Is Horse Racing Fading Down The Stretch?

horse racing (Photo credit: micheleart)

It's been 36 years since horse racing has had someone of the equine persuasion win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes--three of the sport's biggest races--in the same year.  California Chrome will attempt to become the 12th horse to do that Saturday at the Belmont in New York.

A brief history of the Triple Crown from the mid-20th century to today:  In the 1940s, four horses--Whirlaway in '41, Count Fleet in '43, Assault in '46 and Citation in '48--accomplished this feat.  A quarter century passed before Secretariat completed horse racing's hat trick in 1973, to be followed by Seattle Slew ('77) and Affirmed ('78).

Then it was nothing, zip, nada for the last three and a half decades.  That doesn't mean there hasn't been horses who have gone two-thirds of the way, but for some reason never got it done at the Belmont.  Maybe it's the length of the track, which is a mile and a half, the longest of all the Triple Crown races.  Maybe the owner or trainer decided to pull him from the race.  Or maybe some other horse had a better day.

Horse racing has changed a lot in the past 36 years.  What was once the Sport of Kings has devolved into something less than that as more states allowed pari-mutuel betting and other forms of gambling (thereby limiting the need to book a trip to Las Vegas or Atlantic City), tracks going bankrupt, and attendance and TV ratings decline.

Drug scandals have also taken its toll, with some state racing associations issuing rules that prohibit horses and jockeys who have certain types of performance-enhancing substances in their system from competing.  Sometimes they border on the ridiculous.  California Chrome would not be racing in the Belmont if the New York Racing Association hadn't rescinded its ban on nose strips, the kind you and I would use to breathe better at night.

Whether California Chrome (or any future horse) wins the Triple Crown or not, the horse racing industry can't count on it to reverse its decline.  Perhaps we're become more enlightened about horses and what they're put through to make it in racing, but it's still something to watch them perform at their best.  Perhaps we've also become sensitive to those who bet their life savings again and again at the track, only to lose them again and again, creating heartache for family and friends.  Or maybe there's just too many other things competing for our attention.  Whatever it is, horse racing is fast becoming a losing bet.

UPDATE (6/5):  The wait continues.  California Chrome finished out of the money at the 146th Belmont Stakes, tied for fourth behind the winning horse named Tonalist.  Well, maybe next year.

UPDATE (6/7/15):  Next year just happened.  American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner of this century, and the first since Affirmed in 1978.  He was the only horse to compete in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes this year--and won all three.  Now all that's left is to retire to stud.  American Pharoah won't save the horse racing industry like a lot of people hoped, but at least he's brought it some attention.