By any number of measures, Smarty Jones' well-publicized quest for the VISA® Triple Crown reinforced the popularity of Thoroughbred racing's major events.

In addition to record wagering on the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, attendance records at the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and dramatic increases in television ratings for all three telecasts, Equibase Company reports that it hosted a record 562,582 total visitors on equibase.com on the three days that comprised the 2004 VISA® Triple Crown, a 35.9% increase over 2003.

"The story of Smarty Jones and his connections certainly captured the interest of the nation - and indeed the world -- during the past five weeks and exposed the sport of Thoroughbred racing to millions of new and longtime fans," said Hank Zeitlin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Equibase. "It also helped drive unprecedented traffic to equibase.com where new and veteran fans alike had convenient access to a wide variety of pre- and post-race information on the Triple Crown races. Promoting the industry and raising the level of fan education are two of our longstanding goals and the expanded interest in our sport gave us the opportunity once again to do both of those things."

equibase.com provides a comprehensive array of racing information, including programs, entries, and result charts, as well as a full line of products for handicappers of every skill level. The site is also home to Virtual Stable™ which provides e-mail notification of entry, result and workout information for horses which fans want to follow. Virtual Stable™ also offers seasonal "race series" notifications, a once-daily report of activity for contenders for the VISA® Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championship.

Equibase Company is a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry's Official database for racing information.