Breeding & Racing (Australia) carried the following story today (one can only assume that the likes of Smarty Jones had something to do with the statistics):

US Interest In Racing Up 5%
Results of an ESPN Sports Poll "indicate 37.4% of the US population aged 18 or older was at least a little bit interested in thoroughbred racing, a 5.1% increase over fan interest in 2003 & a 19.1% increase from fan interest in 1999," reported thoroughbredtimes.com. The increase "was the biggest for any sport from 2003 to 2004" & "represents 78.5 million US adults". NTRA vice president Keith Chamblin commented: "The numbers are extremely encouraging. As we continue to grow national television exposure & ratings, our priority as an industry going forward is to convert this higher level of interest into across-the-board handle & attendance gains, which we are already seeing on many of the higher-profile days on the racing calendar." Overall horse racing ranked 9th out of 29 major sports (its 1st time in the Top 10) "surpassing golf, boxing & fishing, & becoming the only sport to increase its 18 & higher fan base for 5 years in a row".