The 140^th annual Belmont Stakes horse race is being run this Saturday June 7, 2008, TV coverage starting on ABC at 5pm EDT. The Belmont Stakes is the closing leg of the famous and elusive Triple Crown, which hasn’t been achieved in 30 years. This year, however, the powerful horse Big Brown has a highly legitimate chance at taking the Triple Crown, which promises to make this year’s Belmont Stakes race one of the most watched and most lucrative Belmont Stakes in recent history.

Big Brown’s Triple Crown run started with the Kentucky Derby, and the momentum has been building ever since. Big Brown’s legitimate Triple Crown chance is a marketer’s and advertiser’s dream come true in the horse racing industry. As the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness resulted in Big Brown wins, the events brought increasing attention, so now many new eyes will be tuning in to watch the Belmont Stakes action, eyes that might never have watched a horse race before but want to witness part of history in the making, want to see Big Brown run.

Increased viewership of Belmont Stakes means increased advertising and sponsor revenues in the short run, and potentially an increase in fan base in the long run, both of which are music to the horse racing industry’s ears. As viewers and fans increase, TV contracts and sponsorship contracts will become more lucrative, and revenue for all the related businesses—merchandise, apparel, food vendors, horse race betting, etc—will also blossom. Just as in other sports, where match-ups between two high profile, big-market teams attract more attention than lower profile, small-market teams, the potential of the Triple crown brings increased attention and business to the horse racing industry.

And all because one horse named Big Brown is running his little (or big) hooves off.