Racing stewards are a lot like umpires or referees. They’re usually at their best when no one notices them.

Yet this week a message sent out by the stewards at Aqueduct sent a rather loud and welcomed message. In denying a request by Dr. Kendall Hansen to dye the tail and mane of his reigning two-year-old champion Hansen, the stewards thankfully made sure the March 3 Gotham Stakes will be a horse race, not a carnival.

For Hansen, the owner, all the talk of using blue dye to give Hansen, the horse, matching silks, tail and mane was simply a publicity stunt and has no place on the racetrack. ESPN colleague Paul Moran eloquently wrote how demeaning it would have been to a majestic creature, and that’s just one of several reasons why the stewards deserve a round of applause.

Another key concern is what would have been next. If Hansen was allowed to paint his white horse, what would another owner do to stretch the envelope? Put advertising logos on the horse? That might be fine for a motorized vehicle, but not a living, breathing animal.

Dr. Hansen, in explaining his rationale, said it would create publicity and new fans for the sport, but that seems a stretch longer than Belmont Park’s. What kind of fans was Hansen talking about? The 6-year-old children who play with a “My Little Pony?” Is that really a beneficial demographic to pursue at the sake of the sport’s integrity?

In the long-run, it’s not about tradition. Change can often be good. This was just a bad idea, plain and simple, be it formulated in 2012 or 1812. Hansen’s proposal was so heavily tied to self-promotion that it could offer little of a positive nature to the sport. If anything it would raise the ire of more animal activists than it would attract new fans.

At least now, thanks to the common sense of the stewards, the focus of the Gotham will be on what happens on the racetrack instead of the sartorial splendor of Hansen.

We’ll see how the four-legged Hansen rebounds from the Holy Bull and the first defeat of his career. An impressive win would put him in the middle of Kentucky Derby conversations.

Another loss and Dr. Hansen will need more than just dye to create some interest in his horse.

And if Hansen wins, can we suggest Twitter to keep the good doctor occupied?

Or better yet, perhaps, if he wants social engagement, he can put together a fan vote to decide how he should dress for the race. Napoleon, a cowboy, Abraham Lincoln, an astronaut, Bozo. The possibilities seem limitless.