Mike Brunker • Profile • E-mail

Here we go again.

When I’ll Have Another bolts from the starting gate at Belmont Park on Saturday in his bid to become Thoroughbred horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner, he’ll be toting far more than the 126 pounds attributable to jockey Mario Guttierrez and a few lead pads.

The powerful chestnut colt also will be lugging the hopes of American racing fans and participants in a sport that has seen little go right since Affirmed last swept the spring classics in 1978.

Ever since I’ll Have Another’s gallant victory in the Preakness Stakes, those of us who cherish the sport have been asking the same question we’ve asked ourselves 11 times since Affirmed defeated Alydar in one of the most exciting Belmonts ever: Can a single horse reverse the sport’s slow slide and maybe even end up on the cover of Time magazine, as Secretariat did in 1973, resplendent in his blue-and-white checkered blinkers?

Unfortunately, even if the Doug O’Neill trained colt wins the 144th running of the Belmont, the answer to that question is most assuredly “no.”

Until the sport addresses its biggest underlying problems — most importantly the persistent black cloud surrounding illegal drug use by trainers — it cannot begin to regain the prominence it once enjoyed in the sporting landscape.

Belmont Stakes NBC Sports Union Rags wins   Replay: Co-favorite Union Rags rallies to beat Paynter.  Star MIA, but New York showed up anyway Summer season for 3yos could be interesting Opinion: Considering I'll Have Another's legacy Belmont Stakes benefits from thrilling finish   HRTV looks back back at the Belmont Brisnet: 'We just got to see the real Union Rags' Hard luck Baffert a runner-up again   Velazquez proud of Union Rags   O'Neil, Reddam stand by decision to scratch

The first step in accomplishing that would be for the racing states to recognize that the federal government will inevitably intervene if they don’t establish uniform standards for therapeutic drugs and fair but tough penalties for those who fail to meet them. The only way to do that is to establish a national governing body for racing that actually has clout. I’m thinking of the National Football League here, as opposed to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which is essentially just a marketing arm for the racing.

That would be a good start, but only a start.

Next up would be to use the hard data that has been collected over the last few years to answer once and for all which racing surface is safest for the horses. If dirt is as safe as synthetic surfaces as long as it’s well maintained, that’s fine; the new national body could take steps to ensure that is done. If it’s not, the regulators should give racetracks a limited time to switch to the safest surface, whatever it may be.

However those chips might fall, racing would have a powerful argument to make against those who say that animal abuse is inherent to its competitions.

Another good step, but another small one.

Before moving on to relatively minor problems, like declining attendance, the new racing body — or let’s get really bold and say it’s a “czar” — could take on a really difficult issue, one that has probably turned off more casual sports fans than anything else: The out-of-kilter breeding industry that encourages early retirement of racing’s stars just as they’re beginning to accomplish great things.

This is a particularly tough one because the system under which stallions are exponentially more valuable in the breeding shed than on the racetrack is raw economics in action. But again, other sports leagues offer some possible models. Just as Major League Baseball has imposed salary caps, the new, all-powerful czar could put limits on stud fees that reward racetrack longevity over a short period of brilliance.

Lest I damage my chances of being appointed racing czar, let me make clear that I’m not all about addressing racing’s negatives.

Jim Rogash / Getty Images The Week in Sports Pictures The nation grieved for those hurt, killed and affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. After one of the suspects was caught on Friday — following a day-long lockdown and manhunt — sports returned to Boston over the weekend.

Even if I was only ONE member of the all-powerful racing commission, I would also insist that the sport make the most of the attention that a Triple Crown would bring to expose a new generation of fans to the power, grace and bravery of the some of the most amazing creatures on God’s green Earth. And, by doing so, I’d most assuredly put new fannies in the stands of racetracks across the country, which is where new hard-core fans are created.

For starters, I’d remind people who in many cases no longer have daily interactions with horses of the elemental connection between and hominid and equus. As the play and movie “War Horse” has demonstrated, people who can’t tell a stallion from a scallion still relate on a basic level to these amazing animals.

I’d also sponsor a Twitter stream, maybe buy a few Facebook ads and, heck, even commission a TV spot or two to promote the sport’s human stars. For starters, I’d get as much mileage as possible out of jockey Chantal Sutherland, whose Lady Godiva photo in this month’s Vanity Fair photo spread is well worth the price of a lifetime subscription. Of course I’d look beyond her more obvious physical attributes to focus on the fact that, in one of the few sports where women compete head to head with men, she’s deservedly on the verge of stardom due to her on-track accomplishments — unlike, say, Danica Patrick.

While I was at it, I’d reach out to the huge Hispanic market and make hay out of star riders Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez and up-and-comers like Guittierez and Martin Garcia. And while I was at it, I’d highlight the behind-the-scenes stars by calling out the grooms, exercise riders and trainers who keep the show running day after day.

And I’d build marketing campaigns around class-act trainers like Richard Mandella and Graham Motion, who can talk eloquently about what it takes to keep the most fragile of animal athletes happy and eager to compete.

Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself. If I’ll Have Another doesn’t win on Saturday there’s no way that the movers and shakers of racing will either move or shake. They’ll continue to press the inert strategy that has not proven so successful over the last 34 years.

But just in case, my resume is available by request.