View Full Version : Kentucky Derby 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnomqXMqBmY
Big Brown is favourite...here he is winning the Florida Derby
Thx Ima - i must be crazy as i like those American callers.
Yeah I lik em too...i liked the one who used to say " they are in the gates...( then they jumped) ...and now they're not...
Seabikkies might remember where that was...Evangelina Downs I think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L-vrpMD8PA&feature=related
This win by Big Brown looks like it was a stroll in the park? Doesnt mind sitting a bit wide either.
Favorite Big Brown dusts field; runner-up Eight Belles euthanized
http://espn.go.com/media/horse/BigBrown2_500x365_080503.jpg
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Big Brown was pulling away from the field, accelerating with every powerful stride toward the finish line in the Kentucky Derby.
The crowd of 157,770 was on its feet and cheering as the big, unbeaten, muscular bay crossed the line first, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of the filly Eight Belles.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/news/story?id=3380081
Video above ( link to page)
Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was still celebrating, along with thousands of happy bettors, as Big Brown and the 19 other horses in Saturday's race galloped out around the first turn at Churchill Downs.
It took a few minutes to sink in, but anyone watching those horses soon realized that one of them had fallen to the track.
"It's the filly," someone whispered.
In just a few minutes, the joy of the Derby and the promise of a new Triple Crown season were upended when Eight Belles was euthanized by injection on the track.
She had broken both front ankles and could not be saved.
"This horse showed you his heart," winning jockey Kent Desormeaux said, "and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today. I'm deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss."
Big Brown did everything his owner said he would do. An explosive finishing kick put away his rivals for his fourth consecutive victory.
http://espn.go.com/media/horse/BigBrown1_500x365_080503.jpg
Eight Belles, meantime, was attempting to become the fourth filly to win the Derby. Her owners chose to keep her out of Friday's Kentucky Oaks so she could run with the boys in the Derby. And run she did.
Big Brown's start from the outside post did little to hamper his charge when the field turned for home. Under the urging of Desormeaux, the 2-1 favorite cruised to an easy victory to become the seventh undefeated Derby winner. The last one was Barbaro in 2006.
[+] EnlargeMatthew Stockman/Getty Images
Jockey Kent Desormeaux raises the trophy after winning the Kentucky Derby on Big Brown.
That wasn't the only reason thoughts of Barbaro were hard to ignore on this Derby Day.
The breakdown brought back memories of the 2006 Preakness, where Barbaro shattered his right rear leg just after the start. The colt was euthanized months later, after developing laminitis from the catastrophic injuries.
In two weeks, Big Brown will race in the Preakness as the only 3-year-old with a chance to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978.
"We're ready to roll," Dutrow said.
All week, Dutrow told the world he had the best horse in the field -- and the big bay colt justified every accolade tossed his way.
"I can't describe the feeling that all of us have right now," he said.
The colt became the first Derby winner since Regret in 1915 to have raced only three times previously. He is only the third in 60 years to win after racing in just two Derby preps -- Sunny's Halo in 1983 and Street Sense last year were the others.
In addition, Big Brown became the second winner to start from the No. 20 post. The gelding Clyde Van Dusen did it in 1929.
Still Perfect
Big Brown, who remains undefeated, won from post 20 in the Kentucky Derby. That ends a 79-year streak of horses who have tried and failed to win the race from that spot. The last horse to do it? Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.
Won Kentucky Derby With Undefeated Record Year Horse Pre-Derby Wins
2008 Big Brown 3
2006 Barbaro 5
2004 Smarty Jones 6
1977 Seattle Slew 6
1969 Majestic Prince 7
1922 Morvich 11
1915 Regret 3
Big Brown covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.82 in front of the second-largest crowd in Derby history. He paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80.
Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40, and Denis of Cork, at odds of 27-1, returned $11.60.
Dr. Larry Bramlage, the Derby's on-call veterinarian, said the filly's injuries were too severe to even attempt to move her off the track.
"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was euthanized," Bramlage said.
Trainer Larry Jones paid tribute to his fallen filly saying, "She ran the race of her life."
And he defended having her run against 19 colts in the Derby.
"It wasn't that. It wasn't the distance. It wasn't a big bumping match for her. She never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."
http://espn.go.com/media/horse/KentD2_500x365_080503.jpg
Tale of Ekati was fourth, followed by Recapturetheglory, Colonel John, Anak Nakal, Pyro, Cowboy Cal, Z Fortune, Smooth Air, Visionaire, Court Vision, Z Humor, Cool Coal Man, Bob Black Jack, Gayego, Big Truck, Adriano and Monba.
The colt earned $1,451,800 for the win and boosted his earnings to $2,114,500 for owners IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr. Pompa, who named Big Brown in honor of United Parcel Service, a client of his trucking business, sold a 75 percent interest in the colt to IEAH for about $3 million after his first race.
Desormeaux won the Derby for the third time, having won aboard Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Only three other riders have won more -- Eddie Arcaro, Bill Hartack and Bill Shoemaker.
"It was smooth sailing all the way," Desormeaux said. "The horse was very comfortable."
Big Brown was the third favorite to win in the past five years. Smarty Jones won in 2004 and Street Sense won last year.
All eyes were on Big Brown at the start. Dutrow called his colt the fastest of all and he proved it when Desormeaux gunned him close the lead on the mad dash to the first turn. Desormeaux did a masterful job of keeping Big Brown free and clear of any traffic issues.
As the field headed into the backstretch, Big Brown was in sixth place and waiting for Desormeaux's signal to make his move. It came around the far turn, and Big Brown took the lead at the top of the stretch and was never challenged to the wire.
"I don't even know what we just did," Dutrow said. "I can't express my feelings, only that it was one of the most incredible feelings I ever had, and I can't wait to feel it again."
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3382208&categoryId=2378529
Aftermath of the Kentucky Derby video.
From: MattDjebel31 Sent: 7/05/2008 11:08 AM
The fall out continues...................
THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT
by Bill Finley, Special to ESPN.com
This one is different. This time, the people are not going to buy that tired, old "It's part of the game" line. The public is outraged by the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby and asking some very serious, very appropriate questions about whether horse racing is tantamount to animal cruelty.
This is usually where the sport buries its collective head in the sand, tells people how much everyone involved with the game loves his or her horses, and hopes the controversy dies down. This time, that's not going to work. The horse racing industry has to be proactive and take some severe measures to make this sport safer and more humane for the animals that compete and the humans who ride them.
It has to send a message: We admit we have a problem, and we are going to fix it. To do nothing of substance is unacceptable and will convince a large segment of the population that horse racing, as a New York Times columnist suggested, isn't that different from animal fighting.
Horse racing must:
1. Ban all drugs.
How can the sport possibly justify allowing horses to race on steroids, painkillers and diuretics that dehydrate the animal? With the exception of Canada, no other country in the world allows anything but hay, oats and water. There can be no doubt that the proliferation of drugs, illegal and otherwise, in the sport has contributed to the increasing fragility of these animals.
2. Control excess use of the whip.
I doubt very much that the actions of Gabriel Saez in any way contributed to the death of Eight Belles, but the sight of a jockey beating a horse in the stretch with a whip contributes to racing's image problems. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals already has come out demanding that Seaz be suspended for his use of the whip. Jockeys insist the whip is necessary to help control their mounts, but do they really need to beat the tar out of a horse to make it run harder than it would without the punishment? Is that not inhumane? Many countries have rules against excessive use of the whip, and jockeys who have broken those rules have received severe punishments. The same must be done in this country.
3. Convert to synthetic tracks.
Synthetic tracks are obviously not perfect, and they will never prevent all catastrophic injuries, but they are considerably safer than traditional dirt surfaces. Would Barbaro, George Washington and Eight Belles still be alive had the Preakness, Breeders' Cup Classic and Kentucky Derby been run on a synthetic surface? The answer is, quite possibly.
Eight U.S. tracks have synthetic surfaces, but there has been no movement to convert any additional tracks from dirt to synthetic. Maybe it's time for more racing commissions to do what they did in California, mandate that tracks convert to a synthetic surface.
4. Promote longer races.
The breeding industry continues to accentuate speed over soundness and stamina, no doubt another contributing factor to the alarming rate of catastrophic injuries.
Who can blame them? There are great rewards out there for fast, precocious horses who need not go any farther than a mile. Once, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, one of the most important races on the calendar, was run at two miles. No more. Even the mile-and-a-quarter distance is starting to disappear.
The only way breeders are going to start producing sounder, sturdier horses is to create a system in which those horses have much to gain on the racetrack. We can start by making the Breeders' Cup Classic a mile and a half and the Breeders' Cup Distaff a mile and a quarter, and increasing the distance of many other major races.
5. Take meaningful strides to stop the slaughter of horses.
Though there are some very generous and good-hearted people in the sport, the industry has, by and large, a deplorable record when it comes to dealing with the issues of caring for its retirees. Retirement organizations are largely left to fend for themselves, scraping pennies together with little financial support from the industry. The result is there is not enoughmoney out there to prevent the deaths of thousands of racehorses each year in the slaughterhouse.
People are tired of seeing horses die. Perhaps some of the reactions that have come from the Eight Belles situation are over the top, but that's not the point. Horse racing has to react to public sentiment, something it has never been very good at doing. It has to do so because it's the right thing to do for the horses and because it has to deal with a public relations nightmare.
Are we that far from the point when sponsors pull their ads from Triple Crown telecasts because of pressure put on them by animal rights activists and/or the media outcry over all these deaths?
Horse racing has come to a crossroads. It had better go down the right path.
Reprinted courtesy of espn.com.
Preakness Stakes | Big Brown's trainer copes with his past
By The New York Times and The Associated Press
Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, who is favored to take today's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, is perfect. The colt's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., admittedly is not.
Dutrow once was a drug-addled horseman who was ruled off New York racetracks for several years. Since returning, he has earned a rogue reputation after being suspended for everything from medication violations to making up a workout for one of his better horses.
Dutrow has endured his share of heartbreak, too.
In 1997, his former girlfriend was murdered in a drug-related break-in as the couple's daughter, Molly, now 13, slept in an adjacent room. In 1999, his father, Dick Dutrow, who won 3,665 career races and passed on to his son his horsemanship skills, succumbed to cancer. Worse, Dutrow was estranged from his father, who had wearied of Rick Jr.'s lost-boy antics.
Although he saddled the Kentucky Derby winner two weeks ago, Dutrow's redemptive tale has its share of rough edges. He retains the hipster habit of calling most people "babe," and talks freely about his love for a big score at the betting windows.
Dutrow has declared his 4-for-4 colt an "even-money" choice to win the Preakness and the June 7 Belmont Stakes as well to become the 12th Triple Crown champion — and the first since Affirmed swept the series for 3-year-olds in 1978.
"I'm no role model," said Dutrow, 48. "I wonder sometimes if I had to go through some of the things I've gone through to get where I am today.
"I don't think anyone would look to me for guidance, but at the same time I'm honest about where I've been and I'm confident in where I'm going."
Where Dutrow has come from in the past decade is a tack room at a barn at Aqueduct in Jamaica, N.Y.
It was his home. He had a cot, a microwave, a refrigerator ... and a two-horse barn.
"He hung his clothes up right next to his horse blankets," said Sanford Goldfarb, a commodities trader and Dutrow's first significant owner. "He might have had 100 bucks to his name, and it went to feed his horses before it went to feed himself."
Nonetheless, Goldfarb was impressed. He had been a longtime owner of standardbreds and wanted to make the switch to Thoroughbreds.
Goldfarb also recognized a kindred spirit — he, too, had willed himself from modest means in Brooklyn to a well-heeled horse owner.
Dutrow told Goldfarb about how a positive test for marijuana and persistent drug problems had derailed his training career. About how Molly's mother, Sheryl Denise Toyloy, was murdered in Schenectady, N.Y., and how Molly was living with Dutrow's mother.
Dutrow also told his prospective employer he should never leave the barn because when he does, trouble follows.
Dutrow finally told Goldfarb he could flat-out train. He helped Goldfarb win the leading-owner title in New York from 2001 to 2003.
Dutrow's sudden success did not escape the notice of the racing authorities or railbirds. He has been fined or suspended at least once every year since 2000 for medication issues. He was fined and suspended for providing misleading information about where colt Wild Desert worked leading up to the 2005 Queen's Plate at Woodbine, a race Wild Desert won.
"Half of them I deserved, half of them I didn't," Dutrow said of penalties. "I've messed some things up. But cheating and drugs is not our game. We win because we block and tackle."
As evidence, Dutrow points to his recent success in Dubai, where race-day medications are banned and Diamond Stripes won the $1 million Godolphin Mile and Benny the Bull captured the $2 million Golden Shaheen. He also takes pride in his cautious handling of Big Brown.
Of the Preakness, a confident Dutrow said, "Most likely, as long as nothing bad happens, he'll get by this one. At the Belmont, he's going to have some fresher, better horses. And, you know, the third race in five weeks could get to him.
"He's not a machine."
Notes
• The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority announced test results showed no traces of steroids in Eight Belles, the Larry Jones-trained filly who finished second to Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby but broke down after the race and was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Big Brown is overwhelming favorite to capture second leg of the triple crown
Like any true A-lister, he kept the masses waiting for hours. Then Big Brown made his grand entrance.
Accompanied from the airport by a police escort with sirens flashing, the dazzling colt pulled into the Pimlico Race Course shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday and headed for the prime spot of real estate on the grounds -- the corner barn occupied each year by the winner of the Kentucky Derby.
For added flair, two UPS trucks flanked the convoy as it rolled through the gates, Those boxy, brown trucks had never made a delivery quite like this one.
Fans, horsemen, the media -- everyone, really -- had waited impatiently for the BBOC (Big Brown on Campus). The entire sport has its Triple Crown hopes pinned on the star who claimed the racing stage for himself following a 4 3/4-length victory at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Right now he has the fanfare that goes along with the luxe life of a Derby winner and the odds-on favorite for the Preakness. It will continue as long as he wins Saturday and moves on to the Belmont in three weeks.
Right now, it's good to be the king.
"He gets love all the time," trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said.
And why not? The rest of the field has endured a week being treated like lowly subjects, their names recognizable to few outside their inner circle. Only Gayego decided to follow Big Brown from the Derby -- and he finished 17th two weeks ago. So anticipated was Big Brown's arrival that when a horse van showed up just before 8 p.m., the media horde scurried into position.
False alarm.
The van was carting a pair of other entrants, Racecar Rhapsody and Tres Borrachos, and once that became clear, no one cared. The horses walked off the van and to their stable without a single photographer on their tails. When Big Brown showed up nearly three hours late because of bad weather in Louisville, Ky., all that was missing was the red carpet.
"Big Brown's a serious horse," said Ken McPeek, who trains Racecar Rhapsody.
The Big Brown bravado is what separates the leadup to Preakness from the Kentucky Derby. The celebrities on Millionaire's Row at Churchill Downs are as much the story before the race as the horses that run for the roses. What's Jessica Simpson wearing? Where will the Playmates party? Hey, isn't that O.J. Simpson?
At Pimlico, the Derby champ is the main event, period.
"The minute he arrived," said Chick Lang, Pimlico's former general manager, "he was a celebrity."
Dutrow loves the spotlight and he's added plenty of his own hype with brash boasts that Big Brown is the horse to beat Saturday. No taking it "one race at a time" with Dutrow. He's already professed to dreaming about the Triple Crown and how awesome it would feel to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont for the first time in 30 years.
"I believe he enjoys the attention," Dutrow said, referring to his star pupil. "I believe he likes meeting new people."
That a little tough right now.
Two garbage cans were stationed about 10 feet from the stakes barn Friday and roped to the front of the fence in a square to keep enthusiasts from poking their noses anywhere near his snout.
"No flash photography, folks," yelled a security guard. "Please keep your distance."
The low-hanging awnings also made it tough to catch a peek of Big Brown munching away on hay in stall 34. No, not even Big Brown gets to feast on crabcakes or Boog's BBQ.
The stall is next to No. 40, the traditional throne of the Kentucky Derby winner at the end of the stakes barn. A sign over the stall reads, "Stall 40 was the home of these outstanding Preakness winners," including Carry Back (1961), Secretariat (1973), Affirmed (1978) and Smarty Jones (2004).
Dutrow said he was honored to have Big Brown sleep in that barn for a few nights.
"When we used to be stabled here just a few barns away, I used to come over here when all the big horses would come in and I would always dream about having one in that stall," the Maryland native said. "It's thrilling."
Not all the Derby champs stick with the traditional winner's stall. Fusaichi Pegasus was stabled in a quieter barn and trainer Bob Baffert once feared War Emblem would be distracted by a nearby filly and stabled him in stall 32.
Dutrow said he made the switch at his brother's suggestion, though he didn't exactly say why.
The stakes barn is watched around-the-clock by six security guards, who've had a quiet week so far. Any time Big Brown exits, though, the squad jumps into action.
"Stay back! Stay back!" they bellow. "Back up and make room!"
Stragglers quickly part, giving the colt all the space he needs to stretch those spindly legs.
While other horses around the barn have largely been ignored, Big Brown was the only one with a watch party in the grandstand during his workouts. Fans flocked to his early morning gallops -- even coming out in the rain and slop --often drawing larger crowds than the measly showings for the day's card at Pimlico.
Forget the Smarty Party. A Triple Crown for Dutrow's boy would lead to a Big Brown Bash.
And it might keep the colt in action longer, giving fans a chance to see him run in the Breeders' Cup instead of disappearing like a lot of 3-year-olds do after the classic spring races.
And that would be a shame because this horse knows he's The Man and doesn't mind striking a pose.
Big Brown stood in place without a fuss Thursday while hoof impresario Ian McKinlay glued new shoes on the colt's troublesome front feet. McKinlay held each hoof in his hand -- like giving a diva a pedicure -- save for the scraping, clipping, sanding and gluing.
Amid all that grinding, Big Brown turned his head to the right and flashed his teeth as cameras clicked. Exercise rider Walter Blum Jr. whispered something to a security guard, who shouted, "Move back!"
They all did.
After all, the champ needs his space.
Rain is expected to clear out before the Preakness Stakes, with spotty showers forecast for Saturday evening.
The race day forecast called for sunny skies in the morning, changing to partly sunny in the afternoon with highs in the mid-70s, according to Jackie Hale, a spokeswoman for the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., which does forecasts for the Baltimore area.
There was a 30 percent chance of spotty showers after 6 p.m. Post time for the Preakness is 6:15 p.m.
"It may be hit or miss for the race," Hale said.
The Pimlico track was rated sloppy because of rain for Friday's races, including the $250,000 Pimlico Special and $200,000 Black-Eyed Susan.
(Copyright 2008 by KARE & The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Last Updated: 5/16/2008 5:54:02 PM
http://www.kare11.com/sports/sports_article.aspx?storyid=511116
It's Big Brown in the Preakness
Big Brown continued his assault today on the Triple Crown by winning the 133rd Preakness Stakes running away from the rest of the 12-horse field at Pimlico Race Course.
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.
The most recent horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness was Smarty Jones in 2004 but he faltered in the Belmont.
Jockey Kent Desormeaux guided Big Brown to a 5 ¼-length victory in 1:54.8.
Macho Again, ridden by Julien Leparoux, placed second and Icabad Crane, with Jeremy Rose aboard, finished third.
Trained by Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. and owned by IEAH Stables and Paul Poma Jr., Big Brown went off as a prohibitive 1-5 favorite and justified that wagering confidence. He paid just $2.40 to win.
Macho Again paid $17.20 to place and Icabad Crane, $5.60 to show.
Before yesterday’s Preakness, the most common observation about the race was that it was Big Brown’s to lose. Big Brown, who takes his name from the UPS delivery services, had a short resume -- just four career starts -- but it was unblemished, four wins. His two big stakes race triumphs, the Kentucky Derby and the Florida Derby, were both by about five lengths.
In the Kentucky Derby, only the ill-fated filly Eight Belles, who finished second, could stay within hailing distance of Big Brown. Eight Belles never made it off the Churchill Downs track suffering an injury after she crossed the finish line and being euthanized.
Only one starter from the Derby field even bothered to challenge Big Brown again in the Preakness, Gayego who finished 17th two weeks ago at Churchill.
Starting out of the No. 7 post position, Big Brown got on the rail early trailing pace-setter Gayego. He stayed there through the backstretch and on the far turn, went wide to get some running room. Once he had it, he kicked into a higher gear and pulled away from the rest of the field similar to his performance in the Derby.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ordine/blog/2008/05/its_big_brown_in_the_preakness.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978759.jpg
Big Brown wins Preakness, extends Triple Crown bid
1 hour ago
BALTIMORE, Maryland (AFP) — Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown won the 133rd Preakness Stakes in explosive style here Saturday to set up a date with destiny at the Belmont Stakes.
Big Brown, trained by Rick Dutrow jnr and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, romped to a 5 1/4-length victory in the one million-dollar, 1 3/16-mile race to remain unbeaten in five career starts.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978958.jpg http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978970.jpg
The lightly raced colt emphatically answered any questions about his ability to bounce back so quickly after his Kentucky Derby triumph on May 3 and will head to the Belmont Stakes on June 7 with the chance to become the 12th horse to capture US flat racing's coveted Triple Crown.
"He just keeps on getting better," Dutrow said. "He just keeps showing everyone he's special."
The last horse to sweep the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978. In that 30-year span, six horses have won both the Derby and Preakness but were beaten in the demanding 1 1/2-mile Belmont, most recently Smarty Jones in 2004.
Dutrow, however, remained full of confidence in his colt.
"He didn't get out on his belly," Dutrow said. "He should have enough left."
Macho Again, trained by Dallas Stewart and with Julien Leparoux in the irons, was second and Icabad Crane, trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Jeremy Rose, was third.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978783.jpg
In contrast to the Kentucky Derby, where he had to cover a lot of ground in becoming the first horse in 69 years to win from the outside 20th post, Big Brown broke from the seventh post in the middle of the 12-horse field.
He was third at the half-mile mark and beautifully placed on the turn for home. Desormeaux took Big Brown to the outside and the colt accelerated away, leaving the rest of the field in his wake.
Big Brown joined Majestic Prince (1969), Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew (1977) and Smarty Jones as unbeaten Derby winners who also won the Preakness.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978328.jpg
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-05/38978757.jpg
Seabiscuit
18-05-2008, 21:01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgFAA1AEtQw&feature=related
Hopefully this person can give us another Big Brown tribute song leading into the Triple Crown finale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTkCpdJfua4&feature=related
The Superstar arrives on track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaytW8aTjlU&feature=related
eats some hay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd3I9xGpCb8
& goes for a canter.
Good song seabikkies. Heres the Preakness replay. Our horse is the big brown one.
Seabiscuit
21-05-2008, 23:18
http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47031
Discussion of Big Brown's trainer Dutrow
cheesebeast
22-05-2008, 01:00
Looks like Big Brown is on the Bliss Sensory Pills too. :D
And Seabiscuit is US racing's biggest fan. :p
By John Scheinman
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, May 26, 2008;
Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown has developed a quarter crack on the inside of his front left hoof but is still being pointed toward the Belmont Stakes on June 7, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said yesterday.
The 3-year-old colt, plagued by front hoof problems early in his career, is attempting to become the first winner of racing's Triple Crown in 30 years.
"We didn't know until Saturday that it was a quarter crack," said Dutrow, who discovered the problem Friday. "It scares us this happened, but this has nothing to do with his ability to finish what he started.
"He's been as aggressive as I've seen him. He's really been rank in the afternoon."
A quarter crack is a crack in the hoof that begins at the coronary band -- the uppermost region of the hoof -- and works its way down, according to Nick Meittinis, a veterinarian based at Pimlico Race Course.
"It's like if you split your fingernail, and it goes down to the quick," said Meittinis, who has not examined Big Brown himself. "It could get him scratched [from the Belmont]. Quarter cracks are typically very painful to a horse. It's like you ripped your fingernail off. It hurts like crazy."
Big Brown is being treated at Belmont Park by Ian McKinlay, a hoof expert with a Canadian company called Tenderhoof Solutions. McKinlay said he is treating the crack, which is about five-eighths of an inch, with iodine, to prevent infection, and alcohol, which dries up the tissue. He plans to patch the crack tomorrow with steel wires and mesh, if no infection is found.
Quarter cracks are caused by hard pounding on the track, thin hoof walls or poor conformation. Big Brown suffered a quarter crack and hoof separation on his inner right front hoof last fall and was treated by McKinlay. The horse then suffered a similar injury in December to his inner left front hoof. Big Brown, who is undefeated in five starts, did not race between his debut Sept. 3 and March 5.
"This injury is nothing remotely close to the two foot injuries he had last fall and winter," McKinlay told Blood-Horse, an industry publication. "Those were wall separations and were very tender. This is just a straight quarter crack that will pretty much heal by itself. We didn't even trim him; the iodine will seep underneath the wall and start speeding up the healing. On Monday, we'll use a grinder [which removes dead tissue] to see how far it runs. Then we'll put a set of wires in and patch it up."
Big Brown became the first winner of the Kentucky Derby to race with glue-on shoes -- called Yasha shoes -- rather than nailed-in metal shoes. McKinlay replaced the glue-on shoes with a new pair two days before Big Brown won the Preakness.
McKinlay recently posted a video about quarter cracks on the Tenderhoof Solutions Web site and said hoof injuries were cropping up at Belmont Park far more than in the past.
"The tracks [at] Belmont have definitely firmed up; I could tell that from the type of injuries I'm getting," McKinlay said in the video. "When I started at Belmont in '85, very rarely would you get a wall separation. . . . In the last four or five years, you just get more and more of them. This year, 2008, I'm probably running a 30 percent increase of wall separation."
The Belmont is approaching. Will Big Brown take the Triple Crown?
The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, sees its 133rd running on Saturday, June 7. The Bodog Racebook has all your Belmont Stakes odds, but before you place your bets, be sure you read up on your Belmont Stakes contenders.
Big Brown - 1/3
Big Brown captured the Kentucky Derby two weeks before exploding to victory in the Preakness Stakes. His race record is now 4-4-0-0, and he has won by a combined total of 39 lengths.
http://beat.bodoglife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/belmont_horse_racing_200606_ap2.jpg
Anak Nakal - 40/1
Kentucky Jockey Club winner finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby. His race record is 7-2-1-0.
Behindatthebar - 25/1
Lexington Stakes winner was scratched from the Preakness Stakes because of a bruise in his left front foot. His race record is 5-3-1-0.
Casino Drive - 7/2
Kentucky-bred but Japanese-trained and is the brother of the last two Belmont Stakes winners. Has raced only twice - the first was an 11 1/2-length victory in his first start in Japan, and the second was a 5 ¾-length victory in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont.
Denis of Cork - 10/1
Southwest Stakes winner finished third in the Kentucky Derby. His race record is 5-3-0-1.
Icabad Crane - 50/1
The Federico Tesio winner finished third in the Preakness Stakes. His race record is 5-3-0-2.
Macho Again - 40/1
The Derby Trial winner finished second in the Preakness Stakes. His race record is 9-3-3-0.
Mint Lane - 50/1
Finished second behind Casino Drive in the Peter Pan Stakes. His race record is 7-2-2-1.
Tale of Ekati - 20/1
Wood Memorial winner finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby. His race record is 7-3-1-0.
Tomcito - 50/1
Champion 2-year-old of 2007 in Peru didn't have enough earnings to join the Kentucky Derby field. His race record is 8-4-1-1.
Spark Candle - 50/1
Casino Drive's stablemate finished sixth in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. Could possibly run in the one-mile Hill Prince (G3) on Friday, June 6th instead of the Belmont Stakes. His race record is 6-1-2-0.
Favorite to win Big Brown is 2/3 of the way to becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner.
http://beat.bodoglife.com/horseracing/belmont-stakes-odds-favor-big-brown-44150.html
Big Brown to Run Belmont Without Steroid
By John Scheinman
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, June 6, 2008
BELMONT, N.Y., June 5 -- Trainer Richard Dutrow said Big Brown has not received a shot of the anabolic steroid known as Winstrol since before the Kentucky Derby and would not race on it Saturday in the Belmont Stakes.
"It's just too much for the three races, five weeks; he's doing absolutely fabulous," Dutrow said Thursday morning outside trainer Bobby Frankel's Belmont barn, where Big Brown has lived since winning the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago. "I even cut out giving him his vitamin jug. Just so you know, the horse looks like an absolute picture, so I didn't want to mess with him."
Dutrow said his veterinarian, Greg Bennett, was in charge of the "jug" and that he did not know what was in it. "Sounds like a bunch of vitamins is in there," Dutrow said. "It's not a shot, not in the feed tub. You kind of put it through their nose down into their belly. That kind of thing."
Reached later, Bennett said the "jug" is an electrolyte solution administered intravenously.
"If you were sick yourself, they'd hook you up to keep you hydrated," Bennett said. "We're giving the same things to horses. They work on Lasix [a dehydrating blood thinner and diuretic used to prevent bleeding in the lungs] and dry out. That's one of the most important things, to keep them hydrated."
Dutrow courted controversy in the days before the Preakness when he told reporters that he gave Big Brown and all his other horses shots of Winstrol on the 15th of each month but didn't know what it did. "I just like using it," he said.
Winstrol is a synthetic steroid used to build muscle mass and promote weight gain and healing, said Nick Meittinis, a track veterinarian based at Pimlico.
Meittinis is an advocate of using steroids in horses. They are scheduled to be banned in Maryland on Jan. 1. New York and Kentucky also are considering bans.
"There is a place in racing for anabolic steroids in that they promote healing and muscle mass, and increases the appetite in horses that are debilitated from the job we ask them to do," said Meittinis, who does not work with Big Brown.
Bennett, who has worked with Dutrow for more than 20 years, said he could not be sure when Big Brown previously received a shot of Winstrol.
"Since the horse has been back in New York, he has not received Winstrol from me, but Rick has other vets, as most trainers do, but we do most of the work and take care of the barn," he said.
Dutrow has had multiple medication violations in his career, and Bennett said the trainer does not explain common practices well.
"Rick's under a lot of scrutiny," he said. "Those things are done routinely. The horses he's been running this meet have been supplemented on electrolytes and primarily by stomach tube. We use different formulas that are compounded and safe and effective for the horse. We give them water with the electrolytes to make it palatable to their stomachs. Horses do get gastric ulcers. Rick is just being extra careful with this horse."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060503468.html
Unanswered questions abound after Big Brown's big loss
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One of the most tumultuous and controversial Triple Crown seasons in history is finished. Many questions remain about the five weeks just finished and about the years ahead for horse racing. Some of the questions, and some possible answers:
How did Big Brown lose the Belmont?
To the most controversial point, I think it's unlikely that Big Brown lost because he didn't get his monthly steroid injection on May 15. The value of steroids as a pure performance-enhancer in thoroughbreds is unknown. Common sense says they have to help, but veterinarians and trainers do not agree on how much.
For the sake of argument, let's assume that Big Brown's steroid regimen from September through April was a major factor in making him the monster horse he was in the Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness. So he goes off the juice after his April injection and this turns him into a plodding mule, swallowed by the entire Belmont Stakes field before they've run a full mile? I don't buy it. Big Brown's regression in the Belmont was too severe to blame on missing one, low-dosage steroid injection. Maybe he was getting more than that. But based on what we know, it doesn't explain the Belmont.
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Then what? Trainers all over the Belmont backstretch openly suggested during Belmont week that Big Brown was undertrained while his handlers allowed a hoof crack to heal. In most cases, the words were not expressed as skepticism, but as the desperate case-making of opponents with little chance. "We're all just looking for some hope, because he's a very talented racehorse,'' said David Carroll, who trains second-place finisher Denis of Cork, in the week before the race.
Big Brown had one serious work between the Derby and Belmont, a five-furlong breeze on June 3. One work. That's it. After the Belmont, I asked Rick Dutrow, Big Brown's trainer, if he had been caught short by a training schedule forced on him by the injury. "That didn't happen, babe,'' said Dutrow, invoking his favorite noun as a rebuke.
Whatever you think of Dutrow, he's a good horseman. But a lot of people think he did get caught short in this race. The Triple Crown is tough on horses that run all three races (Big Brown was the only one who did), and to do it while nursing an injury that limits training is a tall order. We in the media believed Dutrow's assurances that the horse was healthy and fresh because of his easy run in the Preakness. We believed the quarter crack was no real issue because he said so and his hoof specialist, Ian McKinlay, said so. Shame on us. Big Brown was undertrained when the gate opened on Saturday, and there's not a whole lot Dutrow could have done about it.
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Two days before the Belmont I asked Dutrow alone how he would have trained a healthy horse for the Belmont. He paused. "I haven't even thought about that, babe,'' he said. But I'll bet he had thought about it and he would have trained him differently. More strong gallops. Maybe another breeze.
Then there is the race itself. Kent Desormeaux told SI.com's Dan Patrick on Monday that he lost the race in the first turn. I agree. I don't agree with much else Desormeaux said.
He told Patrick, "If he would have broke smart, my intent was to just wire the field.'' Big Brown is a fast horse, but early in the week trainer Nick Zito said of eventual winner Da' Tara, "He'll be in front. There's no way any horse is getting in front of him.'' OK, let's assume that Big Brown is fast enough to get in front of Da' Tara; would it have been wise to race Da' Tara for the lead in a 12-furlong race? I think Desormeaux's plan was flawed. The Belmont is almost never won wire-to-wire; the last horse to do it was Swale in 1984.
Big Brown broke all right. Not great, but all right. But once Desormeaux got him running, the jockey made two abrupt, panicky moves in the first quarter-mile. First he tried to split Da' Tara and Tale of Ekati and was cut off, forcing him to check hard on Big Brown. Then he darted outside, bouncing off Anak Nakal, in the first turn, in a rushed attempt to get outside. (One of Dutrow's cronies said to me after the race, "What the hell was Kent doing out there?'')
Big Brown is a smart, talented horse, but Desormeaux put him through a lot of action in the first 30 seconds of a very long race when he might have done much better just letting him sit inside for six furlongs and allowing the race to develop in front of him. It's entirely possible that all of Desormeaux's moves early in the race killed Big Brown's interest in running and, in combination with his light conditioning, torpedoed any chance of winning.
Will Big Brown run again?
Michael Iavarone, the co-president of IEAH Stables, which owns Big Brown, says he will be pointed toward the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga in August, and then the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in late October. Iavarone has been consistent for the last three weeks in saying that Big Brown would not be retired after the Belmont, although most of those questions were rendered on the assumption that he would win the Belmont.
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IEAH has entered into a deal worth at least $60 million with Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky to stand Big Brown as a stallion. For Three Chimneys -- and any other investors, including IEAH, in the deal -- to make money, Big Brown will have to stand for a high stud fee, probably more than $150,000 a year. Big Brown's pedigree is not sterling, but if he was a Triple Crown winner, Three Chimneys could demand a big number. Now he is not a Triple Crown winner.
At this point, IEAH is in a very high-stakes poker game. The Belmont loss was very damaging to Big Brown's potential future stud fee, but victories in the Travers and Breeders' Cup would nearly erase that loss. However, another loss would be crippling. And of course, there is always the possibility of injury.
On another level, many great 3-year-old Triple Crown horses of recent vintage did not run after the Belmont Stakes. Empire Maker (winner of the 2003 Belmont) never ran again. Smarty Jones (2004 Derby and Preakness) never ran again. Afleet Alex (2005 Preakness and Belmont, maybe the best of the recent near-misses) never ran again. Funny Cide (2002 Derby and Preakness) was a gelding with no stud value and he ran four more years. Curlin, last year's Horse of the Year as a 3-year-old, is still running.
IEAH has a very tough decision. I would love to see Big Brown run two or three more times. If I were betting, I would say he will not run again. He has had physical issues and, after his Belmont performance, he might never be the same horse again.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tim_layden/06/09/five.questions/?eref=sircrc
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cheesebeast
26-06-2008, 14:36
Rick Dutrow faces ban for horse's positive test
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The Associated Press
Published: June 25, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/25/sports/horse25.php#): Rick Dutrow, trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, is facing a 15-day suspension by Kentucky racing officials after another horse he trains exceeded the allowable limit for a drug that increases lung capacity.
Two separate drug tests on 8-year-old gelding Salute the Count revealed the horse had twice the allowable limit of Clenbuterol in his system after finishing second in the Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on May 2, said John Veitch, chief steward of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
Clenbuterol is often used by humans who suffer from asthma.
Veitch said use of the drug in horses has grown because it can increase lung capacity. It is considered a Class B drug. Though use of the drug is legal under Kentucky racing guidelines, it cannot be administered 72 hours before a race.
"It's a respiratory enhancer," Veitch said. "It's become quite popular in racing medication because it's used to train on."
Dutrow waived his right to a hearing but plans to file a written appeal, which he must do within the next 10 days. There's no timetable on when Dutrow's appeal will be heard, Veitch said.
Dutrow said he sometimes uses the drug in other horses and was previously reprimanded by the New York Racing and Wagering Board for a similar infraction several years ago.
"I really haven't had any problems with it," Dutrow said in a phone interview.
The first drug test was conducted by the Iowa State University lab. Dutrow requested a second test, which was conducted by a lab at Louisiana State University. That test also came back positive.
Dutrow raced four horses during Churchill Downs' spring meet, the last on May 17. He does not currently have any horses at the track, said Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers.
As part of the penalty, Salute the Count owners Michael Dubb and Robert Joscelyn must return $20,000 in purse money. On June 15, the horse finished second to First Defence in the Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park.
The penalty is the first for Dutrow in Kentucky, though hardly the first time he's run into trouble. He spoke openly about his checkered past during Big Brown's run at the Triple Crown. He's been cited dozens of times over the years for everything from repeated medication violations to his own drug use.
The news of the test comes just days after IEAH Stables, co-owners of Big Brown, stepped forward and said it would take all of the 50-plus horses in their stable off steroids and shy away from trainers who continue to use the drugs to maintain their horses.
"If they don't want to play by the rules, then they don't get to train with us," Michael Iavarone, co-president of IEAH, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/25/sports/horse25.php
Gloryfication
22-08-2008, 07:22
Will the credit crunch effect the big buyers? :cool:
The credit crunch didnt seem to worry the buyers here in OZ last sales at Easter but I reckon the situation would have caught up with the USA now... I expect prices not to go beyond crazy unless a cashed up sheik steps in with a loaded cheque book.
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