Big Brown Triple Crown . com

A new photo has revealed that Big Brown ran the Belmont with a dislodged shoe.

Blood-Horse - Steve Haskin: Brown Ran Race With Dislodged Shoe

Each day brings new entries in the "Brown Shoe Diaries." The latest photos from the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) reveal Big Brown was stepped on by Guadalcanal leaving the gate, and that the shoe did not re-set itself during the race as previously thought; the colt ran the entire way with the shoe dislodged and the nail protruding from it......more

Today, Kent Desormeaux revealed some of the things he told the steward at Belmont Park. He had previously not spoken about the meeting. He says that the starter Roy Robert Williamson was on the track at the start of the race and he thinks that spooked Big Brown. Instead of going right to the rail as would be expected, Big Brown tried to avoid the starter and went towards the middle of the track.

New York Daily News - Jerry Bossert: Kent Desormeaux says starter on track rattled Big Brown

Kent Desormeaux has added another theory to the growing mystery over what stopped Big Brown in Saturday's Belmont Stakes. The colt's jockey believes that the official starter, Roy Robert Williamson, was unintentionally responsible. Desormeaux said as much Wednesday in a meeting with stewards but did so publicly Thursday. Williamson was standing on the track a few feet off the rail, and Desormeaux thinks that distraction may have cost Big Brown the Triple Crown. .....more

Michael Iavarone who has been mostly supportive of Kent Desormeaux and his ride in the Belmont has now said that he wishes he had not pulled him up, because he unnecessarily scared and worried so many of the people who were watching the race.

New York Newsday - Ed McNamara: Desormeaux, Big Brown gave Iavarone a scare

...."When your horse gets taken up like that, it's scary," the co-president of IEAH Stables said Wednesday night. "That's why I put my hand over my eyes. When he was going toward the outside rail, I couldn't see him anymore. I didn't know until I got back to the barn that he wasn't hurt.".....more

Desormeaux was called to talk to the Stewards about why he pulled up Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. He refused to comment to the media afterward about what was said. He also chose not to comment about Richard Dutrow's criticisms. Racing stewards could take action for unnecessarily pulling up the horse, but it seems unlikely. Desormeaux was acting in the best interest of the horse as he felt that something was "amiss" and Big Brown was exhausted and uncomfortable in the 96 degree temperatures.

New York Times - Joe Drape: Desormeaux Speaks With Stewards

Big Brown’s jockey Kent Desormeaux met with racing stewards at Belmont Park on Wednesday to talk about his controversial ride, and eventual surrender in the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes. Desormeaux was summoned by the stewards at noon and stated his case about why he pulled up Big Brown at about the mile mark and galloped him home in last place. .....more

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens thinks that Big Brown's loss may have been the fault of Jockey Kent Desormeaux. Watching the race at Belmont with his son, Stevens said that immediately after Big Brown was hung up early, he told his son that Big Brown would not win. This supports the comments earlier in the day from Trainer Richard Dutrow who had placed blame on the jockey.

Idaho Statesman: Stevens blames Big Brown's jockey

....Desormeaux should not have held Big Brown back early in the race and instead taken him right to the front, Stevens said on KTIK's "Idaho Sports Talk" with Jeff Caves and Statesman sports columnist Brian Murphy on Monday. Stevens said he told his son that Big Brown would lose as soon as he saw him hung up early in the race. Stevens attended the race. "It's the first time I have wanted to have had my boots on since I retired," said Stevens, who won eight Triple Crown races during his storied career and now serves as a race analyst. more

Richard Dutrow has finally spoken publicly and is now questioning the ride of Kent Desormeaux. Big Brown was shipped to Dutrow's barn at Aqueduct Race Track on Monday morning and the trainer spoke about the possibility that the way that the horse and jockey interacted going into the first turn cost Big Brown the chance to win the Triple Crown. Desormeaux and Dutrow have still not spoken since the race. At the start of the first turn, Desormeaux took a hard hold of Big Brown and yanked him to the outside. At that point he bumped with Anak Nakal and then found some running room outside of Tale of Ekati. All the while, eventual wire-to-wire winner Da' Tara was opening up a three-length lead around the clubhouse turn. Dutrow thinks that Desormeaux may have confused the horse saying that Big Brown probably had no idea what was happening getting switched all over the track like that. Desormeaux revealed Monday that his plan was go to the lead, but that Big Brown slipped coming out of the gate and that he was pinched back. Desormeaux commented after the race that he "had no horse" and that he could not second guess this ride the way he had second guessed his ride on Real Quiet ten years ago when that horse lost by a nose in his pursuit of the Triple Crown. Kent Desormeaux told Wallace Matthews of New York Newsday that the track was too soft. Michael Iavarone had also blamed the track because of an apparent water problem that they had at the track, but Belmont park confirms that the track was watered as normal.

Daily Racing Form - David Grening: Dutrow questions Desormeaux's ride

"I got people calling me from all over the world telling me I ran a sore horse in the race, the jock had to pull him up," Dutrow said as he stood in his Aqueduct barn's shed row waiting for Big Brown's van. "I don't know why he had to do that. If he felt the horse was sore, yeah, but the horse was fighting him the whole way through the lane and he was fighting the horse the whole way up till the lane. I just don't get the whole thing.".....more

Iavarone said Big Brown never got a hold of Belmont’s dried-out track. He pointed to the performance of the I.E.A.H.-owned sprinter Benny the Bull, who won the six-furlong Grade II True North Handicap by a desperate neck in 1 minute 9.06 seconds on Saturday, relatively slow.......more

The inevitable questions have begun to spring up around the web regarding the impact that steroids had on Big Brown's earlier success and his lack of success without them. Horses coming off of steroids sometimes have a negative reaction. Is he a super horse who was helped only minimally by the steroids, but made less of a horse on the withdrawal? Some are saying that he was never a super horse at all. Why did Dutrow take him off of the steroids if it was legal in New York? Will the NTRA follow through on President Alex Waldrop's claim that steroids will be banned in all American Racing by the end of the year?

New York Times - William C. Rhoden: Wondering if Steroids Fueled a Run At Glory

He blew away the field at the Kentucky Derby. He made the Preakness field look like circus ponies. But on the day that would solidify his legacy and give racing a respite from intense scrutiny, Big Brown crumbled. He crumbled so badly that one could legitimately wonder whether he was nothing but a chemical horse, a paper tiger propped up — and propelled — by steroids. After three months of dominance, Big Brown became the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish dead last at the Belmont Stakes. His jockey, Kent Desormeaux, said that heading into the final turn, when he called on Big Brown to give him that special reserve, he realized, “I had no horse.”.The racing public has the right to ask: Did he ever have a super horse?....more

"They took him off of steroids and that caused the problem," Alker said. "If you get a horse used to those for their recovery, the benefits that provides for muscles and the things that steroids do for them, and you take it off of it there is a letdown. "And even though the horse wasn't on an abusive dose of steroids, it could have still caused an effect that was certainly detrimental to them."...more

As would be expected, Three Chimneys, who has reportedly paid in excess of $50 million for Big Brown's breeding rights, is relieved to find that there is still no report of a physical injury to Big Brown.

Kentucky.com - Brandon Ortiz: Three Chimneys 'relieved' for Big Brown

As Big Brown began to ease up in the final eighth of a mile of the Belmont Stakes, the only thing that crossed Three Chimneys President Case Clay's mind was whether the future stud was OK. "The word is, there aren't any signs of any problems, so we're relieved," Clay said......more

The Big Brown Camp is still perplexed a day after his disappointing Belmont Stakes. It was quiet at Barn 2 as Big Brown went through a normal morning routine as if he knew nothing of the impact his race had on those around him. Trainer Richard Dutrow was no where to be seen and Michelle Nevin, the assistant trainer and exercise rider was not talking. When owner Michael Iavarone was finally tracked down by phone he indicated that they haven't been able to solve the mystery of why Kent Desormeaux had "no horse" under him when it was time for the final move in the Belmont Stakes. No one has found any thing to explain his stunning performance. Iavarone told Joe Drape of the New York Times that everything seems fine and that "there’s nothing physically that’s shown up." He reiterated that the suspect feet of the great horse had nothing to do with it. He also says that Big Brown will remain in training and be pointed towards the Travers and the Breeder's Cup. They are considering running in the Jim Dandy on July 27th at Saratoga as a prep race for the Travers.

AP - Beth Harris: Big Brown left alone after stunning Belmont loss

The morning after the Belmont Stakes, Big Brown stopped to pose for photographers as if he had won the Triple Crown. Everyone except the horse knew otherwise. Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was a no-show, leaving questions and few answers about what happened to Big Brown in Saturday's 1 1/2-mile Belmont. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner was eased up by jockey Kent Desormeaux in the stretch, ending up last, beaten by eight other horses. The bay colt faced the cameras alone Sunday, except for exercise rider Michelle Nevin — and she wasn't talking. Outwardly, Big Brown appeared no worse for wear. He got his morning bath outside Barn 2, playfully nipping at a leather lead held by Nevin. Then she led him in circles around the inside of the barn, with Big Brown walking perfectly on his patched left front hoof......more

Big Brown is pointed to run in the Travers at Saratoga in August, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Santa Anita, where he is likely to meet Curlin, the reigning horse of the year. “It puts a little more pressure on us to win those races,” Iavarone said. “I know a lot of people say we haven’t beaten anyone, and we needed to take on older horses.” So for now, Big Brown’s future is pretty straightforward. Dutrow, Iavarone and his camp will go back to the drawing board. Unless a physical ailment shows up, Iavarone says Big Brown will maintain his regular training schedule in Dutrow’s main barn at Aqueduct and perhaps breeze as soon as two weeks from now. “All we can do is chalk this up as a mystery,” Iavarone said, “and regroup.”.....more

....“We went over him good last night after the race, and again this morning, and there’s nothing physically that’s shown up,” Iavarone told me just a few minutes ago by telephone. “He scoped clean. His feet are ice cold, quarter crack not an issue. He had a very loose hind left shoe, but that’s not an issue. We’ll just chalk it up to a question mark at this point. “I’m understanding they had an issue without water and they weren’t able to water the track and it got deep, I don’t know… We’re perplexed, nobody can figure this one out, the horse did not displace (his palate), he scoped fine, there’s no mucous, everything is ice cold. The horse that won, he (Big Brown) had beaten him by 23 (lengths) in the Florida Derby and so, I don’t know. We just have to watch him carefully and make sure we didn’t miss anything.”....more

....Win or lose, entering the Belmont most people believed it would be Big Brown's last race. The son of Boundary will begin his stallion career next year at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, and a retirement announcement Sunday would have surprised no one. Instead, Iavarone said IEAH is sticking to its plan to train Big Brown for the Travers Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga. "Unless something shows up, we're going to maintain his regular training schedule," he said, "which will be to breeze in a couple of weeks and point him for the Travers. ... I haven't lost confidence in the horse.".....more

After two thorough postrace examinations, the shocking last-place finish by previously undefeated Big Brown in Saturday's Belmont Stakes remains a mystery. "He's sound, he's clean," Mike Iavarone, the co-president of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner's majority owner, IEAH Stables, said Sunday. "Scoped clean. Feet ice-cold. Quarter-crack not an issue," he added. "We went over him good last night and again this morning, and there's nothing that shows up.".....more

It has certainly been a disappointing day at BigBrownTripleCrown.com. It would appear that the purpose of the site may have ceased to exist shortly after 6:30 pm ET today, but we will continue to post information about Big Brown and the Triple Crown on the site going forward. I want to thank all of you who have visited the site during this magnificent run at history. I hope that this Triple Crown Season has helped promote this great sport and has produced many new fans. I encourage all who have already been subscribed to our updates to stay on board and I encourage any others to consider subscribing now. Since information will likely come at a slower pace going forward, the site will only be updated as necessary and emails will only be sent out on days that there has been a new posting. I especially want to thank those of you who sent along email messages. It was very nice to read all of your kind words and your feedback was always helpful. I would love to hear from more of you if you have a moment to send along any feedback to BigBrownTripleCrown@gmail.com. Most importantly, thank you, of course, must go to Big Brown. I hope to see him run again.

Just a few hours after the devastating loss in the Belmont Stakes, Richard Dutrow is searching for what may have gone wrong. Big Brown was checked out and appears to be physically "fine". Dutrow was clearly disappointed, but still proud of Big Brown and his accomplishments. It appears that we may know in 24 hours whther or not he will be retired or if he will race again.

International Herald Tribune - AP: Dutrow stung by Big Brown's Belmont defeat

"The horse kind of looks like he's fine to me, so the only thing I know is to wait and see how things go," Dutrow said, adding that Big Brown will be scoped to see if there were any health issues. "Right now, I don't see him being off; he may be off tomorrow.".....more

Big Brown seemed rank at the start and was eased at the quarter pole. Da'Tara, ridden by Alan Garcia and trained by Nick Zito won at 38-1. It appears there are no health issues with Big Brown. Desormeaux says he eased the horse simply to protect the "best horse he has ever ridden". He said that entering the final turn, he "just had no horse."

Blood-Horse - Dan Liebman: Da' Tara Springs Upset; Big Brown Eased

The world awaited a delivery from Big Brown, but in a shocker, it was Da’ Tara who won the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) Saturday as the horse seeking to win the Triple Crown was eased past the wire. Trainer Nick Zito spoiled a Triple Crown for the second time. He also trained Birdstone, who beat Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont. And, like in ’04 when Zito also ran third with Royal Assault, he was third this year with Anak Nakal, who dead-heated with Ready’s Echo. In second was Denis of Cork. Big Brown was in obvious trouble in the turn for home and Desormeaux eased him back and let him gallop down the stretch. Following the race, Desormeaux said there was nothing physically wrong with Big Brown,.....more

Big Brown didn't deliver - at all. Long Island's favorite horse failed miserably in his quest to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years when he pulled up and finished last in the 140th Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. Da'Tara, a 38-1 pick, was the wire-to-wire winner. "Long before we went into the last turn, I had no horse," jockey Kent Desormeaux said. Asked what went wrong, Desormeaux said, "I have no idea.".....more

With 15 minutes until post time, Kent Desormeaux has mounted Big Brown and is making his lap of the paddock. More than 100,000 fans are at Belmont and ESPN reports that "all eyes are on Big Brown." A train platform by the track is jammed with people looking at Big Brown. Big Brown does not look to be sweating at all in the 93 degree weather. Big Brown and Kent Desormeaux both seem focussed and unphased by the huge crowds.



"Home Video" of him walking in the ring:



Here is "home video" (from Grandstand section 3S) as Big Brown takes to the Belmont track - warning: it's 4:32 long and there is a lot of standing around with a distant view, but I've posted it for you die hards who want to feel like you were there:

With 93 degree heat at Belmont Park, Kent Desormeaux and the other 8 jockeys have made the walk from the Jockeys room to the paddock. Less than 15 minutes until post and they have taken their picture and are ready to ride.

With less than 40 minutes until post time, Big Brown is on his way to the track. He has left the holding barn. Richard Dutrow was interviewed by Jay Privman on ESPN/ABC. He says that Big Brown is ready. He commented "I'm just trying to keep you guys (the media) away from him." and called the foot a "non issue."

Big Brown was moved to the Security Stable and placed in stable #49 around 11:45 am today. He is being treated like all of the other 8 horses in the race who all arrived at the Security stable before noon. He has two fans blowing on him as the temperature inches toward 90 degrees. At noon it was 88 degrees at the track. ESPN showed video of Big Brown in the stable. He was uncharacteristically jumpy in the stable, showing that he was not happy being moved to a new stable before the race. The experts on ESPN all seemed to feel comfortable saying that as long as he settles down in the next thirty minutes, he will be fine. By 12:30, ESPN reported that he had, in fact, settled down.

The path to the Triple Crown got a little easier for Big Brown this morning when Casino Drive, his top challenger in the Belmont Stakes, was scratched from the race. A stone bruise in the colt's left hind foot discovered yesterday is the reason for the scratch. Spokesman Nobutaka Tada says that the scratch is simply precautionary as the injury is "minor." Casino Drive was fine during a 3/8 mile jog in the early morning, but was apparently favoring a hoof when receiving a bath afterwards. Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa had given the all-clear, saying "he is sound" after the run, but an hour later, he made the decision to scratch the horse. He is scheduled to fly back to Japan on Tuesday, but may return to the United States for the Breeders Cup later in the year. It was a horse named "Birdstone" that spoiled the last Triple Crown attempt - will an injury called a "Stone Bruise" help Big Brown's attempt?

Blood-Horse - Ron Mitchell: Injured Casino Drive Out of Belmont

About an hour after giving the all-clear for Casino Drive to run in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), trainer Kazuo Fujisawa said the colt was favoring his left rear hoof and was scratched from the classic. Earlier, Fujisawa was all smiles after watching Casino Drive canter three furlongs and gave a thumbs up for colt to run in the Belmont. But when the colt was being bathed following the exercise regimen, he was favoring his foot and the trainer decided to scratch. "He is sound," Fujisawa declared earlier, after watching Casino Drive leave the track following a three furlong canter. Winner of the Peter Pan (gr. II) at Belmont, Casino Drive is considered one of the leading contenders to upset Big Brown's Triple Crown quest.
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Casino Drive was scratched from the Belmont Stakes hours before the final leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday morning due to a bruised left hind hoof. Racing manager Nobutaka Tada said Casino Drive was fine during a three-furlong jog early Saturday, but he appeared to be favoring the hoof while receiving a bath following the workout......more

Today is the day we have been waiting for. 278 days ago he blew away a maiden field at Saratoga and today Big Brown will try and win for the sixth straight time and become Horse Racing's twelfth Triple Crown Winner. He would be the first to do it since Affirmed accomplished the feat 30 years ago. Casino Drive, Big Brown's biggest rival, now has a bruised hoof and not many are giving the other eight contenders a chance. Post time is at 6:25pm in New York and it will be broadcast live on ABC (coverage staring at 5pm ET).

AP - Dan Gelston: Big Brown poised for Triple Crown bid

OK, Big Brown. It's time for the big date with history. All the obstacles in the colt's spectacular bid for the first Triple Crown in 30 years are fading faster than the pack in his Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes victories. Big Brown's quarter crack is patched and the sturdy hoof that helped him stampede to an undefeated record is as strong as ever. Big Brown's biggest challenger is injured with a suspect hind hoof, leaving mostly longshots in a lackluster field. Up ahead, the chance to knock off Affirmed from his spot as the sport's last Triple Crown winner......more

In a day that we expected the patching of Big Brown's hoof to be the only "hoof" news - there is bigger news out of the stable of his primary rival. Casino Drive, Big Browns strongest challenger for the Belmont Stakes, has a bruised left hind hoof which kept him from his friday workout, but he is still expected to start in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. A veterinarian believes that he may have stepped on a stone or kicked something Friday morning. He was treated on Friday afternoon by standing in a tub of salts and stable spokesman Nobutaka Tada says that the hoof appeared to improve. The colt will be reexamined on Saturday morning. Tada added that if he was not well on Saturday they would scratch him. The connections feel strongly about running him in the race as they have often said that he was bred for this race. Tada told reporters that the injury did not cme during his less-than-stellar workout on Thursday under Edgar Prado.

New York Newsday - Ed McNamara: Casino Drive might be in 'park' with bruised hoof

...."He's OK. He's doing well, and better than he was this morning," stable spokesman Nobutaka Tada said at 6 p.m. Friday in the press box at Belmont Park. "Right now, we are in. We haven't scratched him. If he stays like he is now, there's nothing to stop him. We just missed jogging this morning, that's all.".....more

....“We have not yet scratched him from the race,” Tada said outside Barn 17. “There is nothing stopping us at this moment and we are not thinking of scratching. We think it might be a small stone bruise and we will watch it closely. “It is very minor,” he said. “We detected it when he walked before he was going to the track. We noticed it when he was picking it up higher. We felt it and it was warmer than the other feet.”.....more

...."This morning, we're not 100 percent happy with the hind legs, how he moves," said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. "We didn't go to the track with him. There's a slight possibility of a stone bruise, and we're just cooling him down now. It's not lame, just something different with the way he walks. We expect him to run.".....more

Hoof specialist Ian McKinaly patched Big Brows cracked hoof with an acrylic and fiberglass patch today. He said the procedure which took just a half-hour was "very routine." He called Big Brown a "super patient" and said that he never even knew he was hurt. He said he would not need to look at the hoof for a few months. When asked if the patch could fall off during the race, he said that if it did he may as well quit.

Blood-Horse - Karen Johnson: Quarter Crack Patched on Big Brown

...."Everything looks perfect," McKinlay told the New York Racing Association's media department. "It's time to make history.".....more

...Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay applied an acrylic and fiberglass patch to the cracked left front foot Friday. The work comes the day before the undefeated colt races in the Belmont Stakes. McKinlay says the procedure was routine and Big Brown never even knew he was hurt. .....more

...Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay applied an acrylic and fiberglass patch to the cracked left front foot Friday. The work comes the day before the undefeated colt races in the Belmont Stakes. McKinlay says the procedure was routine and Big Brown never even knew he was hurt. .....more