Big Brown Triple Crown . com

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

Today, Jockey Kent Desormeaux visited Trainer Richard Dutrows barn at Aqueduct race track and they spoke for the first time since the Belmont loss.
br>New York Newsday - Jerry Bossert: Rick Dutrow, Kent Desormeaux back in saddle after meeting

...."Look, (owner) Mike Iavarone named Desormeaux. So it's up to Mike," Dutrow said. "If it's up to me, I'd leave him on. Yes. But it's not up to me." Iavarone has said that Desormeaux will ride Big Brown in the colt's next start. That could be the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth on Aug.3 or the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug.23. Desormeaux met with Dutrow at Aqueduct, where Dutrow's barn is located. "He came over this morning," Dutrow said. "I didn't get too much involved with that (the Belmont). No. Just about the future and what we got to do to get there." .....more

Michael Iavarone announced on Tuesday that Kent Desormeaux would ride Big Brown in his next race. It was Iavarone who originally chose Desormeaux, despite Trainer Richard Dutrow's desired to go with Edgar Prado. Richard Dutrow, who blamed Kent Desormeaux for the Belmont Stakes defeat, took the chance to again say that he would have chosen Prado and that the choice of Desormeaux was always that of Iavarone.

New York Times - Bill Finley: Despite Dutrow’s Criticism, Big Brown’s Jockey Will Stay

Already planning ahead for Big Brown’s next race, members of his team said Tuesday that they planned to stick with their regular rider, Kent Desormeaux, and resume the colt’s monthly treatments of Winstrol......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

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.

Richard Dutrow has spoken up again. This time he has accused Richard Dutrow of some wring doing in the Preakness. Prado has said that he did nothing inappropriate. Prado had rode Big Brown in training through the winter, but never rode him in a race. Kent Desormeaux has been his jockey through the Triple Crown Run.

CNNSI - AP: Big Brown trainer claims opposing trainer tried to box him in

Outspoken Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. had some harsh words for jockey Edgar Prado, who often rides for him but was aboard a competitor during the Preakness. Asked on Wednesday to elaborate on comments made after Big Brown's win Saturday, Dutrow suggested that Prado, on long shot Riley Tucker, needlessly tried to block Big Brown,.....more

As most expected, Big Brown made easy work of the Preakness field and is one step closer to a Triple Crown. He won by 5 1/4 lengths as a 1-5 favorite in front of 112,000 fans at Pimlico. Connections were very happy with how he raced and how little he needed to use up as the Belmont looms three weeks away. Casino Drive and other fresher horses will certainly bring challenge and Drama to the effort.

AP - Beth Harris: Big Brown wins Preakness, sets up Triple Crown try

Big Brown powered to the lead turning for home and then sailed through the stretch to win the Preakness, still perfect and squarely pointed down the path toward thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown in 30 years.....more

....Big Brown, the overwhelming favorite ridden by Kent Desormeaux, grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch and easily drew away from the field for his fifth career triumph."Unlike in the Kentucky Derby where I had to start knuckling on him to get him to go get the leaders, today I was slowing him down not to pass the leaders," said Desormeaux."It was really a dramatic change from two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby.".....more

...With the victory, the powerful bay colt becomes the 30th horse in thoroughbred history to head to the Belmont Stakes with the elusive Triple Crown in his sights. Only eleven have captured all three of horse racing’s jewels -- the last was Affirmed in 1978.....more

In a performance that was more like a coronation than a Thoroughbred horse race, Big Brown crushed his 11 rivals in the Preakness Stakes.....more

Big Brown's connections had the 16th choice out of 20 to decide where they would want to start the Kentucky Derby. They chose once again to be in the far outside. Big Brown won the Florida Derby from the far outside post and Dutrow confidently pointed out that he knew as long as there was no trouble his horse could win. He agian commented that he would prefer to break from the outside to help assure a clean trip.

Interviews with Big Brown's connections from KentuckyDerby.com at the start of this video



Blood-Horse - Ron Mitchell: Favorite to Break from Post Position 20

....Based on a draw conducted earlier in the day to determine order in which post positions would be selected, Big Brown’s owners and trainer had the 16th draw out of the 20 starting positions. “We prefer just to break on the outside,” said Richard Dutrow, Jr......more

Kent Desormeaux gives his thoughts on how he will run the Kentucky Derby on NTRA.com:

I have tried here to compile as much as I can about Big Brown Jockey Kent Desormeaux. He has ridden Big Brown in every race but his debut.

NTRA Bio of Kent Desormeaux

International Herald Tribune - AP - June 5: Big Brown's jockey goes for the Triple Crown again

...."I never dreamed I could get another chance at this," Desormeaux said. "Now all of it is like a daydream, a movie." Ten years after failing in the Belmont Stakes with the kind of race that could define a career, Desormeaux gets his Triple Crown do-over. Desormeaux vows he'll end the Belmont aboard Big Brown the way he should have ended the race 10 years ago with Real Quiet: With a blanket of white carnations in the winner's circle and a Triple Crown......more

....“This is my day job, and I love it,” Desormeaux, 38, said between races. “I amp up to ride. I love riding. Each and every day I show up here with the simple goal of wanting to win a race.” There was energy in his every step and passion in his voice, things that were hard to find when Desormeaux was struggling to win races in California earlier this decade......more

...For the hundreds of times he had won races by a similar fashion in Maryland during the late 1980s. He ruled the circuit, as few jockeys have ever ruled a circuit, but this victory at Pimlico might ultimately prove the most meaningful of all for Desormeaux......more

...."I can't wait to get out there and try," Desormeaux says. "This is the pinnacle. This is why we ride." Desormeaux talks with the enthusiasm and energy of a teenager. In one moment, he recalls the key instant when Big Brown dusted the other 19 horses with a burst of speed around the final turn. "I finally got to witness the blimp view of the race and (Big Brown) just left them behind," Desormeaux says. In another moment, he dreams aloud about how he would like to ride his final career race in France, the country from which his ancestors came......more

On a map of Louisiana, Maurice is a dot, a sparsely populated rural community 10 miles southwest of Lafayette, the Cajun capital. Maurice is where jockey Kent Desormeaux was born and raised, and his parents still live there. On June 7, Maurice will be even emptier than usual. When Desormeaux goes for the Triple Crown on undefeated Big Brown, he'll have a large cheering section from down home.......more

....“If Big Brown's healthy it will be Big Brown's race to lose. The horse has been perfectly trained,” said Desormeaux, who came under criticism for rushing Real Quiet to the front too early in the Belmont Stakes before being nipped by Victory Gallup 10 years ago......more