Will the beleaguered horse racing industry finally have its historic moment?

If I’ll Have Another becomes the first horse in 34 years to win the Triple Crown next month in the Belmont Stakes, he will create the enduring memory that racing desperately needs.

But would the historic achievement of a Triple Crown push racing closer to or further from reforms it desperately needs?

“I don’t think it would have any impact,” Rick Porter, the owner of Eight Belles, said during an interview last week. “Our problems are deep, but they’re fixable. I don’t think a Triple Crown winner is going to make any difference, one way or another.

“It’ll be fun for a little while but swiftly forgotten.”

Porter will never forget the painful moment that inspired him to push for racing reform. Four years ago, he sat in an owner’s box at the Kentucky Derby enjoying the dream of a lifetime.