Big Brown Retired

And so the great showdown is not to be. Big Brown has been retired after sustaining a foot injury during a workout on the turf at Aqueduct. Apparently he clipped his foot and tore off a big chunk. Ouch! Sounds like it was pretty fragile to begin with...

It is a shame of course that the great duel between Curlin and Big Brown will not transpire in the Breeder's Cup Classic as many had hoped. But there is, of course, the chance that it might not have happened even if Big Brown had stayed wound.

Remember there has been no announcement regarding Curlin's entry into the Classic. A lot was dependent on how he liked the synthetic surface and the jury still seems to be out. And call me cynical, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Big Brown's feet have not been the same since the Kentucky Derby.

The way I look at it, the Big Brown connections were extremely lucky to have had the chance to redeem themselves with the Haskell after the Belmont fiasco and they made a very wise decision. There is no way that Lady Luck would have shined on them again considering the increasingly fragile nature of his feet. Those infrequent workouts on the turf were just a hint of how they must have been holding this horse together with glue and prayers for a very long time.

So I am disappointed that racing will not have a classic duel in a classic race in a year in which the sport could use a shot of classic public interest, BUT I am delighted that the pubic will not turn in to see Big Brown turn in a performance that could have been a disaster. Just imaging what would have happened had he run on those fragile feet and not finished. You might as well kiss the sport goodbye.

Look at it as a chance for redemption. What could be better for racing than to conduct a prime time racing card without a single injury or breakdown? Right now, the way I look at it, that would be better than a classic duel any day.