I cringe whenever I hear or read that racing needs a superstar horse to turn the industry around. Bernardini, the Preakness and Travers winner, is being hailed as the newest savior of the sport.

We've been down this road before. Barbaro. Smarty Jones. Funny Cide. Cigar. Even if Bernardini became another Secretariat or Seabiscuit, it's not the right answer. Nor is praying for a super horse the right question.

I compare horse racing to college football. Star horses are like star players. They possess a limited shelf life. Bernardini may be Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Vince Young rolled into one.

However, once the stars move on, you need to turn the page. What keeps the sport vibrant is a good product and strong business model. And that's where the comparison between horse racing and college football ends.

For example, Notre Dame will hype Brady Quinn and maybe play for the national championship. But after Quinn leaves for the NFL, Notre Dame will keep selling out every game.

Don't get me wrong. Bernardini the superstar would be a great benefit to racing. But what if he's not around in 2007? What about the 99.9 percent of the days when Bernardini is just standing in his stall? The horse racing product and business model must stand on its own merit.

When industry leaders hope for a superstar horse as a cure-all for racing, they should prepare their resume for another line of work. That's not bettering the business model.

As an aside, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association was created a decade or so ago to improve the image of horse racing. Now after major cost cutting, the wheels on the NTRA are wobbling and the animal is losing its teeth. Spending less money is not the way to attract newcomers and increase the fan base.

* BINION'S -- The historic Binion's race and sports book was closed Monday. Tentative plans are to reopen in about a month in another area.

Some great bookmakers have worked there, and the Shoe Q contest was a regular staple for downtown horseplayers. Here's hoping it returns bigger and better.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.