"Kegasus" Is Sober, Not Really a Centaur

Shocking revelations about the Preakness Stakes horse race's sort-of mascot, Kegasus, Lord of the Infield (no kidding), were unveiled on the sports blog Deadspin today. Namely, that the man who plays the beer-swilling centaur is none other than a Washington, DC, actor named John C. Bailey who has not only been personally “clean and sober for 20 years,” but also did a PSA for an anti-drunk-driving organization called Checkpoint Strikeforce. The improbable Kegasus was trotted out last year by the Maryland Jockey Club, which runs Pimlico Park, where the 137th annual Preakness Stakes—the second leg of horse-racing’s famed Triple Crown—will be held on Saturday. Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas told the Washington City Paper in March 2011 that the half-souse/half-horse character was called by diabolical magic into being because “Kegasus speaks directly to our InfieldFest demographic with his no-nonsense personality and total embodiment of a good time.” That total embodiment of a good time includes, naturally, membership in Pimlico’s get-out-the-crowds “Mug Club,” which lets race-day patrons quaff a bottomless cup of beer for just $20. Behold Kegasus, in all his soon-to-be-massively-hungover glory!