RSSBelmont Stakes … Can Anything Stand in the Way of a Big Brown Win and The Triple Crown? (UPDATE: Big Brown … BIG USPET … Big Brown Loses)
Big Brown poised for horse racing Triple Crown history.
Big Brown has been nothing short of awesome in the first two jewels of the Triple Crown. Big Brown cruised to an easy win in the Kentucky Derby and a romp in the Preakness Stakes.
Now Big Brown is one win away in today’s 140th Belmont Stakes from horse racing history and immortality. With virtually no competition, Big Brown is a win away from winning The Triple Crown, a feat that has not been accomplished in 30 years. What stands in the way of Big Brown’s win at the Belmont? Could the cracked hoof cause a problem? It would appear the hoof has been patched and Big Brown is ready to run. The only real competition that Big Brown had was Casino Drive. However, Casino Drive was scratched this morning was scratched due to a bruise in his left hind foot.
Nothing has changed trainer Rick Dutrow’s Jr’s mind that the strapping bay colt will celebrate in the winner’s circle at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and win the first Triple Crown in 30 years. “He’s just the coolest horse that ever lived,” Dutrow said. It’s been 30 years since Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont to become horse racing’s 11th Triple Crown winner. The drought has left the sport starved to anoint a savior. Three times this decade a horse won the first two legs of the series only to get tripped up in the Belmont. Triple Crown Brown has a nice ring to it and the nickname could be his by nightfall.
Ok, if the race needs to drama maybe it will only come from one of Big Brown’s sponsors, Hooters, being sidelined. The NYRS nixed the Hooters deal. Talk about a true celebrity, Big Brown poses with the Hooters girls. The NYRS obviously has no sense of humor and take themselves a bit too seriously. We shall wait and see if Big Brown can make history later this afternoon at The Belmont.
UPDATE I: Shocker at the Belmont … BIG BROWN … BIG UPSET!!!
There will be no Triple Crown winner this year. What happened to Big Brown? It did not even look like the same horse that ran in the Derby and Preakness.
The elusive Triple Crown is just that … elusive. What was supposed to be as close to a sure thing as one in the horse racing industry could bank on, turned out to be just the opposite. Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner BIG BROWN comes in last in the Belmont and fails to win the Triple Crown.
UPDATE II: Belmont Park … Triple Crown winner … NOT SO FAST!!!
Big Brown failed in his bid to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner when he finished dead last to Da’ Tara in the Belmont Stakes.
Da’ Tara went wire to wire to beat eight other thoroughbreds over 1½ miles, the longest and toughest of the three classics.
“I had no horse,” said Big Brown’s jockey, Kent Desormeaux.
Big Brown went from potential Triple Crown winner to finishing dead last in a matter of minutes. The handling of this horse prior to race day will be debated for years to come. Any novice watching the race saw that the same horse was not present in the Belmont that thundered to impressive wins in the Derby and Preakness. So what was the difference?
Dutrow was second-guessed all week about his handling of a quarter crack in Big Brown’s left front hoof, which surfaced after the Preakness and wasn’t patched until Friday. He also came under scrutiny after admitting using legal steroids on Big Brown, even though the colt’s last dose was in April.
Big Brown was rank at the start and failed to respond when Desormeaux asked him to run in the last turn. At that point, Desormeaux eased him up.
The loss hit Desormeaux especially hard.
“This horse is the best I’ve ever ridden,” he said. “Something’s wrong, and I took care of him.”
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7 Responses to “Belmont Stakes … Can Anything Stand in the Way of a Big Brown Win and The Triple Crown? (UPDATE: Big Brown … BIG USPET … Big Brown Loses)”
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Now the questions will swirl as to whether it was the steroids that made Big Brown impressive in the first two races.
The trainer had stated they did not give him steroids this month.
Whether it’s the Olympics, the World Cup or the Triple Crown, it’s sad when a champion that has captured the hearts of the public doesn’t have his/her best day when it counts. I know the owners and trainers and many fans are disappointed, but Big Brown is still a great champion. I’m glad there was no injury to Big Brown, as we saw with Barbaro, or other horses, like Eight Belles.
Someone recommended the book “Soul of a Horse” by Joe Camp. I haven’t read it, but if you love horses, it’s gotten great reviews. BTW, Joe Camp is the creator of “Benji”.
I so wanted Big Brown to win; however, when one listened to his trainer it was almost tough to root for the horse.
Richard Dutrow, Jr is hardly someone that is easy to root for. His arrogance is distastful. You can think you will win and there is nothing wrong with thinking it and being confident. It is quite another thing to be smug.
Big Brown trainer says Triple Crown is ‘foregone conclusion’
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/news/story?id=3418710
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/opinion/07fornatale.html?ref=opinion
Which brings us to the bigger problem. Equine Acquisitions’ former trainer, Greg Martin, had his license revoked in 2005 for using an illegal performance-enhancing drug on a company horse. Its current trainer, Richard Dutrow, is even more notorious for pushing the envelope. He has a list of violations longer than most anyone else’s in the history of the sport.
No one has seriously accused him of doing anything untoward with Big Brown, but he’s been fined or suspended for doping in each of the last eight years, including two instances in January. The Association of Racing Commissioners International report on Dutrow reveals 72 offenses since 1979, 13 of them related to drugs.
When a guy like this wins racing’s most prestigious prize, what message does that send to everyone else involved in the sport? It tells owners that they can win by entrusting their horses to a trainer known for bending the rules.
“Let him graze”…..
Thanks SM. Now I don’t feel so bad for Big Brown. It’s the horse that matters to me, as some of you know.
Not the trainer or owner in most cases, with exceptions like Afleet Alex and Brother Gerard. Big Brown has the heart of a champion and as I watch the repeated replays of the race on TV, it’s difficult to figure out what went wrong, why the jockey pulled him back. Better to pull him off than push him too far, but I can’t see what went wrong. The horses are so beautiful, magnificent and as far as I’m concerned, they’re all champions. But some stand out. Like Big Brown. (Look at that face! –above.) 
Gotta love him.
The triple crown is all about endurance. Running three BIG races in a row for a young horse is almost impossible in that short period of time. Tomorrow, he may have won, handely, but today, he had his mind on other things.
Young Thoroughbreds are unpredictable.
I love the jumpers that reach their peaks when they’re ten, twelve or older. They are true champs… trained to the hilt! Some don’t retire til they’re in their twenties.
Beautiful!
VIDEO OF THE BELMONT– Big Brown craps out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PMT9kF2UT-E