Big Brown

[CU Tiger]

Who wants to bet that if he wins today UPS has him in a commercial in 2 weeks?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Maybe he can race the truck.

[miami_fan]

I thought he was named in connection with UPS?

[Young Drachma]

UPS already has sponsorship stuff on the jockey and the horse too. Hmm...

[JonInMiddleGA]

UPS already has sponsorship stuff on the jockey and the horse too. Hmm...

I believe they bought in right after the first win.

[CU Tiger]

well maybe fed-ex will jump on it.....

[Suburban Rhythm]

This thread isn't aboout Pumpy? :confused: :confused: :confused:




:p

[14ers]

Last Place???

I guess this is what they call taking a dive. They announced he was 100% a couple days ago, so what happened?

I wonder where the owner had his money?

[bulletsponge]

I wonder where the owner had his money?


stuffed in the Hooters girls top

[rowech]

No doubt the results of this race made someone a very rich man. Someone or some people got paid big to make that horse take a dive.

[Zelig]

yeah, ok

[spleen1015]

No juice since 4/15. That did it.

[Oilers9911]

No doubt the results of this race made someone a very rich man. Someone or some people got paid big to make that horse take a dive.

No chance...there was a lot more to gain by winning than by finishing last.

[NoMyths]

Everything sucks/is a conspiracy.

[daedalus]

i find it sad for some of you that your first thought is conspiracy theory rather than the horse's health.

[14ers]

i find it sad for some of you that your first thought is conspiracy theory rather than the horse's health.
This was my conspiracy theory. If Big Brown had finished 3rd or 4th then maybe there was no funny business, but a dead last finish means that the horse was not 100% like his owner was claiming. And, was probably drugged out of his mind on pain killers and steroids to even allow him to race that day.

Why was Big Brown allowed to compete in the race if he was still injured? Who protects these horses from steroid injecting trainers and greedy owners?

[rowech]

No chance...there was a lot more to gain by winning than by finishing last.

Even for the jockey? Don't think so. He'd be the one to not see nearly what the owner would.

[miami_fan]

i find it sad for some of you that your first thought is conspiracy theory rather than the horse's health.

I don't think anyone's first thought was conspiracy theory. I know it was not mine. My first thought was the horse was seriously injured. Now that the owners and trainer are still saying that Big Brown is healthy, I can understand the conspiracy talk though I don't believe any of it. For this horse, sorry for this super horse to be beaten without so much of a fight, is shocking. I don't see how this is any different in any other sport if such a heavy favorite were beaten in such fashion.

[RainMaker]

The biggest scam of all is they got someone to pay $50 million for the stud fees for him. It now looks like he was just a roided up horse.

I do have to say I'm glad he lost. I couldn't stand the trainer and the people involved with him.

[QuikSand]

I will do the conspiracy theorists here a huge favor and call their comments very ignorant.

[RPI-Fan]

I don't think anyone's first thought was conspiracy theory. I know it was not mine. My first thought was the horse was seriously injured. Now that the owners and trainer are still saying that Big Brown is healthy, I can understand the conspiracy talk though I don't believe any of it. For this horse, sorry for this super horse to be beaten without so much of a fight, is shocking. I don't see how this is any different in any other sport if such a heavy favorite were beaten in such fashion.

He didn't put up a fight? On the last turn he was giving it all he had and was simply bankrupt and couldn't close any ground...

[Oilers9911]

Even for the jockey? Don't think so. He'd be the one to not see nearly what the owner would.

Or maybe it just wasn't his day? To say Kent Desormeaux was bought off is absurd.

[molson]

This was my conspiracy theory. If Big Brown had finished 3rd or 4th then maybe there was no funny business, but a dead last finish means that the horse was not 100% like his owner was claiming. And, was probably drugged out of his mind on pain killers and steroids to even allow him to race that day.

Why was Big Brown allowed to compete in the race if he was still injured? Who protects these horses from steroid injecting trainers and greedy owners?

There's no difference between 4th and last. If you're out of the money, you're out of the money. Pulling up may have been overly conservative, but he knew he wasn't going to finish in the top 3 at that point.

I didn't see an injury, he was running strong for a while. There was definite discomfort, not inconsistent with running out of gas, as so many horses do at the belmont.

I'm sure there's still funny business these days in terms of holding back horses (taking dives) to build up long odds, etc, but nobody's taking a dive rather than win a triple crown. Nobody. Big Brown left a LOT of money on the table yesterday.

[sterlingice]

Yeah, he just laid a big brown... (hey, no one had made the joke yet)

SI

[saldana]

He didn't put up a fight? On the last turn he was giving it all he had and was simply bankrupt and couldn't close any ground...

if you watch that race, you can see the jockey's right hand working the side of the horses neck...big brown never responded to that...also all the way around the back turn, you could see how much big browns head was moving...he was already working hard before they even got to the stretch, and the other two horses were still not running full bore.

[14ers]

There's no difference between 4th and last.
But you messed up my Superfecta!!!

[Buccaneer]

Should he have raced if he was not 100%?

[sterlingice]

Should he have raced if he was not 100%?

Well, what's the worst that could have happened...

Oh, yeah... (insert new Elmer's glue smiley)

SI

[molson]

Should he have raced if he was not 100%?

Who knows, but a day later, there's zero sign that he was anything less than 100%.

[billethius]

There's no difference between 4th and last. If you're out of the money, you're out of the money. Pulling up may have been overly conservative, but he knew he wasn't going to finish in the top 3 at that point.

I didn't see an injury, he was running strong for a while. There was definite discomfort, not inconsistent with running out of gas, as so many horses do at the belmont.

I'm sure there's still funny business these days in terms of holding back horses (taking dives) to build up long odds, etc, but nobody's taking a dive rather than win a triple crown. Nobody. Big Brown left a LOT of money on the table yesterday.

Most tracks actually pay 1st through 5th, so there's no difference between 6th and last.

[cartman]

I found this interesting quote about Big Brown from back before the Preakness:

So Big Brown can't lose?

It's a horse race. Anything can happen. In 2000 Kent Desormeaux, who rides Big Brown, came to the Preakness with another sure thing, Fusaichi Pegasus. He lost to Red Bullet. "I couldn't lose, and then they opened the gate and I had no horse under me,'' says Desormeaux. ''It can happen.''

Big Brown is also due for a "bounce,'' handicapping parlance for a horse that finally produces a flat effort after one or more strong performances. However, he would have to bounce significantly to lose this race.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tim_layden/05/16/big.brown/index.html

[billethius]

I found this interesting quote about Big Brown from back before the Preakness:




http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tim_layden/05/16/big.brown/index.html

Bouncing is a handicapping theory that I don't really think BB fit into all that well. Most of the time you look for a horse that had a sudden Beyer figure improvement. BB had very consistent Beyer numbers. Oddly enough, the biggest bounce theory horse in the race was probably Da'Tara.

[daedalus]

Last Place???

I guess this is what they call taking a dive. They announced he was 100% a couple days ago, so what happened?

I wonder where the owner had his money?This was my conspiracy theory. If Big Brown had finished 3rd or 4th then maybe there was no funny business, but a dead last finish means that the horse was not 100% like his owner was claiming. And, was probably drugged out of his mind on pain killers and steroids to even allow him to race that day.

Why was Big Brown allowed to compete in the race if he was still injured? Who protects these horses from steroid injecting trainers and greedy owners?so let's see . . .

in your first post, you claim that the BIG BROWN camp took a dive. then you decide that, "well, damn it. the BIG BROWN camp weren't honest enough about the severity of his injury." those are rather drastically different theory, which is it?

QS' comment about ignorance is about as polite as can be. i would have personally gone with asstard but, shrug, i lack his class.

by the way, it has been widely noted and spleen even mentioned in a post above yours that he has not received an injection of steroid in recent time and especially not since his most recent injury. so, uhh, yeah . . . even your attempt to backtrack is asstarded. an 'oops, my bad' would have been far less dipshitastic.

[daedalus]

Most tracks actually pay 1st through 5th, so there's no difference between 6th and last.true. but for the purpose of being counted as being "in the money" (record-wise), if i am not mistaken, it is generally considered 1-3.

[daedalus]

Should he have raced if he was not 100%?probably not but, if they knew that he was less than 100% and raced him, they are ballsy. a horse with a damn decent (if frighteningly inbred) bloodline and 2 legs of the triple crown on his resume is worth a decent couple of pennies.

[saldana]

Should he have raced if he was not 100%?

as far as injury went, he probably was 100%, but that doesnt mean he was in the best condition or had the best workouts leading up to the race...there are hundreds of examples of human athletes that play below their capabilites, and when they are asked what happened, say " i just didnt have it today"

[Butter]

I think the thing that is being lost here is not so much the horse that failed, but the jockey ran a wretchedly horrible race. Big Brown lurched sideways right at the start, then Desormeaux practically runs up the back of Da'Tara, possibly getting Big Brown kicked early in the race. THEN he uses up extra energy to get Big Brown to the outside to avoid a possible box in, and wastes a bunch of space by running Big Brown on the outside for most of the race.

At least give the owner/trainer credit for not claiming it was the injury that led to the loss. I think the reason people seemed so angry about this horse losing was that the jockey gave up. I am sure he knew he had no shot, and he may have saved the owner millions in stud fees by not running the horse into a serious injury down the stretch, but nobody likes a quitter.

[JonInMiddleGA]

... but nobody likes a quitter.

Actually, watching the race at the time, I was quite proud to see the jockey pull him up. Granted, I watched the race with my heart in my throat worried about another catastrophic injury scenario, so seeing what appeared to be the jockey erring on the side of caution was something I had no problem with.

[spleen1015]

Had he not done that and the horse would have gotten hurt, there would be no end to it.

I'm glad he pulled up. I think there is a difference between quitting and slowing down to save the horse.

[flere-imsaho]

If it is not careful Horse Racing, and it's premier series, the Triple Crown (premier in the sense that it's best known amongst the general public) will become as much of a mockery as bike racing and the Tour de France have become.

I'm not saying whether or not what's going on here in horse racing is right or wrong (I don't understand the details well enough), I'm just saying that they're starting to lose a very important PR battle in much the same way as bike racing lost it over the past few years.

[Butter]

Had he not done that and the horse would have gotten hurt, there would be no end to it.

I'm glad he pulled up. I think there is a difference between quitting and slowing down to save the horse.

I understand why it was done. And you are right, if the horse had gotten hurt, you are looking at serious investigation into how much these horses are pumped up. You may have it anyway. Even so, it was unprecedented, as far as I know. And weak. Oh so weak.

[spleen1015]

I was surprised by my level of disappointment. As I was watching it, seeing BB fade like he did, I was nervous with disappointment. It was kind of hilarious. I guess I was really looking forward to seeing some history made.

[QuikSand]

If it is not careful Horse Racing, and it's premier series, the Triple Crown (premier in the sense that it's best known amongst the general public) will become as much of a mockery as bike racing and the Tour de France have become.

I'm not saying whether or not what's going on here in horse racing is right or wrong (I don't understand the details well enough), I'm just saying that they're starting to lose a very important PR battle in much the same way as bike racing lost it over the past few years.

I'm a racing enthusiast, and I completely agree with this view. The states holding the main sway in the sport need to step forward right away and ban all steroids, and I think they would be well served to come up with something else as well -- like a fund to help promote proper training, research or something else that at least suggests a visible commitment to horse well-being. Just sitting back and complaining that the critics "don't get it" or that this will just blow over would be really unwise.

[clintl]

I'm a racing enthusiast, and I completely agree with this view. The states holding the main sway in the sport need to step forward right away and ban all steroids, and I think they would be well served to come up with something else as well -- like a fund to help promote proper training, research or something else that at least suggests a visible commitment to horse well-being. Just sitting back and complaining that the critics "don't get it" or that this will just blow over would be really unwise.

The sport probably needs some regulations to prevent the level of inbreeding going on, too.

[clintl]

I was surprised by my level of disappointment. As I was watching it, seeing BB fade like he did, I was nervous with disappointment. It was kind of hilarious. I guess I was really looking forward to seeing some history made.

I was disappointed, but at the same time, not nearly as disappointed as when Funnycide and Smarty Jones lost. Dutrow and Big Brown's owners are true scumbags of the sport, and it's nice to see them fail.

[miami_fan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/06/10/bc.rac.bigbrown.dutrow.ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. still blames Kent Desormeaux for Big Brown's stunning last-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, but he wouldn't object to the jockey riding the horse in his next race.

The decision of whether to change jockeys is up to co-owner Michael Iavarone, Dutrow said.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, especially Kent," Dutrow told The Associated Press on Tuesday morning in his barn at Aqueduct. "But I still don't understand what happened. I don't see the horse with a problem, so I have to direct my attention toward the ride. That's all I can come up with."

With Big Brown trying to become the first Triple Crown champion in 30 years after dominant wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Desormeaux eased up the unbeaten colt with a quarter-mile remaining in the Belmont on Saturday.

"I had no horse. He was empty," Desormeaux said after the race.

Dutrow insisted Tuesday he had found nothing wrong with Big Brown.

"Maybe next week if something starts going wrong with the horse, then I'll understand everything," he said.

Dutrow added: "As long as the horse stays the way that I see him right now, then things are just going to keep building up for me to know that it was the ride that did him in."

He said he hadn't spoken to Desormeaux, but "if he calls me I'll talk to him, sure."

If Big Brown is healthy, the plan is for him to run next in the Travers Stakes on Aug. 23 at Saratoga.

Dutrow had no regrets about his bombastic proclamation that Big Brown clinching the Triple Crown was a "foregone conclusion."

"It's not like I'm going to go and cry in the corner," he said as he prepared for several of his horses to run Wednesday at Aqueduct. "I've got plenty to do here."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[QuikSand]

Sometimes, people get quoted unfairly, or the paper/media gets something a bit wrong, or the person's comment doesn't come across reasonably without inflection or delivery...and the otherwise good person comes off seeming like a real asshole.

Rest assured, there is no such error here. He's the real deal.

[daedalus]

:D

[14ers]

Good news for Big Brown fans. Bad news for animal lovers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/sports/othersports/11racing.html?em&ex=1213329600&en=fcecd508d39c17dc&ei=5087%0A
Already planning ahead for Big Brown (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/big_brown_race_horse/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier)’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.
I guess it is back to the roids for this horse; after his last place finish. With out the horse going through roid rage he has no heart or desire to win. But, as long as his trainer can keep him pumped full of illegal steroids he should be able to win a few more races before the drugs catch up to him and kill him.

Now that we know this horse requires steroids to run, why would anyone want to breed with this horse? Although, I don't know how potent his seed would be; while the horse is all jacked up on steroids? I thought one of the side effects of steroids was that they make you sterile?

[QuikSand]

I think you have made your "point" by now.

[14ers]

I think you have made your "point" by now.
I know, I know, But, why are people now claiming this horse is done? I watched a PTI segment and they were both saying this horse would never win another race. Then they did 5 minutes on Big Brown's defeat and the the expert they were talking to agreed that this horse is through being the dominant horse that he was adn would probably never win another race, and would be out of racing in three races.

I think Big Brown will get back on steroids and immedeiately start winning again. He will be back to his Bad Ass self and will not get pushed around again. That is until they ban steroids from horse racing.

Big Brown has no god given talent what so ever, but on Steroids he is one Bad Ass Mo-Fo.

[billethius]

Good news for Big Brown fans. Bad news for animal lovers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/sports/othersports/11racing.html?em&ex=1213329600&en=fcecd508d39c17dc&ei=5087%0A

I guess it is back to the roids for this horse; after his last place finish. With out the horse going through roid rage he has no heart or desire to win. But, as long as his trainer can keep him pumped full of legal steroids he should be able to win a few more races before the drugs catch up to him and kill him.

Now that we know this horse requires steroids to run, why would anyone want to breed with this horse? Although, I don't know how potent his seed would be; while the horse is all jacked up on steroids? I thought one of the side effects of steroids was that they make you sterile?

Fixed.

I don't know why people have this vision in their heads that steroids are some magic substance that turns normal athletes into super athletes overnight. Like Bonds was a good hitter, but he took steroids and the next day he'd hit 4 homeruns, all at least 500 feet. Steroids allow both humans and animals to recover quicker from an athletic activity. For a baseball/football/etc.. player, that means he can spend a lot more time in the gym and thus get bigger and stronger. Horses don't go to a gym. Steroids allow them to recover quicker and run at their best ability more often.

BB may have recovered more after the preakness and derby had he had his monthly shot, but even with the steroids the 3 races over such a short period still take their toll. There's are several reasons that there have only been 3 triple crown winners in the last 60 years and that's a big one. Of course, the steroids couldn't help the ride he got, or the fact that in the 3 weeks between the preakness and belmont, BB had just a single 5f workout, etc...

I really don't see a reason they should be banned in horse racing other than the court of public opinion - especially given how ignorant on the subject the general public is.

As for breeding, many horses don't have testicles anyways, but for horses that will eventually be put out to stud, Winstrol is shown to have a short-term impact on semen production that goes away once the steroids go away.

[molson]

I know, I know, But, why are people now claiming this horse is done? I watched a PTI segment and they were both saying this horse would never win another race. Then they did 5 minutes on Big Brown's defeat and the the expert they were talking to agreed that this horse is through being the dominant horse that he was adn would probably never win another race, and would be out of racing in three races.

I think Big Brown will get back on steroids and immedeiately start winning again. He will be back to his Bad Ass self and will not get pushed around again. That is until they ban steroids from horse racing.

Big Brown has no god given talent what so ever, but on Steroids he is one Bad Ass Mo-Fo.

Steroids aren't as bad as you think they are.

[daedalus]

I think you have made your "point" by now.you wish him to stop where there are deceased equine to be assailed? surely, you jest.

[miami_fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=3456907

A photo taken during the early stages of the Belmont Stakes has revealed Big Brown was running with a loose shoe as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner attempted to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1979, Newsday reported Monday.

According to the New York newspaper, The Blood-Horse magazine published a photo in its June 21 issue showing a dislodged shoe on the horse's right hind hoof about 200 yards into the Belmont.


Michael Iavarone, a co-president of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings -- Big Brown's stable -- told Newsday that freelance photographer Russ Melton e-mailed him two close-up shots, which he opened late Saturday night.

"The picture shocked me," Iavarone said, according to the report. "When the shoe spread, a nail could have been pinching him. Or he could have been stepping on a hot nail, which would have been worse. I'm guessing the nail went back in but not in the same spot. Or it could have been a loose shoe, which would be like trying to run with a wobbly cleat."

"Any of those things would be significant for a horse running a mile and a half. The [deep] track was my original explanation. But now I'm thinking the shoe was dislodged during the race and incorrectly reset while he was running."


In an interview last week with the Thoroughbred Times, Greg Bennett, the primary veterinarian for Rick Dutrow, Big Brown's trainer, confirmed the horse had raced with a loose shoe but minimized the impact it might have had on the Belmont performance.

The bay colt was eased up by jockey Kent Desormeaux in the stretch, ending up last, beaten by eight other horses. Later physical examinations of Big Brown by Dutrow discovered nothing out of the ordinary. Blood tests also revealed nothing abnormal.

"It didn't seem to be any soundness issues with the horse," Bennett said, according to the Thoroughbred Times. "He did loosen [the right] hind shoe, but I don't know how much of a factor that was."

But Bennett said in the Newsday report the loose shoe could help explain Big Brown's abrupt fall from grace.

"When a shoe comes off, it does throw a horse out of balance, but it depends how traumatically it happens and at what stage of the race," Bennett told the paper. "A couple nails can loosen up, which can cause a lot of problems and affect a horse's performance.

"I'm not sure how much of an issue it was with Big Brown. Sometimes horses feel it after the race and are sore, but I'm not aware of that with Big Brown."

Meanwhile, Iavarone told The New York Times that the more than 50 horses owned by his stable would be drug-free by October, and that he would pay for tests to be administered by state or track veterinarians before and after each of their races to prove it.

"I know Big Brown or any of our horses do not need this stuff to win," Iavarone said. "I'm not worried about an uneven playing field, either. The cost of the drug tests are a small price to pay for the integrity of the sport. I'm urging other owners to join us, and let's turn the game around."

Iavarone also said Dutrow backed the self-imposed ban on all medications perceived to be performance-enhancing.

The decision comes three days after Congress held a hearing criticizing the drug policies of the horse racing industry.

The hearing was called after Eight Belles broke down at the Kentucky Derby last month and was euthanized on the track.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



Questions from a guy who knows very little about horse racing.

Who is responsible for making sure a horse's shoes are secure? How easy is it for a horse's shoe to become loose during a race?


Oh yeah, when should Kent Desormeaux expect that apology from Rick Dutrow if it turns out that the shoe was the problem, not the ride?:D

[billethius]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=3456907



Questions from a guy who knows very little about horse racing.

Who is responsible for making sure a horse's shoes are secure? How easy is it for a horse's shoe to become loose during a race?


Oh yeah, when should Kent Desormeaux expect that apology from Rick Dutrow if it turns out that the shoe was the problem, not the ride?:D

It's not terribly common, but it definitely happens and there's not much that can be done to prevent it beyond standard care.

A horse will run without a shoe - he'd just be sore the next day. Given that he didn't show any soundness issues after the race, I can't imagine this had much effect at all.

[daedalus]

It's not terribly common, but it definitely happens and there's not much that can be done to prevent it beyond standard care.

A horse will run without a shoe - he'd just be sore the next day. Given that he didn't show any soundness issues after the race, I can't imagine this had much effect at all.while i did following horse racing for a time, i do not know if this makes a huge difference . . .

but he was not running without a shoe, he was allegedly running with a loose shoe. if the initial source, iavarone, was correct, then he could be running with a shoe flopping around with the nail possibly either lose or occasionally poking him. if i remember correctly, he already had some problems heading into the race (although i do not know if it is the same leg) so this would not help at all.

i'm sure 14er will still find something to gripe about, however. perhaps the shoes are inhumane?

[QuikSand]

I know I mentioned the safety pin in one of our threads prior to the Belmont (referencing Spectacular Bid in 1979), and the parallels here are very strong. Bottom line is we really will never know what exactly happened to Big Brown in that race. If he comes back to race again (I remain shocked that this is really on the table, but the connections say it is) and looks brilliant again, the mystery will really deepen.

Assuming he is training acceptably, and runs against a solid field in the Jim Dandy (or whatever his next race might be) that will be possibly the most intriguing betting line I can ever recall.

[billethius]

I know I mentioned the safety pin in one of our threads prior to the Belmont (referencing Spectacular Bid in 1979), and the parallels here are very strong. Bottom line is we really will never know what exactly happened to Big Brown in that race. If he comes back to race again (I remain shocked that this is really on the table, but the connections say it is) and looks brilliant again, the mystery will really deepen.

Assuming he is training acceptably, and runs against a solid field in the Jim Dandy (or whatever his next race might be) that will be possibly the most intriguing betting line I can ever recall.

As long as he's healthy, I see no reason they wouldn't finish out his 3yo season. Could set up an awesome Classic matchup with Curlin.

[kcchief19]

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-dutrow-suspension&prov=ap&type=lgns

I wonder how Rick Douchetrow will blame this one on the jockey ...

[daedalus]

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-dutrow-suspension&prov=ap&type=lgns

I wonder how Rick Douchetrow will blame this one on the jockey ...yes. also expect 14er to post that butchers kill cows and should be outlawed.

[QuikSand]

As long as he's healthy, I see no reason they wouldn't finish out his 3yo season. Could set up an awesome Classic matchup with Curlin.

I'm pretty sure Curlin has been taken off the Classic trail, regrettably.

[billethius]

I'm pretty sure Curlin has been taken off the Classic trail, regrettably.

Interesting. The Wikipedia article on him mentions the possibility of the Arc or Japan Cup. I'd be as interested in seeing him run in the Arc as I would a potential matchup with Big Brown.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Big Brown career ending injury (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/breederscup08/news/story?id=3640768)

Updated: October 13, 2008, 2:47 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown's racing career is over after injuring his right front foot during a workout at Aqueduct on Monday.

Trainer Rick Dutrow said the 3-year-old colt, who was preparing for the Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 25, appeared to kick himself while working on the turf course at Aqueduct with stablemate Kip Deville. Big Brown was able to complete the six-furlong work when Dutrow noticed blood coming out of the foot.

"It looks like he grabbed himself in a bad spot," Dutrow said.

Though the extent of the injury is unknown, Michael Iavarone of IEAH Stables, co-owners of Big Brown, said the horse who captivated the racing world during his Triple Crown bid will not race again.

"It's in the best interest of the horse to let him recover and move on to his breeding career," Iavarone said.

[Lathum]

not taking any chances

[billethius]

The picture of the hoof wasn't pretty.

The big money in breeding really hurts racing in instances like this. Years ago, Big Brown would have been turned out for the rest of the year and brought back as a 4yo and then probably as a 5yo as well before being retired to stud.

In that light, what Curlin's ownership group has done has been kinda neat.