Ticket sales for the Preakness Stakes infield are down 30% "compared to this time last year" after losing Under Armour as a sponsor, according to Barker & Mirabella of the BALTIMORE SUN. Maryland Jockey Club President & GM Sal Sinatra said sales are also down 4% for the entire event, though he "remained optimistic" ahead of next week's announcement of musical acts for the infield, which "holds 'upwards of' 50,000." Sinatra added that the race typically "gets a lot more sales" as anticipation builds over horses contending in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Sinatra added that even without UA, the Preakness is "not hurting for corporate business," as the corporate village is "pretty much sold out." Preakness partners include: Budweiser, Maker's Mark, DeKuyper spirits and liqueurs, BMW and Pepsi. But losing UA "hurts" in other ways. Sinatra said that companies like UA might "pay 'a few hundred thousand dollars' to rent a prime Preakness spot" and the company's big corporate tent and logo were "prominent in the infield" and offered prime finish-line viewing. UA's guests in the past also have included endorsers Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Stephen Curry and Michael Phelps, as well as Mike Tyson, Tom Brokaw and former Secretary of State Colin Powell (BALTIMORE SUN, 3/31).
