What happens in the Triple Crown stays in the Triple Crown.

Updated: May 21, 2009, 2:29 PM ET

Staying power … staying away

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By Jeremy Plonk
Special to ESPN.com
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What happens in the Triple Crown stays in the Triple Crown. At least that's how the mainstream public views things. Keep that close in mind as racing fans clamor to hunt-and-peck that "Rachel saves racing" blog or message-board posting.

Two years ago, Kentucky Oaks heroine Rags to Riches rode highest in the saddle, the incredible filly beating the almighty Curlin in the Belmont Stakes, scoring a victory in America's media hotspot of New York. Her win in the "test of a champion" was the first for the fairer sex since 1905, making that Nellie Morse in the 1924 Preakness stat seem like just yesterday.

But when the smoke cleared, "Rags'" comeback race at Belmont Park drew only 7,361 fans despite a furious promotional attempt within the industry, complete with her own daily blog from inside the Todd Pletcher stable. No, the mainstream did not care about the September '07 Gazelle Handicap. And they likely won't care much about Rachel Alexandra after the Belmont Stakes in a few weeks.

It's not right; it's not wrong; it just is.

And sadly, the mainstream public might not even care that much about the Belmont Stakes, with or without Rachel Alexandra. With no Triple Crown on the line, and no sense of history left to tackle, the final jewel has the trappings to become a "been there, done that" malaise for those out there who don't find the game as thrilling as you and I.

It's indisputable that the Belmont Stakes has become a "Triple Crown-bid-or-bust" event in the past decade and a half. Even with a sensational battle of the sexes featuring Rags to Riches vs. Curlin, the '07 Belmont registered only a 3.2 Nielsen rating, less than half what the NBA Finals on ABC pulled that same weekend, and down about 10 percent from the previous year's post-Barbaro event featuring Jazil's win. By comparison, Big Brown drew an 8.2 Nielsen last year with a Crown on the line, while box-office bonanza Smarty Jones packed them in with a 13.1, the highest since 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew in the three-network era of ratings!

A slumping economy and solid storylines have done wonders for this year's Triple Crown television ratings, keeping more people on the couch watching, and it's likely that the upcoming Belmont Stakes will ride that successful wave. It's difficult to imagine a repeat of Rags to Riches' measly 3.2, but a reach to project the 6.3 overnight Preakness rating will be sustained without a Triple Crown on the line. Rachel Alexandra's star power should account for something in the middle.

We who love thoroughbred racing can't wait for Rachel Alexandra's potential clash with the superstar Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic this fall. But if owner Jess Jackson wants to cash in on his newly re-purchased racing fame, he had better do it at Belmont Park in a couple of weeks. History and a fickle public indicate that mainstream staying power is as fleeting as the great Rachel Alexandra is herself.

Good riddance

Nothing good ever came out of the Preakness infield, so Saturday's dismal-on-the-surface attendance figures might as well push for elbow room among that bad company. But something good did come out of the Preakness 134 figures: 77,850 fans came out to watch a horse race. And the equine actors put on a showstopper.

From someone who grew up 45 minutes from Pimlico and is young enough to avoid accusations of being an old codger, my hat goes off to the Maryland Jockey Club for its cultural change of the Preakness infield. And make no mistake: This was a cultural change that had to be done before things turned from sloppy to tragic. For a decade I've been telling people that the Preakness infield made the Derby infield look like Pleasantville. Thanks to YouTube, everyone else now has learned what we kids from the Mid-Atlantic have known for years.

I drank as much as any human alive in my four years at university, and even I admit the Preakness infield had become completely out of hand. This commentary is not coming from the "moral police" by any stretch when it comes to college-age partying. There's a time and place for everything. And the Preakness infield scene belongs in Ocean City, Md., during "Senior Week," the annual gathering of rowdy kids from up and down the Mid-Atlantic.

Since the sagging economy was destined to put a sizable kibosh on Saturday's crowd anyway, this actually might not have been the worst timing to uproot the debauchery that was the Pimlico infield. Obviously the MJC's newly installed ban of outside alcohol sped the process to a rapid death.

Forget what you think the Preakness attendance should have been, or had been in past years. Other than the Kentucky Derby and Oaks -- in racing heaven Louisville, Ky. -- no other race in America this year will lure more than these 77,850, the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup races included. The attendance figure is greater than the crowds to witness 14 of the past 15 Super Bowls, the big daddy of all American sporting events. The TV ratings were sensational, while betting was decidedly up for the Preakness over last year. The latter goes to show how many folks went to various tracks and OTBs around the country to bet, not to mention the lure of from-home Internet betting.

Give the MJC credit for a bold move, despite its unpopularity among one young demographic. I'm not buying the policy change as a greedy exchange to make more money off of alcohol sales. First, Pimlico offered $1 beer for the opening three hours of the morning, then increased the price to just $3.50 for a 16-ounce brew. That's hardly price-gouging; you'd be hard-pressed to grip a 16-ounce beer in any bar in the Inner Harbor for that, much less at a major league sporting event.

Add to the fact that Pimlico did not just open the infield gates and leave the event as the status quo. Officials with the MJC tell me they paid guaranteed appearance money to ZZ Top, Buckcherry and the concert event promoters. They put their money where their change was, and suffered a short-term financial kick in the stomach. And while a $60 infield admission fee might sound outrageous to some, if you want to see Buckcherry's late-May concert at the Atlantic City House of Blues, seats currently are priced between $100 and $139 online. ZZ Top currently opens for Aerosmith, another high-dollar ticket.

Look, racetracks have blown hundreds of millions of dollars collectively trying to market to a younger fan base, dating back as far as the printed racing word. Newspaper clips from the 1930s bemoan the aging and soon-to-be-dead fan base. When will the powers that be realize there's absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that those interested in horse racing are of an older variety?

The thousands of young consumers lost by the Preakness infield culture change had only one thing going for them in terms of becoming future customers of the racetrack: Most of them, no matter their level of hooliganism today, will live to be older someday.

Jeremy Plonk has been an ESPN.com contributor since 2000 and is the managing partner of the handicapping website Horseplayerpro.com. You can e-mail Jeremy about this topic or anything racing-related at Jeremy@Horseplayerpro.com.