Columnist Steve Carp: A step in the right direction

Steve Carp

Thursday, June 3, 1999 | 11:26 a.m.

Steve Carp is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at carp@lasvegassun.com or 259-4087.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Twenty-six years ago, a thoroughbred race horse captured America's fancy. So much so that when it came for a panel to vote on the 50 greatest athletes of the 20th Century, the horse was included on the list.

There's no Secretariat in sight at Belmont Park, save for the bronze statue in the paddock where the horses are saddled. And while no one's suggesting that Charismatic is the next Secretariat, the 3-year-old chestnut colt has a chance to share a common bond with Big Red.

A win in Saturday's 131st running of the Belmont Stakes will put Charismatic in the same elite company as Secretariat and 10 others. He'll be on that short list of Triple Crown winners, horses who have triumphed in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont.

Naturally, there are a lot of people prepared to tell you that this is what racing needs, to generate more interest in what is perceived to be a dying sport. And they'd be right -- to a point.

But if you have been paying attention the past few years, you'll see a different picture regarding the Sport of Kings. Interest in horse racing has picked up throughout the country. Tracks that were on their deathbed have found new life. The game is gaining exposure on TV and the Internet has spawned all sorts of possibilities.

Depending where you live, you can watch and wager on the races from your living room. If you have a computer, you can make a bet, call up a track's web site and spend a day at the races on-line.

Simulcasting is no longer Nevada's domain. Tracks not only take bets on their product, but their neighbors' too.

Throw in casino-style gambling where slot machines bailed out tracks such as Delaware Park and Prairie Meadows and racing is doing quite well. The horsemen get to run for larger purses and that keeps the industry on sound footing.

Granted, things are far from perfect. The number of horses foaled has been on the decline. Race track operators still butt heads with state commissions and politicians over tax breaks and incentives to do business. Shortcuts still are taken, placing the sport's integrity in a questionable light.

But racing's not quite in dire straits. Consider this is the third straight year a horse has gone for the Triple Crown.

There has been plenty of interest throughout the '90s. You do remember Cigar, don't you? Chances are you probably heard of Skip Away, too.

By nature, racing is a colorful sport. There's an inherent beauty from the horses themselves, to the jockeys in their silks, to the settings in which they run. The pagentry never left. It only needed to be rediscovered.

Saturday, we'll see if Charismatic is the fastest 3-year-old of them all. There'll be close to 80,000 here on a day where sports will take center stage in the Big Apple, with the Mets and Yankees battling at Yankee Stadium and the Knicks meeting the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Quite a trifecta.

Can racing use a Triple Crown winner? Sure. But one day won't turn around years of neglect. The progress racing has made must continue beyond Saturday. Continued TV exposure and the promotion of the sport's star figures, both equine and human, are the key to continued growth.

However, it certainly couldn't hurt to see Charismatic in the winners' circle. It would be another step in the right direction for the Sport of Kings.