By Fred
Horse trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. became the second biggest loser at Belmont when he blamed the jockey after no medical reason was found for Big Brown’s last-place finish, blowing his Triple Crown chances.
Kent Desormeaux is the same jockey who rode Big Brown to victory in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He’s said Brownie is the “best horse I’ve ever ridden,” and he should know, being a Hall of Famer with nearly 5,000 victories under his cap.
While sports writers crucified Dutrow for dissing everyone, including the other horses at Belmont – by calling Big Brown’s win a “foregone conclusion” – Desormeaux maturely approached Dutrow and they reached an understanding.
Theories abound about what happened, but I think they’re underestimating Big Brown’s intelligence. He’s an unbeaten champion who found himself stuck in a herd on a miserably hot day. When he decided, “To hell with this,” it didn’t matter what Desormeaux did or didn’t do.
Big Brown has a mind of his own. You could see his usual joie de vivre was missing going into that race, although the talking heads kept praising his “calmness.”
Fortunately, Big Brown will get another chance – with Desormeaux in his saddle. If all goes well, they’ll compete in the Travers Stakes on Aug. 23 at Saratoga and the Breeders’ Cup Classic on October 25 at Santa Anita.
Not that he’ll ever admit it had anything to do with the pep disappearing from Big Brown’s step, but Dutrow’s putting Brownie back on the steroid Winstrol on June 15.
I never thought I’d get attached to a horse, but I look forward to seeing Big Brown make a big comeback, in spite of Dutrow.
Cats Working 
i am looking forward to a ban on horseracing. not likely, but a girl can dream, cant she?
I don’t think horse racing should be banned, but I’d like to see older, more substantial horses taking it a bit slower on shorter tracks. Enough of this running virtual SUVs of horseflesh on toothpick legs over a mile with a man on their back. It’s beyond cruel.
That’s why there will never be cat racing. We’d refuse to go the distance, even if we could, and hell would freeze over before you’d see some big cat running anywhere wearing a saddle!
Someone has some sense to blame the trainer. He’s finger pointed at everyone except himself. He’s a loud mouth that doesn’t give a sh_t about the horse. He was the one that decided not to run him the week of the Belmont. Then kept saying his hoof was a non issue,. Well then why didn’t he run him during that week and why did they wait so long before they stapled it? I can only imagine BB had to have felt something wasn’t right with his hoof, I could be totally wrong BUT. Besides that I don’t think they should have run any horse in the not weather.
PS – One last thing I also believe no horse should be put on any track until they are 5 years old. Their bones haven’t even stopped growning at 3 which is why there have been so many injuries and death’s. I love the thoroughbreds but think they are forced to run when they are way too young
I read that they waited until the day before the race to patch the cracked hoof to give it maximum time to heal on its own. That makes sense to me. And when Big Brown was pulled up short, he wasn’t walking funny at all, which would indicate the hoof wasn’t his problem. But maybe he knew that something would go wrong with the hoof if he continued to pound it, so he laid back. I think he’s one smart horse, but people are treating him like a running machine.
I agree with you that the horses are running too young. I’d like to see more mature horses running slower so everyone finishes the race alive.
And the more that comes out about Dutrow, the more of a scumbag he seems to be, so I’m sorry that Big Brown is under his care. The jockey, Kent Desormeaux, obviously has more love for Brownie than Durtrow ever did. It’s great that Desormeaux and Big Brown will continue to be a team because we know that on the track, Big Brown will be with a human who cares about him and won’t let anything happen to him.
I dread watching any thoroughbred race for fear that a horse will have to be put down. I agree they should NOT run until they are mature and there should be much stricter rules about treatment. Steroids should be forbidden, as well as any other drugs that make horses able to run by dulling pain that would otherwise preclude them from racing. I’d like to see it banned but probably that’s impossible. Same goes for dogracing…
From what I’ve read, the owner of this horse is part of some kind of consortium that is traded like a stock. and has investors looking to make a profit. This is not conducive to good treatment of the horses.