Others sweated, then this horse came along and glowed

Turns out, all horse racing needed was a feminine touch.

Imagine that, after all the talk about the need for another Triple Crown winner, for one of the boys to step up as Affirmed last did in 1978. Racing has talked itself into a near paralysis over this.

If just another War Admiral or Secretariat would bound onto the scene and win all three jewels of the crown, all that declining attendance and sinking parimutuel pools would be reversed. Or so the thinking went.

There had to be a god of the backstretch somewhere who could see how devastating it was to continually subject fans to Chris McCarron outsmarting Silver Charm with a late Belmont rush to the outside on Touch Gold, or Real Quiet losing by inches on a head bob.

Then there was Barbaro, resembling racing deity in his Kentucky Derby romp a year ago before breaking down in front of the main grandstand and the television-watching world in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.

Lord, how much could one sport take?

But last Saturday at Belmont Park, where they run the third leg of the Triple Crown and where, like distant cousins going to will readings, they have often been trivialized by near-misses or no-chances, a lady rode to the rescue. Rags To Riches, her name describing her sudden value to her sport, won the Belmont Stakes.

For the casual race fan, this needs perspective.

The last time a filly won the Belmont was 1905, a mere 102 years ago. Her name was Tanya, and there is no record of an opponent being whacked on the knee with a tire iron before the race.

The only other filly to win was in the first Belmont in 1867. Her name was Ruthless and it was unlikely she was intimidated by the boys. She had sisters named Remorseless, Relentless, Regardless and Merciless.

Tanya and Ruthless stood alone for 139 years.

The Belmont has always been a testosterone race, a mile and a half that the best colts run maybe once in a lifetime, the best fillies almost never. Rags To Riches was only the 22nd to try. The track is huge, the turns long and sweeping. Instead of flowers, they should give the winner a muscle shirt.

The imagery even goes to the human element. Only one female jockey, Julie Krone, has won the race, aboard Colonial Affair in 1993. And she said recently, “You get to the head of the home stretch and you look down there and it is the longest, scariest thing you’ve ever seen.”

Rags To Riches and jockey John Velasquez weren’t scared. They went head to head with Preakness winner Curlin, just as Curlin had done in the Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. Curlin battled, Rags To Riches battled back.

When it ended, she was woman and she had roared. So had horse racing, after years of whimpers.

It had two Triple Crown races in a row -- with millions watching -- and two dramatic stretch-duel endings.

It established a rivalry among the boys, with Curlin in the money all three races, Street Sense with a first and second, and Hard Spun second, third and fourth and with an owner and trainer, Rick Porter and Larry Jones, eager to compete for the good of the horse and the sport.

It had the ongoing positive public perception of the humane handling of Barbaro’s eventually fatal injury.

And it had the third-biggest attendance ever for this year’s Derby, and the biggest ever for the Preakness.

Peripheral to all this, there was a $21.215-million handle on Belmont Day at Hollywood Park, highest ever for that day when a Triple Crown wasn’t being contested. Also, Hollywood Park has had a 29% attendance rise for its Friday night sessions.

Across town this spring, Santa Anita attracted a back-to-the-good-old-days crowd of 56,810 for the Santa Anita Derby.

There is a feel of momentum.

* Fan favorite Lava Man, his longevity creating a legend a la John Henry, remains healthy and has an eye on a third victory in the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on June 30.

* Injured former 2-year-old whiz Stevie Wonderboy is nearing a comeback.

* ABC just ran a well-done movie on famous and tragic filly Ruffian.

* And the new Cushion Tracks have slowed the dramatic rash of horse deaths in recent years.

Yes, in this age of instant gratification, slot machines are making 20 minutes between races look dull. Gambling dollars heading to casinos and not to race tracks are slowly eroding the financial base of the sport. California racing is paralyzed by the huge Indian casino lobby. The state of Maryland is surrounded by others that have tracks with slots but continues to balk while the paint keeps peeling off the walls at Pimlico.

And yes, California is facing a tough fight just to keep at least two of its tracks, Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park, from bulldozers and condos in the near future.

Still, this Triple Crown season had to help. At least temporarily, the dying sport is sitting up in bed and taking solids.

As significant as was Rags To Riches’ win, even more so was the very decision to enter her. Owners Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith and trainer Todd Pletcher did so for the normal competitive and financial reasons. But they also said they thought it would be “good for the sport.” That turned another afterthought Belmont into a fascination. And when their filly won, it turned horse racing on its ear.

Even better, it set an example for the hundreds of selfish owners and skittish trainers who approach their sport like track-and-field competitors, ducking tough matchups with excuses and hangnails.

Tabor said Rags To Riches might take on the boys again, when appropriate. Which means, with apologies to songwriters Rogers and Hart:

She won’t dish the dirt with the rest of the girls.

That’s why the lady is a champ.

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Bill Dwyre can be reached at bill.dwyre@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.