Here's an article from today's Inky that speculates on the possibility of this being a watershed year for internal changes in the industry, which in turn might improve the sport's image with the uninitiated public, as a result of the Eight Belles tragedy:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...se_racing.html
I read an aticle at Equidaily (which I, unfortunately, can't link right now because I'm at work and they don't let us access any site categorized as "gambling") that made a good point about the Triple Crown publicity. It argued that the
race for the TC, in a year such as this when it appears there's a good chance for a TC winner, is more helpful to the sport, in terms of publicity, than actually having a TC winner because most winners are hustled off the track to the breeding shed and don't establish the kind of long-term fan base necessary to keep people interested in the sport.