessive drinking ! The State rep has said the ad is infantile ! Never mind the fact the State recently increased the sales tax on booze. They did that to discourage drinking, not for the increase in revenue. You know,just like they did with cigarettes. The State wants to increase the tax on gasoline,you guessed it,to curb driving a bit. The other groups feel like this Centaur,named Pegasus,is going to lead our youth down the drunken highway to hell ! On this one day alone , his influence will be so great irrepairable damage will be done.I, for one,do not care to attend the horse races. My party days are far behind me. The cost of the ticket is forty dollars prior to race day and fifty on the day of the race. You must buy your beverages. The infield will be crowded,noisy,and full of obnoxious people. If that is what you want to do, go for it . Similar parties take place before Nascar races and Football games, only in the parking lot. A lot of money is generated at those events too.
I don't see the problem. I applaud the owners of Pimlico for their honesty in advertising. They want people to come to the track,party and spend a lot of money. It is as simple as that and they are not trying to pretend it is anything else, Bravo ! Irregardless of the position you take on drinking if everyone just told the truth we would all be better off. The owners have stated publicly they want to attract a younger crowd because the older bunch just are not coming to the track anymore. It's just business.
I don't know ,maybe they should use the old it's for the kids gambit. That's usually works for alot of other things. The lottery for example. The State doesn't want the revenue they are going to use it to build new schools and pay teachers. Yeah,we see how that is working out. Or the,it's for our Senior Citizens ploy.
Veterans usually tug at the purse strings too.
No,I say go Pegasus go. At least they are telling the truth. Not something you find alot these days.