4um: Big Brown denied Triple Crown; Da' Tara wins Belmont Stakes

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Title: Big Brown denied Triple Crown; Da' Tara wins Belmont Stakes
Source: The Sports Network
URL Source: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/ ... orse/news/news.aspx?id=4155474
Published: Jun 7, 2008
Author: Unknown
Post Date: 2008-06-07 18:57:20 by Critter
Keywords: None
Views: 744
Comments: 30

Elmont, NY (Sports Network) - Big Brown failed in his chance to become the first horse in 30 years to win the Triple Crown, as 38-1 long shot Da'Tara captured the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes Saturday.
Big Brown was third at the three-quarter pole, behind Da'Tara and Tale of Ekati. Da'Tara, ridden by Alan Garcia, pulled away down the stretch to win the race.
Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown was trying to become first thoroughbred to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year since Affirmed in 1978.
After drawing the rail and going off as the overwhelming favorite in the race at 1-4, Big Brown was eased in the stretch in the grueling 1 1/2 mile race.
Owned by IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., Big Brown had been undefeated in five previous career starts.
More details to follow...
06/07 18:40:47 ET
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#1. To: Critter (#0)
Nice to see Nick Zito win.
Guess they should have given Big Brown his shot of Winstrol.
Looked like he was on Prozac today.

Steel posted on 2008-06-07 19:19:33 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#2. To: Steel, rowdee, Fred Mertz (#1)
Nice to see Nick Zito win.
Guess they should have given Big Brown his shot of Winstrol.
Looked like he was on Prozac today.

Big Brown has not received his legal injection of Winstrol since April. He won a race since then.
Big Brown's slowness is more likely related to one of two other things:
1. electrolyte imbalance
www.mercurynews.com/sports/c i_9499292
On the advice of Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, Dutrow also reduced Big Brown's dose of electrolytes.
"The horse looks like an absolute picture so I didn't want to mess with anything, you know," Dutrow said.
Greg Bennett, Dutrow's primary veterinarian, said Thursday that a sterile solution of electrolytes is given intravenously by a stomach tube.
He said Dutrow may change his mind and give Big Brown a dose before the Belmont to keep him hydrated because Saturday's forecast calls for highs in the 90s. Big Brown runs on Lasix, a legal anti-bleeding medication that can cause a horse to lose electrolytes.
OR
2. hoof injury not properly heeled
The final step of the cracked hoof repair was not done until the Friday before the race.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-07 22:10:11 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#3. To: scrapper2 (#2)
One story says April for the last steroid injection, and another says May. One has to wonder aobut the withdrawal time for that.

I also wonder about the heat--if that could have been a factor.

Also, horses can throw clunkers--for any reason, or no reason. It surely isn't because he, the horse, knew he could or could not win.
Bottom line, it just wasn't his day. But he can and will go to the breeding shed, if the fertility gods deign it to be thus, and hopefully be a good sire and not poop out like his daddy.
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-07 23:38:03 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#4. To: rowdee (#3)
I'm certain he'll race again and again. His trainer might be going to detox or have a nervous breakdown in the next 24 hours. That is what one of my horseman friends predicted. He also said something about Big Brown not being juiced up enough.
You mentioned Da'Tara last night and next time I'll listen to you. A $4 win bet would have got me $158. At the track $4 can almost get me a beer. Good on you!

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-08 0:27:45 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#5. To: rowdee (#3)
I also wonder about the heat--if that could have been a factor.

I asked my pals, "How did the Mafia fix this race?" Some speculated that a pellet or BB gun fired at his nose or ears from the grassy knoll. He wasn't supposed to lose today.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-08 0:30:34 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#6. To: Fred Mertz, rowdee (#4)
I'm certain he'll race again and again. His trainer might be going to detox or have a nervous breakdown in the next 24 hours. That is what one of my horseman friends predicted. He also said something about Big Brown not being juiced up enough.
You mentioned Da'Tara last night and next time I'll listen to you. A $4 win bet would have got me $158. At the track $4 can almost get me a beer. Good on you!

Sorry, Fred, for being so exhuberant about Big Brown. He seemed like such a magnificent horse, a sure Triple Crown winner.
I've read in one of the comments to an article that a camera angle showed that Big Brown got kicked in the hoof early in the race. Whether this will be borne out after all the films of the race are analyzed and reported on remains to be seen.
Certainly both the horse and the jockey will have to submit to post-race drug testing, too, I'd imagine.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-08 0:47:15 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#7. To: scrapper2 (#6)
I believe Kent, the jock, wanted this win more than anyone else........with his young son going blind, he and his wife wanted this win as a 'forever able to recall' moment for the young boy. The kid had it hard enough when his hearing was gone, and he got the cochlear implants--he can speak properly now--and now to have his vision going has been a real ordeal for the Desormeaux family.
I like Kent, always have, and he's a good rider.
I did see a picture just a short while ago that I really took a look at, and I'm sure people better informed than I will as well--it appeared the first umteen steps out of the gate that Kent wasn't straddle the horst as normal and his arms seemed to be higher up than they should be, with the reins seemingly awkward. This could have been the horse breaking from post 1, which isn't always the easiest place to break from--tendency to head more into the rail........the picture just looks odd, and the other jockeys in the picture are not looking like this.
Nothing may show up this even, but on the morrow, the groom or assistant and/or Dutrow may notice the faintest of 'oddities', before it becomes obvious to everyone else, i.e., tight muscle in the back, or a hot spot on the legs or feet.
Someone mentioned he is a smart horse--in the sense that he is one of those that knows something is wrong and won't go all out. This is like something Barbaro would have done--like when they were working on his leg to save him--it was as though he knew this boring routine would have to be endured for a while. There are others like that. There are also those whose brain tells them to just keep running and running--this was what happened with Ruffian when she broke her leg--they operated, but when she came to she began running/thrashing and undid all the surgical stuff and had to be put down.
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-08 1:12:03 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#8. To: Fred Mertz (#5)
Ah yes.....the grassy knoll theory! LOL....
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-08 1:14:18 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#9. To: rowdee (#8)
I like reading this for the quotes and what not...
www.brisnet.com/cgi- bin/editorial/full_edition.cgi
Did you see Dutrow after the race? He went from Cloud 9 to the seven gates of Hell in three minutes; that's why my buddy thinks he'll have a nervous breakdown.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-08 1:21:55 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#10. To: scrapper2, rowdee (#6)
Sorry, Fred, for being so exhuberant about Big Brown.

You weren't alone. I'd guess 95-98 percent of the public and horse players expected him to win based on his past performances.
Rowdee is a two-percenter.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-08 1:24:47 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#11. To: Fred Mertz, rowdee (#10)
I'm glad Kent pulled up on Big Brown when he recognized something was amiss with the horse, instead of whipping him to go forward and risking a serious injury.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-08 1:49:00 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#12. To: Fred Mertz (#9)
Yeah, I feel badly for Dutrow. TO go from Cloud 9 to the gates of hell in 2 minutes would be awful to deal with.
I really like seeing the pics of Da'Tara......he reminds me of his daddy a whole bunch. It always amazes me just how flared their nostrils can become--especially big time winners.
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-08 2:25:28 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#13. To: scrapper2 (#11) (Edited)
With all due respect thats part of the PETA myth about horses...as the saying goes you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink...likewise if a horse does not want to run he won't no matter what the jock does ...judging by his actions in the stall before the race there was something bugging him maybe after a month of hype and attention he was just pissed off.
‘I Had No Horse’: Jockey Reacts to Big Brown’s Big Loss www.breitbart.tv/?p=109143

robnoel posted on 2008-06-08 8:15:20 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#14. To: robnoel, rowdee, Fred Mertz (#13)
robnoel: judging by his actions in the stall before the race there was something bugging him maybe after a month of hype and attention he was just pissed off.
rowdee: Someone mentioned he is a smart horse--in the sense that he is one of those that knows something is wrong and won't go all out.

Yes, it could be that his hoof was not fully healed - he did not like the idea of racing again on it - it wasn't making him lame but it felt bad to him like an achy tooth.
Or it was too hot and he felt really uncomfortable - his electrolytes were out of balance - he was on Lasix.
Or he was just not feeling right - robnoel, yes I read that prior to the race he was jumpy and high strung not very friendly with the press for example - the trainer thought it was the stress of too many new faces and flash bulbs going off all the time so he kept the press away.
This jumpiness, the strung temperment was really out of character for Big Brown - he used to be a camera hog - he loved the press, he loved attention - this sudden and dramatic change in temperment alone tells me he was not feeling himself, he was uncomfortable, he was not feeling good for some reason.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-08 12:45:19 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#15. To: scrapper2 (#14)
Having spent a lot of time with these animals they are no so different to us in many ways this 3 year old threw a temper tantrum in the stall I'm sure the media attention over the past month got to him horses like being horses and we over do it in sports worship...something had to give anyway after a few months of being a normal horse again I hope the meet up with Curlin takes place on Sept. 20,

robnoel posted on 2008-06-08 13:07:43 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#16. To: robnoel, Fred Mertz, rowdee (#15)
something had to give anyway after a few months of being a normal horse again I hope the meet up with Curlin takes place on Sept. 20,

I hope you are right about Big Brown simply getting over whelmed with all the attention and getting into a bad mood and that he'll be back to his old self in September. As I've told Fred Mertz and rowdee previously, I don't know anything about horse racing, but I was flipping the channels one Saturday and I stumbled across the Preakness race and I was mesmerized by Big Brown - and this was BEFORE he won the race - he was so beautiful and so smart - you could see it in his eyes, his face - and then when he was racing, he looked like he was having so much darn fun out there, just letting it rip, going full throttle, showing the world "Hey I'm a champion, did any of you have any doubts?" Big Brown, I felt that day, was a unique horse, a King amongst Princes. So I was so sad he was not himself yesterday and could not make Triple Crown history - but once again - I give credit to his jockey - he sensed something was terribly wrong - so if you're going to lose, you may as well lose big. Once again Big Brown makes the Front Page but for a different reason. He's a show stopper that's for sure.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-08 13:22:06 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#17. To: scrapper2 (#16)
I give credit to his jockey

In case you didn't notice, that jockey threw the race.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-10 23:04:55 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#18. To: Fred Mertz (#17)
In case you didn't notice, that jockey threw the race.

Wow! Really? Is that what you've heard or read? Was he in cahoots with anyone else?

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-10 23:10:20 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#19. To: scrapper2 (#18)
Maybe his wife and son are alive for what he did. Maybe he got some sort of payout.
Either way he's set for life.
That race was rigged.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-10 23:19:20 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#20. To: Fred Mertz (#17)
Oh, fred.......such baloney.
Dutrow did a piss poor job of training the horse up to the race, for one thing....whether due to a cracked quarter, or because he truthfully believed that he was running Pegasus, rather than flesh and bone horses. Billy Turner, the trainer of Seattle Slew, talked about what it took to train for the Belmont. And, for the record, he didn't like what KD did, either--believes he should be banned from NY.
I can guarantee you that had he strugged to force that horse forward and he had gotten hurt, KD would be worse than Hitler or Stalin. He had every reason to want that horse to run--not just his son's memories, but to prove that he, as a Hall of Fame jockey, has what it takes to win the Triple Crown........and the financial payoff ain't too shabby either.
I would imagine a triple crown would have made his stud fees even that much higher........and generally, from what I've read, successful owners will give a a trainer and the jock a breeding or so from the Champ.
We have no idea of what or how the medicine regime worked against the horse.
The horse was in a near frenzy going into the holding barn......I believe it was the owner who said that he was all lathered up but then settled down ok.
Then there was the heat--but they all endured that.
I looked at numerous pictures these past couple of days. I would like to find the one that was just after they left the gate--because when you see it with one shot from behind the gate, or in the gate, looking down the straightaway, you see the starter on the track a few steps, IIRC, from the rail, and there was a photographer stand between the gate and the starter, IIRC........and the picture shows BB going in to the #2 horse.........the first pic I saw showed KD trying to control the horse--the horses head and Kent's body language, i.e., the placemente of ohis arms and the reins looked odd in the pic.
Then Kent said he got no traction in the rear at the start.
And BB was fighting him most of the way in the straightaway and into the first and second turn.
Remember--all of them thought they had Pegagus--the winged wonder monster that could close his eyes, not train, and still win. Hell, Kent didn't put a ride on him in the most of the stretch at Pimlico because he was 'leaving something in the tank' for the next race--why burn it all up when he'd already convincingly put them away. That is common as mud in racing......and no body bitches about that, except someone wanting a bigger winning margin in the record books.
And the reverse is true, too. Many times horses are eased, and for any number of reasons.
Further, with BB, they had just gotten the huge breeding shed millions signed, so why try to run him and possibly get hurt when it was obvious he wasn't gonna run.
And, just because nothing has showed up yet, doesn't mean that the horse doesn't have a problem. Recall the name LOST IN THE FOG? A real super horse-- that happened to unexplainably lost a race.......it was after several races, where he didn't do much that it was discovered he had cancer of the liver.....the tumor was about the size of a football.........and even though he looked healthy as could be, he died within a few weeks.
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-10 23:39:35 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#21. To: rowdee (#20)
My four-legged girl worked out today. Check it out, you know her name.
I still believe that BB was screwed with by the Mafia. I think he'll run the Travers.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-10 23:50:55 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#22. To: rowdee (#20)
Kent had that horse so confused...

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-10 23:56:34 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#23. To: Fred Mertz, rowdee (#22)
Kent had that horse so confused...

Big Brown's trainer ( admittedly an arrogant obnoxious person but he seems to know his stuff ...) agrees with you, Fred, although he will not object to Kent riding BB in his next race.
ap.google.com/article/ALe...KeSI5hw3-2XbK-ewD917FRBG0
"Big Brown trainer Dutrow pins blame on jockey"

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-11 0:23:17 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#24. To: scrapper2 (#23)
If Desormeaux rides Big Brown again, I'll be be a monkey's uncle..

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-11 0:27:04 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#25. To: Fred Mertz (#21)
I think Kent didn't want him taking off to outrun Da'Tara, and was trying to get to the outside so he could stay out of trouble.
Da' Tara was quick out the gate and was able to get over by the rail quickly. BB may not have liked having dirt in his face--lots of horses don't. I was reminded of that looking at a pic of Da'Tara who had no dirt on his chest compared to all the other runners.
I honestly believe that Dutrow and the gang thought they had a super horse by his past performances and that it would be a cakewalk. Its obvious they didn't believe that missing training because of the quarter crack problem wouldn't be a big deal, otherwise they'd have done something different.
That aspect of it fascinates me--look at the Japanese--everyday they had them out walking for long, long periods of time, or jogging.........whatever.....it was like 40 minutes or so. Naturally walking won't win a race, but stamina and well oxygenated tissue will.
I keep expecting that one of these days you're gonna be on here 'yahooing, cheering, and generally going bananas over a 4-legged gal!! :)
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-11 0:45:52 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#26. To: rowdee (#25)
I am of the opinion that Big Brown will dominate in whatever race he runs in.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-11 0:52:40 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#27. To: Fred Mertz (#26)
There are people taking bets as to whether he'll ever run again. It would be nice to have him at least finish the 3-year old season before sailing off to the breeding shed. The horses of old certainly raced more often and a lot longer, yearwise.
Turn your back on the sun and you only see the shadows.
rowdee posted on 2008-06-11 1:00:31 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#28. To: rowdee, Fred Mertz (#25)
I honestly believe that Dutrow and the gang thought they had a super horse

Big Brown is a super horse, rowdee!
Look at his intelligence and beauty:
www.nancarrow-webdesk.com.../2008-w17/img.206882.html
jen- thoroughbreds.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-11 1:05:50 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#29. To: rowdee (#27)
Big Brown is pointed to the Travers at Saratoga and the Breeders Cup Classic in the fall. He'll trounce the competition.
The Belmont Stakes race in NYC was rigged.

Fred Mertz posted on 2008-06-11 23:10:10 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#30. To: Fred Mertz, rowdee (#29)
Big Brown is pointed to the Travers at Saratoga and the Breeders Cup Classic in the fall. He'll trounce the competition.
The Belmont Stakes race in NYC was rigged.

I started googling articles about BB - and lots of hits were predictions that BB was a 2008 version of Secretariat. And from there I somehow ended up at a site that talked about Phar Lap, a champion horse from Down Under about whom a movie was made - anyways Phar Lap came up stateside to race and the Mafia wanted Phar Lap to lose - the jockey wouldn't throw the race and Phar Lap ended up dying a horribly painful death being poisoned with arsenic.
Maybe Kent was given a deal he could not refuse. Kent seemed to really really love Big Brown and his sick son had become very attached to Big Brown as well.

scrapper2 posted on 2008-06-11 23:30:52 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
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