Spoiled Again

Want to know how to win the Belmont? And this I can tell you from personal experience. Go out in front and stay there. This is exactly what Da'Tara did and what Big Brown didn't. I'm not sure if that made the difference but once again a Triple Crown was thwarted.

So what happened? Hard to say. It is possible that Big Brown bled or had some other breathing issues. It is possible that the heat was too much for him (and it is hot here on the East Coast). It is possible he didn't like the #1 post position and never rebounded from getting bumped at the start. It is possible that his jockey was busy jockeying him around too much and didn't let him take the lead. It is possible that he didn't like having other horses in front of him--remember this is the horse that won the Derby from the #20 post.

It is possible the racing gods were angered by Dutrown's boasts. It is possible that it wasn't meant to be. It is possible that the lack of steroids was significant. It is possible that his hoof was bothering him. It is possible that he had a virus or sore back or some other mysterious ailment.

It is possible we may never know what went wrong. It is very possible that the horse will never run again. And it is possible that we won't see a Triple Crown winner until we start breeding horses that race drug-free.

It is a shame that Big Brown didn't win but I personally don't think anything is physically wrong with him. I think he just didn't "fire," as they say, for whatever reason--and it is a shame that it happened in the biggest race of his life.

I think they should have let him go to the lead and run away with the race, because once he found himself behind other horses, he stopped running. My friend, the astologer, told me to expect the unexpected.

I think I'll bet on her any day. And please note that Denis of Cork did me proud!