Fans kept behind Hall of Fame’s wall

3:52 PM ET

Two steps forward and one back, or one forward and two back. That seems forever to be the pace at which Thoroughbred racing makes its progress through the contemporary culture, whether measured by the ephemeral metrics of social media or the hard numbers represented by fans in the stands and dollars online.

Two horses died on the Preakness program, and another was lost later in the day at Santa Anita Park. There is no way to spin such bad news. They did not die for a good cause. They have not gone to a better place. When such terrible things happen, the only reaction is to double down on the necessary preventatives — prerace inspections, track condition, drug testing — and concede the round to PETA. Exaggerator could have won by the length of the stretch, but as far as the wider world was concerned, the day belonged to San Onofre, Pramedya, and Homeboykris.

Two forward, one back. Horse racing deserved a rousing thumbs up recently for electing both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta to the Hall of Fame in the same year. Though they only met on the field of public opinion, history will never be so foolish as to choose between them. Rachel gave the game four incomparable months, and Zenyatta held court for three solid years. Their simultaneous Hall of Fame induction promised to be the high point of the summer, not to mention the target of a massive fan pilgrimage.

But now, as it turns out, fans are not welcome, except via their electronic video device of choice. According to an announcement this week from the keepers of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, demand has been so great for access to the 2016 Hall of Fame induction ceremony that admission to the 568-seat Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., will be highly restricted.

“There will be no charge for the tickets” states the news release, which is true, except not really. To get a maximum of two …

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