The sport of kings has never transitioned well to video games. I remember playing Derby Owners Club a few years ago. It was an arcade game from Sega that came out in 2002. You pressed buttons and watched horse races. Does that sound fun? (No, is the correct answer.)

There was also Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred for Xbox and PS2. It was an also-ran released in 2005. I also cannot forget about the Barbie horse games that come out every few years.

For whatever reason, horses get a bad rap in video games. For something as popular as horse racing, there has to be a way to fix this.

There are tons of different types of racing games, almost all of them involving cars. We have NASCAR, arcade racers like Mario Kart, street racers like Midnight Club and Need For Speed, rally racing like DiRT and so on and so forth.

So where is Triple Crown 2009 by EA Sports? The thing that hampers horse racing in video games is the sport itself. A game where you are riding horses up and down mountains, snowy terrains or city streets would be ridiculous. Cars can do all of those things with added twists like police modes, collisions and fire.

However, there is one piece of land that horse racing can lay claim to. Games like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport have perfected the idea of simulation racing. You win races, you outfit your car with the best parts you can afford, then rinse and repeat. Horse racing is not about the race itself, but the preparation. After all, a race only lasts two minutes or so. So the meat of the game should be about getting your horse ready. Training your horse, getting the right jockey for it and preparing it for the different tracks -- these are the types of activities that should be in the game. Then, eventually you could sire your horse and breed new ones. That would give the game legs

Just watching your horse get ready for the big races is not worth the effort. Just jamming an "X" button to win races is not such a good idea either. It looks like we can count out the Xbox 360 and PS3.

The Wii’s motion technology can make horse racing that much more entertaining. Imagine holding the Wii remote and Nunchuk in front of you before a race begins. When the gun goes off, you violently move your arms back and forth for two minutes until the race is over. It would be difficult to replicate that experience on the PS3 or Xbox 360, which makes the Wii a strong candidate for a horse racing game. There are still limitations though.

Gambling is also a big reason why horse racing is so popular. After all, there is nothing like going to the track and putting a sawbuck on the biggest dog in the field. While it is fun (and illegal in many places), betting on fake horses with fake money has never been much fun. This is where online play could be interesting. In the online space you could bet on your horse, or any horse in the field, and watch an online race with your competition. The money that you win by gambling could then be used to help your horse.

But the Wii’s online system is lame and could put an end to this part of the game quickly. Since the Xbox 360 has no motion-control capabilities, we are stuck with the SIXAXIS on the PS3. The controller by itself would not work well, so a horse racing controller similar to the Wii remote and Nunchuk would be essential. And I would not be surprised if some sort of Wii-style peripheral was not at least being planned by Sony.

A quality horse racing video game is not as much of a long shot as some you you may think. Let's not forget that the 134th Preakness is coming up this weekend. Mine That Bird is now a 5/1 bet, a slight improvement over the underdog 50/1 odds at the Kentucky Derby. With the guidelines set above, Triple Crown 2010 could definitely be a winner across the board.