Big Brown Triple Crown Bid Falls Short

I write this in disbelief. But ugly truth is still the truth. Big Brown went from being compared to the great horses of the past, such as Secretariat and Seattle Slew, to finishing last in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

The mood at Belmont Race Track in Elmont, NY. was extremely festive; so festive, in fact, it could easily have been mistaken for Churchill Downs on Derby day. Everyone, it seemed, was certain that the day had come for a Triple Crown win and that Big Brown was the horse who could. Those who attended the event came decked out in the color brown to show their support for the colt. Many had made hats, t-shirts, and signs (like the kind normally seen at concert events) emblazoned with the big colt's name. Shaquil O'Neal was present. He paraded around the track in a crowd of jockeys and wearing silks that easily could have made five such silks for the jockeys, all of whom barely reached up to the basketball star's waist. The crowd was so loud that the media personnel repeatedly stated that it was impossible for them to hear themselves speak. This year it has been 30 years since the last Triple Crown win took place and racing fans are more than ready for another.

The fans were not the only ones who were certain of victory. Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, had already established himself as confident and loud spoken when it came to this particular horse. The media loved his swagger and the very unusual certainty in his speech. He has been perhaps among the most quotable people ever to work in thoroughbred racing. His brash manner has been compared to that of Muhammad Ali. He said the Belmont, and with it the Triple Crown, was a "foregone conclusion." The colt's jockey, Kent Desormeaux, has said that Big Brown is the best horse he has ever ridden- no light remark in view of the history of his long career. Desormeaux said before the race, "Big Brown is the horse to do it."

It definitely would have been good for the sport. The golden era of thoroughbred racing ushered in by the Decade of Champions in the 1970s has long become tarnished and almost neglected. Some blame the long drought of a Triple Crown victory. Others blame the issue of medications administered to some of the horses. Some say the public at large has become too fastidious in its expectations regarding the conduct of jockeys and others employed by the industry. Still others say that the horses have become inbred and therefore inferior to those in the past. The industry is also still struggling to recover from the plague of poison caterpillars that a few years ago caused a blight of miscarriages so extensive it threatened the very existence of the sport. When Eight Belles was tragically and fatally injured following this year's Kentucky Derby, it sparked an aggressive campaign on the part of PETA to do away with thoroughbred racing altogether on the grounds that it is allegedly abusive to the animals. The thoroughbred racing industry is without doubt in a state of real crises and a victory by Big Brown on Saturday would have done much toward stabilizing it.

So what happened on the track during the Belmont Stakes? No one really knows. Dutrow admitted to having used steroids on Big Brown in the past. The colt's last monthly injection of it was on April 15th, after which Dutrow ceased administering them to his horses, including Big Brown. While there may yet have been some residue of the steroids in the colt's system for both the Derby and the Preakness, Belmont track's veterinarian confirmed that all traces were well out of him by the time he came to the Belmont. Could this have been a factor in his defeat? Perhaps.

What about the quarter crack (sometimes called a wall separation) in his left front hoof? It is well known that Big Brown has a history of trouble feet. It is because of this health issue that this was only the sixth start in his career. It is a condition he inherited from his sire, Boundaries, along with his speed and gutsiness. He has received careful and top-notch care on this account to lessen the strain on his hooves. His farriers even invented special shoes for him that could be glued onto his hooves rather than nailed and were heavily cushioned with rubber, giving him the softest run in horse racing. Also the quarter crack he developed between the Preakness and Saturday's race was pinned together with metal sutures and sealed with a special patch. He had been galloped the full mile and a half several times and the hoof held up. Dutrow declared the quarter crack was a "non-issue." But it did cut a little into Big Brown's training schedule, making him miss a couple workouts. Were these missed workouts key? Was Big Brown not as fully prepared as he might have been? Perhaps.

The temperatures in Elmont were well over ninety degrees Fahrenheit on the decisive day, Horses, and particularly thoroughbreds, are highly sensitive to temperature extremes- especially heat. Was it just too hot for the horse? Also another possibility.

The colt's relative inexperience may also have been a factor. In all of his career starts up till this race he had enjoyed relatively smooth trips. But on Saturday it was rocky going for him. At the break he veered outside and bumped into Guadalcanal which didn't seem to bother Guadalcanal at all. Big Brown recovered only to rush up on the heels of Da' Tara going into the first turn and nearly collided with him. He bumped into Tale Of Ekati as he regained his stride and Desormeaux began to move him to the outside. Such things are commonplace on the track and generally are no one's fault. Most of the time they do not result in injury either. However, an inexperienced horse- like Big Brown- can become frustrated by such close quarters and this can affect performance until the horse comes to realize it's all in a day's work.

Or was Big Brown simply tired?

The horse came into the Belmont Stakes undefeated by an average of 11 lengths each race (some by more, some by less). Did he run himself out in the previous two races? He seemed to win them easily, but maybe the grueling schedule of three races of varying lengths in a span of five weeks was more than he could handle? Well, there is a reason why the Triple Crown is called the "test of a champion." It is not impossible to do, as proved by 11 horses in the past, but it is difficult. "I can't fathom what kind of freaks those 11 Triple Crown winners were." Desormeaux said after the race.

Desmoreaux said he knew Big Brown was through at the 5/8 pole just before the final turn. "I had no horse," he said. "There's no popped tires - he's just out of gas." To his credit, he decided to stand up in the irons and pull the big colt up. He said, "I love the horse. So I took care of him." He brought Big Brown across the wire at a safe loping speed, almost a canter. Thus, Big Brown became the first Triple Crown hopeful in history to finish last in the Belmont Stakes.

At first, the colt's camp feared some sort of injury. Typically, a horse with his record who suddenly races so very out of form and character does so because of a physical problem. Sometimes the problem is not readily apparent to the jockey. This is one of the reasons Desormeaux decided to pull up. "He doesn't seem to be in pain, but maybe he knows something we don't." he remarked to a reporter as he carried the saddle off the track. The horse was immediately taken to a detention barn, being splashed with water squeezed from sponges as he went. He was checked thoroughly by both the track's staff of veterinarians and by his own and was declared sound to all intents and purposes. More tests will be run over the next few days to confirm this beyond doubt.

Larry Bramlage, the on-site veterinarian and spokesman for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, said, "You would have thought if it was the quarter-crack, he would have shown some tenderness,'' Bramlage said. "He's a smart horse. Maybe he decided it wasn't his day and he didn't want to try.''

From what I saw, this seems the most likely answer. Big Brown just didn't want to run Saturday.

So the winner of the 140th Belmont Stakes was Da' Tara, not Big Brown. Denis Of Cork placed. For show, there was a confirmed dead heat. Anak Nakal and Ready's Echo share that money.

Da' Tara's trainer, Hall of Famer Nick Zito said, ""I salute Big Brown. He's still a champion. He wasn't himself today, and we took advantage of it."

Big Brown's owners had already announced that he would not be racing as a four year old, although they had not ruled out the possibility of running him in this year's Breeder's Cup. Three weeks ago, they sold the colt's breeding rights to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, KY. He is still one of the most valuable horses in the industry right now and will enjoy a relaxed retirement fit for a king.

Sources:

ABC's national live television broadcast

BETH HARRIS, AP Racing Writer, "Da' Tara spoils Big Brown's bid for Triple Crown" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_belmont_stakes, Associated Press, Yahoo News

JOE DRAPE, "Big Brown Tires as Crown Proves Elusive Again" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/sports/othersports/08racing.html, The New York Times

NANCY KERCHEVAL, "Da' Tara Wins Belmont Stakes, Spoils Triple Crown Bid (Update3)" http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a8wWqlI5aM3c&refer=home, Bloomberg.com