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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?
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. ......more
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
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.
...."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
Thursday morning, Casino Drive got his final workout before the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The unorthodox japanese style work again resulted in an unusual half mile time of a little over 55 seconds. Edgar prado, who was not supposed to ride Casino Drive until the Belmont Stakes was given the chance to ride him in this workout during which Casino Drive sat behind Stablemate Spark Candle until a move past him at the 1/16th pole.
Casino Drive had another “work” Thursday morning. As part of his unorthodox, by American standards, training program he worked a half mile in a little over 55 seconds. Edgar Prado was given the mount for this move. It had earlier been reported that Prado would not ride Casino Drive until the Belmont......more
Lenny Shulman reporting on the workout for Bloodhorse.com:
Edgar Prado is part of many of the subplots of the Belmont Stakes. Namely, he will ride Casino Drive, the strongest challenger to Big Brown's victory chances. Twice (2002 and 2004) in the last six years, Prado has been aboard a long-shot Triple Crown Spoiler in the Belmont Stakes.He beat War Emblem aboard Sarava in 2002 and beat Smarty Jones as the jockey for Birdstone in 2004. The more intriguing and less frequently reported footnote for Prado is that twice he missed chances to have been Big Brown's jockey. First, in September of last year, Prado was scheduled to ride Big Brown for his debut at Saratoga, but broke his ankle in a spill two days before the race. Jeremy Rose was chosen to replace him. Then, when Richard Dutrow became trainer Prado had a chance to work Big Brown three times at the training center in Florida and it appeared Prado would get his second chance. But, Michael Iavarone of IEAH had dinner with Kent Desormeaux one evening and decided that "Kent fit the horse." Dutrow disagreed with the decision and later even said "Prado's my man." But the drama grew more in the Preakness when Prado was aboard Riley Tucker and Dutrow publicly accused him of trying to box in Big Brown. Finally, after a prolonged search process, Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for Casino Drive named Prado as their rider. Incentives abound for Prado to become a Triple Crown Spoiler for a third time.
Pay attention to Edgar Prado Saturday. He's the most intriguing human in the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes. He's the two-legged King of the Spoilers, a jockey who twice in this decade has climbed aboard worse horses than he'll ride in Saturday's race and nevertheless ruined someone else's Triple Crown hopes, same as he'll try to shatter heavily favored Big Brown's chances. The difference for Prado this year? This race might be personal. Prado wouldn't admit that the other day after he strode out of the winner's circle at Belmont after the second of a typically busy seven-race day for him at his home track. Nor will Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow and owner Michael Iavarone concede that Saturday's 11/2-mile test could darken into a grudge match, even if it was Iavarone who made the call to put Kent Desormeaux atop Big Brown this spring, against Dutrow's wishes and to Prado's surprise. .....more
Prado did it twice before, beating War Emblem with Sarava in 2002 and topping Smarty Jones with Birdstone in 2004. That's two of the past three Triple tries, and he did it with two long shots. This time, Prado will be riding perhaps the biggest threat to Big Brown, the 2-5 morning-line favourite, with Casino Drive the 7-2 second choice in the field of 10 3-year-olds......more
The field is set for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and Big Brown will leave from the number one post position of a ten horse field. He has been made a 2-5 favorite and Casino Drive will go off from the five position as a morning-line 7-2 second favorite. Belmont Park odds maker Eric Donovan has sent the message clearly that this should be a two horse race, tagging the third favorite, Denis of Cork, at 12-1. The number one post has produced the most Belmont winners since 1905 with 23 Champions coming from that post. Jockey Kent Desormeaux is generally happy with the spot commenting that Big Brown is so fast away from the gate that the race could be over "in 40 yards." One surprise entry in the field is Guadacanal who is still a maiden having never won a race before. The entire field shapes up like this:
Jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose flawless handling of the horse has Big Brown in position for the first Triple Crown in 30 years, said the inside was a better spot. "Absolutely, because it's an easier trip," he said. "I would be able to just guide and glide. Now, I'm going to have to jockey for position. He's so fast away from the gate, though, the race might be over in 40 yards." Surprise, surprise. Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said Big Brown would win no matter the post position......more
...."The shortest distance from the gate to the wire is on the rail," said Hall of Famer Jockey Jerry Bailey, a two-time Belmont winner. "Even though he might be good enough to go four- or five-wide on these turns, I wouldn't want to. What people forget is how long these turns are. If he were out there four- or five-wide, he would be giving away a lot of ground......more
Big Brown is a 2-5 favorite to win the 140th Belmont Stakes on June 7 and become thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed 30 years ago. The undefeated colt will leave from the No. 1 post position in the 10-horse field at the longest of the Triple Crown races after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes by a combined 10 lengths. .....more
Randy Moss reports on ESPN about the post position draw and Belmont in general:
Casino Drive and his Japanese connections have brought drama, intrigue and some unorthodox practices to Belmont Park. His workout routine is something that is not seen in America and is turning heads at the track.
Each morning, Casino Drive is saddled up and ridden along the backside of Belmont Park. For an hour, he darts between barns, sends puffs of dirt in the air as he clip-clops down shady paths and garners admiring stares from the most hard-bitten of horsemen. When Casino Drive, a chestnut colt, finally hits the racetrack for a gallop, he swallows the ground with his giant strides......more
....The way Casino Drive is training for the Belmont has raised eyebrows. It is a unique approach, by U.S. standards. Most American-based horses prepare for races with jogs, gallops and workouts on the track. Casino Drive, in contrast, is a power walker, taking vigorous one-hour strolls through the barn area. He then goes to the track for an easy jog before resuming another hour of walking. "We really try to pick his feet up," said Nobutaka Tada, spokesman for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. "We want him to be ready, so he will be strong.".....more
On Sunday, the expected field of the Belmont Stakes dropped from eleven to nine as Tomcito and Spark Candle were removed from the list of hopefuls. Tomcito, who finished 3rd in the Kentucky Derby was withdrawn from contention because of congestion and Spark Candle was entered in a Grade III stakes race on Friday. Spark Candle is the stablemate of Big Brown's closest challenger, Casino Drive.
Tomcito, third to Big Brown in the Florida Derby, had some congestion on Sunday morning and was declared from the race, trainer Dante Zanelli Jr. said. Zanelli said that the owner, Jet Set Racing Stable, was likely to move the horse to another New York-based trainer and Zanelli would return to his Lexington, Ky., base. Also, Spark Candle, a stablemate of probable Belmont second choice Casino Drive, was entered and is scheduled to run in Friday's Grade 3, $100,000 Hill Prince at one mile on the turf at Belmont......more
Outside of a few more confident comments from Trainer Richard Dutrow, we have been left with very little Big Brown News over the last 36 hours, giving us an opportunity to look at the rest of the horses that will take to the track at Belmont Park on June 7th. Casino Drive (trained by Kazuo Fujisawa and to be ridden by Edgar Prado) is getting most of the press as Big Brown's biggest challenger, but it is worth taking a moment to delve even deeper into the race. Denis of Cork (David Carroll / Robby Albarado) leads a list of "other horses" that also include Anak Nakal (Nick Zito / undecided), Behindatthebar (Todd Pletcher / David Flores), Da' Tara (Nick Zito / undecided), Icabad Crane (Graham Motion / Jeremy Rose), Macho Again (Dallas Stewart / Garret Gomez), Ready's Echo (Todd Pletcher / undecided), Spark Candle (Kazuo Fujisawa / undecided), Tale of Ekati (Barclay Tagg / Eibar Coa), and Tomcito (Dante Zanelli / Alan Garcia).
Probable Belmont Stakes Field (alphabetical order):
Although all reports from the Big Brown camp on Friday were encouraging regarding his progress from a quarter crack in his left front foot, the list of horses that will challenge the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner in the 140th Belmont Stakes next Saturday continued to grow......more
....He's fresh, not having run since his third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, and although his deep-closing style rarely wins the 1½-mile Belmont, it often gets you in the money. Denis of Cork usually does his best work in the stretch and should be passing some wobbly legged critters next Saturday. If you concede the Belmont to Big Brown, as most handicappers will, then all Denis of Cork has to do is beat Casino Drive......more
....here is one longshot to consider in the Belmont: Anak Nakal. Anak Nakal? I know, he hasn't been better than fifth in four races this year and on paper, doesn't look like he even belongs on the same track as Big Brown. But upon further review, there are a couple angles here. Just ask trainer Nick Zito......more
....I firmly believe that Big Brown will win the Belmont, but Birdstone was like a kick in the teeth, and I don't want to go through that again. The only way to avoid that pain if the worst happens is to be prepared for it. Let's look, then, at horses that could fill the ugly role of being this year's Birdstone. I'm not going to include Casino Drive for a couple of big reasons - he's going to be the second choice in betting so he won't be a longshot, and I just don't buy into him......more
Love him or hate him, trainer Richard Dutrow has spoken up again. He has added a few more confident sentiments and has also once again made a few comments about other horses, owners and trainers. He told the media that the Triple Crown was a "foregone conclusion." He also said that Casino Drive had a "lot to prove" and not to even to depend on a second place finish from the horse. He added some comments about Smarty Jones and his connections, explaining that it was the connections poor planning that cost the horse the Triple Crown. He felt that winning the Preakness by 11 lengths took too much out of the horse and that the workout schedule before the Belmont was poorly planned. He specifically referred to a work out at Philly Park, that Smarty Jones' trainer John Servis correctly denies ever happened. Servis brushed the comments off and said that it was just "Rick being Rick". Dutrow has now directly or indirectly insulted the connections of Casino Drive, Curlin, Rags to Riches and Smarty Jones in the weeks leading up to the Belmont Stakes.
...."I feel that he will do it," he said Thursday during the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's pre-Belmont conference call. "I feel like it's actually a foregone conclusion. To me, I just see the horses he's in with and I see our horse so I expect him to win this race. ...I know that when that day actually does come, and if our horse is in good shape, it will be the most exciting, thrilling moment of my life. So I just ... I know that that's coming,.....more
The Connections of Casino Drive have finally picked a jockey, Edgar Prado, and the head trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa, is due to arrive from Japan in the coming days. As we enter the stretch run before the Belmont, it is time once again to review Big Brown's biggest challenger. Many now believe that if Big Brown beats Casino Drive, those who have questioned the quality of his competition will finally be silenced. It is fair to say that Casino Drive was born to win this race. Two of his siblings have won this race in the last two years. His half brother Jazil won the Belmont Stakes in 2006, and a year later his three-quarter sister Rags to Riches knocked off Curlin, becoming the first Filly in 102 years to win the mile and a half race. He is bred to run this distance as opposed to Big Brown, who's father Boundary never won a race longer than 3/4 of a mile. The start of Casino Drive's career was delayed due to knee injuries and some influenza quarantine issues, but has been impressive in his two starts. He won his maiden race in Japan on February 23 by 11 1/2 lengths and then conquered American soil winning at Belmont in the Peter Pan Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths. The final piece of the puzzle may have come today when the connections announced that Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado will ride the colt in the Belmont Stakes. Prado has won two Belmont Stakes. Both have come on long shot spoilers, ending War Emblem and Smarty Jones' Triple Crown bids.
Casino Drive seems to have everything it takes to derail Big Brown's Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes a week from Saturday. His breeding shouts Belmont, his two career races have been breathtaking and he will be ridden by Edgar Prado, who has spoiled two of the past three Triple tries. The winning ingredients may be in place for the mystery horse from Japan, but Big Brown will be far from a pushover......more
....Prado, who turns 41 five days after the Belmont, will be in position to deny yet another Triple Crown in the June 7 Belmont Stakes when he rides the Kentucky-bred, Japanese-based Casino Drive against undefeated Big Brown, who is trying to snap Thoroughbred racing's 30-year Triple Crown drought. Adding more intrigue is the fact that Big Brown is trained by Richard Dutrow Jr., who employs Prado on a regular basis. According to Equibase statistics, Prado has ridden 268 of Dutrow's 1,221 career winners, or 22 percent......more
....“It is the way we do things at home in Japan,” said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for Casino Drive’s owner, Hidetoshi Yamamoto. “We warm up. We cool down. We are never in a hurry. We try to make sure he is a happy horse.” By 6:38 p.m. Saturday, the world will know whether this leisurely stamina building has paid off, and if Casino Drive was, indeed, the formidable obstacle that many expect him to be on Big Brown’s path to fame. By then the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes will be in the books, and thoroughbred racing will have its 12th Triple Crown champion. Or not......more
After a prolonged search process, Casino Drives connections finally announced their rider on Wednesday afternoon. They chose Hall of Fame Jockey Edgar Prado, who has won the Belmont Stakes twice, both times in huge upsets over horses attempting to win the Triple Crown. He was aboard 70-1 Sarava in 2002 when he ended War Emblem's bid and aboard 36-1 Birdstone in 2004 ending Smarty Jones pursuit. Nobutaka Tada, the horse's spokesman cited Prado's Belmont experience as the reason for the selection.
....."There are so many good jockeys here that it was very difficult to decide on the right one," said Nobutaka Tada, the racing manager for Casino Drive's owner, Hidetoshi Yamamoto. "The reason we decided on Edgar was his experience with the Belmont Stakes."...more
Casino Drive, Big Brown's leading challenger for the Belmont Stakes ran at the Belmont track on Wednesday morning, but it was not published as an "official workout." He ran five furlongs in 1:12 2/5 and galloped out to 3/4 of a mile in 1:25. Racing manager Nobu Tada said that it was "exactly what they wanted."
Casino Drive went to the track for a scheduled work Wednesday, May 28, but in the end it was decided the times for the exercise regimen will not be published as an official workout......more
Casino Drive, Big Brown's greatest challenger at the Belmont, is "50-50" to breeze on Wednesday, according to spokesman Nobutaka Tada. Connections are also supposed to name the jockey who will ride the colt on Belmont Day. He will be on the track at 8:45 am regardless of whether or not he works.
..."We really appreciate how many good jockeys are interested in our horse,” said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. “We need the right rider for the Belmont Stakes, whether it be Japanese, American, or European.”.....more
On Monday, many of Big Browns possible opponents worked at tracks across the country. Tale of Ekati ran a disappointing time of 1:18.97 breezing over six furlongs at Belmont Park. Dennis of Cork looked better working five furlongs in :59.80 at Churchill Downs. Anak Nakal and Ready's Echo also worked four furlongs early Monday.
....“For two weeks after the Derby it just took him (Dennis of Cork) a little bit of time to get back on his feet and get his energy back, but the last week he’s training beautifully," trainer David Carroll said. "He had a good work last week, but this week we wanted a bit more from him. I just told Robby to let him go off ‘twelves’ and let him finish up and gallop out, and he did everything beautifully.”.....more
....The strangest of the works was turned in by Wood Memorial winner Tale of Ekati, who breezed six furlongs at Belmont in a dreadfully slow 1:18.97 under jockey Eibar Coa. Trainer Barclay Tagg watched the work while sitting aboard the world's most famous stable pony, Funny Cide, who won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. "Two works before a Classic race and this is not what I wanted," muttered an unhappy Tagg. "It's no wonder I'm always in a bad mood." .....more
The list of possible spoilers is short, but still many are trying to pick the possible upset. The undefeated Casino Drive is the obvious choice to challenge and many Big Brown supporters are hoping he can put up a solid challenge in order to legitimize the Crown. Desormeaux, who rode Casino Drive last month calls the Belmont "a cold exacta." Others are supporting Barclay Tagg's Tale of Ekati as a possible spoiler. Tagg's Triple Crown bid was spoiled two years ago when Empire Maker upset Funny Cide on a wet Belmont track. Tale of Ekati outran his 47-1 odds to finish 4th in the Derby and will come in fresh off the 5-week rest.
As trainer David Carroll told owner William Warren about running Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Denis of Cork in the June 7 Belmont Stakes, "If we don't get to make history, we'll witness history. What's wrong with that?".....more
Big Brown had the good fortune to be born in what is considered a lackluster foal crop. Then again, the same thing was said about Seattle Slew. Seattle Slew merely went on to become racing's only unbeaten Triple Crown winner, something Big Brown will try to emulate in the June 7 Belmont Stakes......more
....“It (the Belmont) looks like kind of the same deal as the Preakness,” said Finley May 19. “It’s a decent group of horses, but nobody really stands out except Big Brown. I know Casino Drive ran well in the Peter Pan (gr. II), but I think we ran pretty well in the Derby Trial and we ran OK in the Preakness. It (the Belmont purse) is a million dollars, so we’re going to roll the dice again.”.....more
...“We are leaving our options open,” Tada said May 20, without mentioning the names of the riders under consideration. “We should have a clear answer in four or five days. Fortunately, many good riders are interested, and we are pleased about that.”.....more
The roles have reversed this year for trainer Barclay Tagg and his assistant, Robin Smullen, going from the hunted to the hunters. In 2003, they tried to sweep the Triple Crown with Funny Cide, but were denied in the Belmont Stakes by Empire Maker, who had finished third to Funny Cide in the Kentucky Derby, skipped the Preakness, and came into the Belmont fresh, fit, and dangerous......more
....Quite likely, it'll be from lightly raced colt Casino Drive, whose pedigree reeks of stamina and who has been pointed to the Belmont Stakes for months......more
Two Churchill Downs-based 3-year-olds that are being pointed toward a battle against Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) were reported to be doing well with just over two weeks remaining before the June 7 “Test of the Champion.”.....more
....Casino Drive has been cast as Ali's Frazier, Borg's McEnroe, Russell's Celtics versus Wilt's 76ers. The new colt has run only two career races, both wins, but he turned in the same sort of scintillating performances that announced Big Brown's greatness at Saratoga last September and the Florida Derby this spring......more
...."I don't know if he's good enough or not," Tagg said Friday of Tale of Ekati. "He ran good in the Derby. He went off at 47-1 and finished fourth out of 20."The time off seemed to agree with Tale of Ekati, who sizzled in his first workout since the Derby earlier this week. The 3-year-old colt zipped a half-mile in 46.84 seconds at Belmont Park on Tuesday......more
....So, why then do I believe that Tale of Ekati has a chance in the Belmont Stakes when I was so down on him in the Kentucky Derby? Simple logistics, really. The Derby is run at 1 ¼ miles. Most horses entering the Kentucky Derby are fresh. Tale of Ekati’s chief rival, Big Brown, will not be fresh at all. .....more
This year, however, the best horses from the West have hightailed it back to California, leaving the 140th Belmont Stakes on June 7 - in which Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown will attempt to become the 12th Triple Crown winner - a match between the East (Big Brown) and the Far East (Casino Drive)......more
Here is what the world is saying about Big Brown's possibility of winning the Triple Crown. I have compiled commentaries and will keep updating this post as I find more:
Shortly after the call to the post for the 140th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the rich and the railside in attendance will be invited to sway along with ''New York, New York.'' Some instead might want to ask the off-Broadway musical question: ''Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, racing gods? Racing gods?''.....more
Not since Whirlaway in 1941 has Thoroughbred racing witnessed such a domination of the opening two legs of its Triple Crown. The Big Brown express, which has rolled through Louisville and Baltimore in commanding style, now chugs along just one destination away from immortality: New York......more
....Quite likely, it'll be from lightly raced colt Casino Drive, whose pedigree reeks of stamina and who has been pointed to the Belmont Stakes for months......more
....Casino Drive has been cast as Ali's Frazier, Borg's McEnroe, Russell's Celtics versus Wilt's 76ers. The new colt has run only two career races, both wins, but he turned in the same sort of scintillating performances that announced Big Brown's greatness at Saratoga last September and the Florida Derby this spring......more
Big Brown seems to be an overwhelming choice to win the June 7 Belmont Stakes and sweep the Triple Crown. Here are five races in the last last two decades that should serve as a cautionary tale for those already awarding history to the undefeated colt......more
There was something very different about this colt. He was pulled from his mother's womb in the broodmare barn at Monticule Farm in central Kentucky on the afternoon of April 10, 2005, deep bay in color but with a strange white dot at the top of his left front leg, near his rib cage. It was perhaps the size of a quarter, and none of the three people in the stall at the time of his birth had ever seen such a marking on a horse of his coloring......more
Stuff does happen in thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown series. Big Brown is flying toward the June 7 Belmont Stakes as if on Pegasus wings, as uncatchable in Saturday's Preakness as he was in the May 3 Kentucky Derby. But the tragedy of facts is that, more often than not — and not at all since 1978 — a Derby-Preakness double has not led to the sport's most celebrated sweep......more
The working premise for this column was that the smooth sailing is over for Big Brown. That winning the Belmont and the Triple Crown will be brutally difficult, no matter how easy he's made it look getting to this point. Then I talked to Bob Baffert. "I've never seen anything like him since I've been training," Baffert gushed Sunday. "Everyone's been waiting for the next Secretariat-type horse, and we got him. He's going to do it.".....more
....the Belmont is the race in which he is really going to be up against it. His first problem will be his workload. Here is a horse that has had some injury issues already and will be asked to run three huge efforts in the span of five weeks. He's going to have to be made of steel to hold up through all that. Chances are, he won't......more
....How many times do you think the word “freak” has been uttered since Saturday? Well, there is no doubt that the colt has accomplished freakish things in his brief career, but so did Curlin, and he couldn’t win the Derby off three career starts......more
....When Ragozin's company calculated the performance by Big Brown on May 3 in the Kentucky Derby, it made a startling discovery: the 3-year-old colt had recorded a - 3/4 , the lowest number in the modern history of the race......more
...."Is he a good horse? Yes. Is he a talented horse? Yes. Do I think he has a chance to win the Triple Crown? Yes, he has a chance," Shug McGaughey said. "He's a special kind of horse, but it's only been done 10 times in 130 years. The chance of it happening, no I don't think it will happen.".....more
Love this video - puts his quest in historical perspective:
More news came from the mouth of Richard Dutrow on Wednesday Morning. He declared that Belmont Rival Casino Drive had "no chance" and that Big Brown would not be retired immediately after the Belmont Stakes. He indicated that Big Brown would run in the Travers and the Breeders Cup Classic before retiring to stud.
With the Belmont Stakes still more than two weeks away, the trainer Rick Dutrow’s swagger over Big Brown is in full force. On Wednesday morning at Belmont, Dutrow declared that Big Brown’s rival from Japan, Casino Drive, would have “no chance” June 7 and that Big Brown would not stop after completing the Triple Crown. .....more
Big Brown took a few days off, but has returned to the track. Early in the morning today (around 6am), he jogged once around the Belmont track. Exercise rider Michelle Nevin reported that it was business as usual for Big Brown.
...."I'm glad he's here, safe and sound," Dutrow said. "Things just couldn't be better with Big Brown and that's great for me to say. "I just want to be with him and see him. I'm not around my (other) horses, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be. I don't want to miss nothing here. I'll never be able to do this again. He's so much fun to be around.".....more
Oh brother - and sister - did the Belmont Stakes just get a whole lot more interesting. Casino Drive, a half-brother to recent Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and the filly Rags to Riches, announced his presence as a major contender for the June 7 Belmont Stakes - and a potential Triple Crown roadblock to Big Brown - with an impressive 5 3/4-length victory in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park......more
Jan-Feb 2007: Big Brown develops a quartercrack in his other foot and is forced to miss more time, jeopardizing a try at the Triple Crown
Dec 22, 2007: With the quartercrack fixed, Big Brown breezes six furlongs on the dirt at Palm Meadows in 1:13 3/5, outworking Diamond Stripes and giving Dutrow great hope for the 3-year old season
Oct-Dec 2007: Big Brown joins stable of Trainer Rick Dutrow, who breezes the colt on the turf in preparation for Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf, but he is sidelined with a quartercrack in his foot
Sept, 2007: 75% stake of Big Brown purchased in a private sale for around $3.5 million by IEAH Stables
Sept 3, 2007: Big Brown wins debut by 11 1/4 lengths as a 15/1 longshot on the turf at Saratoga
Apr-Sept 2007: Owner Paul Pompa Jr names Big Brown as a celebration of the contract Renewal between UPS Freight and his Brooklyn-based trucking company, Truck-Rite Corp.
April 17, 2007: Big Brown Purchased at Keenland Auction for $190,000 by Paul Pompa Jr., who had owned half-brother Snake River for one race.
Oct 24, 2006: Big Brown Purchased at Faisig Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale for $60,000.
April 10, 2005: Bay Colt Big Brown foaled
2004: for a sire fee of $10,000 Boundary is bred in Kentucky by Dr. Gary B Knapp's Monticule Farms to a broodmare named Mien
