Horse Lays Egg in Triple Crown Bid

[senob44]

I've got nothing against the horse himself, but since Big Brown was in line for the Triple Crown, racing in NY, and his owners were from NY, I had to hear weeks of crap and even boastfulness about this "wonder horse". Congratulations to Da'Tara on the wire to wire win.

Da' Tara romps at Belmont; Triple Crown fave Big Brown is dead last

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Big Brown turned for home, something wasn't right. Jockey Kent Desormeaux knew the big bay colt was finished. Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., who guaranteed racing's first Triple Crown in 30 years, knew it then, too.

Big Brown straggled home last Saturday, losing the Belmont Stakes to 38-1 long shot Da' Tara. Eased up in the homestretch, he was so far behind at the end that his margin of defeat wasn't even charted.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/06/07/belmont.stakes.ap/index.html?eref=sircrc

Let me just add, as with any horse race, I'm just glad to see it conclude without any horses injured or put down. If I had my way, this sport would be much better regulated. I post this article just for any fellow members who are interested, not to promote the sport.

 

[sputnikgirl]

I like it when the underdog wins, especially in horse-racing.

 

[zell]

I like it when people are so sure of themselves,and come out looking like complete jackasses.

Triple Crown?Who gave a shit anyway?

 

[Asianlov69]

I think that Big Brown was hurt more then his trainers knew about and the horse couldn't race.. I hope he doesn't end up like the horse in the other race that had to be put down on the track.....:2 cents:

 

[bodie54]

Senob - I agree the boastfulness was pretty offputting.

Big Brown straggled home last Saturday, losing the Belmont Stakes to 38-1 long shot Da' Tara. Eased up in the homestretch, he was so far behind at the end that his margin of defeat wasn't even charted.

This bit is misleading. He was pulled up (and thus his finish position not charted) because his jockey wasn't sure what had gone amiss, and didn't want to risk injuring him. That was a very smart, responsible thing to do, and it renders his margin of defeat immaterial. Something went awry; something that has nothing to do with raw ability. Nine times out of ten the horses he ran against today couldn't warm him up. Once he's been thoroughly examined and his trainer speaks to the media we'll be hearing more about what happened.

 

[chrisuncleahmad]

At least the horse isn't hurt.

 

[gunslingingbird]

I thought that Big Brown was the name of Mr. Hanky's little brother. You know, the one that's high in fiber.

Also, I thought this thread would be about odd things that owners force their horses to do to prepare them for races.

 

[nealdrox]

Whats messed up is my buddy had a premonition about horse #6 winning and we looked at his odds and it was 38-1 lol. Well as we all saw that exact horse won and he of course kicked himself in the ass for not placing a bet on oddsmaker.com. He should have followed his gut.

 

[D-rock]

The longer track has just killed some many horses chances of getting the triple crown. I think at some level it's just hard to get a horse that not only has to be good at each distance, but almost has to be the very best in the world at each of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is similar to the reason it is hard for a track athlete to compete at many different distances. It makes me wonder if modern training regimens and the way they are bread make it even harder to do than it was 30 or 40 years ago.

 

[MrZiggles]

D-rock hit that one out of the park. Congrats.

 

[Dean Wormer]

I like it when the underdog wins, especially in horse-racing.

Me too but only when I have it ten times.

 

[senob44]

This bit is misleading. He was pulled up (and thus his finish position not charted) because his jockey wasn't sure what had gone amiss, and didn't want to risk injuring him. That was a very smart, responsible thing to do, and it renders his margin of defeat immaterial. Something went awry; something that has nothing to do with raw ability. Nine times out of ten the horses he ran against today couldn't warm him up. Once he's been thoroughly examined and his trainer speaks to the media we'll be hearing more about what happened.

I totally agree. Unfortunately this was the AP article, so I couldn't find another decent article that didn't describe Big Brown's finish with such sensationalism. Everyone wanted to jump on the fact that the favorite finished last. (In fact, I was a little sensationalistic even in my thread title) And all that was in part because of the boastfulness.

But the truth is, you're right, the jockey did the right thing; for the horse, for the owners, trainers, etc. Even for the goddamn sport. If he pushed that horse too much, we could have had another Barbaro incident. Not that whatever happened was the same, or even that Barbaro's jockey was at fault, but in the sense of a setback for the sport.

 

[Marlo Manson]

I think the bottom line is that big brown was hurt his injury was more serious than anybody let on or would admit too.. he shouldn't have even been in that race.. but thats just greed shining its beaming light again.. does anybody actually think they would not have raced that horse because it was injured?? hell no that horse was destined to be the next triple crown horse; if not for the injury.. the horse would have succeeded and big brown's owner(s) were racing that horse no matter what regardless of the outcome.. which is so sad it just goes to show that nobody has compassion for the animal in a sport thats dictated by greed... greed is the bottom line... :dunno:

 

[bodie54]

I think the bottom line is that big brown was hurt his injury was more serious than anybody let on or would admit too.. he shouldn't have even been in that race.. but thats just greed shining its beaming light again.. does anybody actually think they would not have raced that horse because it was injured?? hell no that horse was destined to be the next triple crown horse; if not for the injury.. the horse would have succeeded and big brown's owner(s) were racing that horse no matter what regardless of the outcome.. which is so sad it just goes to show that nobody has compassion for the animal in a sport thats dictated by greed... greed is the bottom line... :dunno:

How can greed be the bottom line in a sport where 95% of the owners lose money?

And if greed was an influence, why would his connections race him knowing he was seriously injured when he's worth so much more alive than dead?

Sorry, but your contention is emotional, not logical.

Did the horse's trainer delude himself into believing the hoof injury wasn't as bad as it actually was? That's possible, but even that's extremely unlikely.

senob: If he pushed that horse too much, we could have had another Barbaro incident. Not that whatever happened was the same, or even that Barbaro's jockey was at fault, but in the sense of a setback for the sport.

You're right. Unfortunately a lot of people are going to react the way slipnot did, regardless. So the sport will suffer anyway, though nothing like it would have had there been a fatality.

 

[bodie54]

Did the horse's trainer delude himself into believing the hoof injury wasn't as bad as it actually was? That's possible, but even that's extremely unlikely.

I should probably add that the injury Big Brown had was a common one, and that a very very high % of horses are able to perform cabably after receiving the same treatment he received for it.

 

[senob44]

And if greed was an influence, why would his connections race him knowing he was seriously injured when he's worth so much more alive than dead?

An especially good point. This horse could be retired right now and make MEGABUCKS as a stud. And that's discounting any future purses he may capture if he is not retired now. He still won the first two legs of the Crown and that basically means he is one of the best horses of his generation. The owners would not take a chance on losing out on all future money to be made from this horse.

 

[Legzman]

WOW fortunes were made and lost at that race. People lost their ass on Big Brown and at the same time anyone foolish enough to put money on Da' Tara cleaned house! 38-1 odds...damn I can only imagine what a good pay out that would have been! I dunno much about that kind of gambling but wouldn't that turn 1,000 into 38,000?

 

[slowhand]

I watch the whole race and I knew when he broke out of the gate he was not him self. But I was hoping he would pull it out but I guess it was not meant to be just one of those things.

 

[zell]

WOW fortunes were made and lost at that race. People lost their ass on Big Brown and at the same time anyone foolish enough to put money on Da' Tara cleaned house! 38-1 odds...damn I can only imagine what a good pay out that would have been! I dunno much about that kind of gambling but wouldn't that turn 1,000 into 38,000?

Yeah,that's good money.If you would have only put down $20 you would have got back $750!That's pretty fuckin' good if you ask me.

Now betting on Big Brown is not really a good bet, imo.I think his odds were 2:5(someone correct me if I'm wrong on that),which means that with that same $20,you would only get back $28.Those are shitty odds if you are looking for a big payday on the cheap,so you would have to lay down a HUGE bet to really get back anything.

If my math is right,even if you put down the $1000 that you mentioned,you are only gonna make $800 off of that bet and walk out the door with $1800,definitely nothing to sneeze at but a hell of a long way away from $38,000.

 

[bodie54]

Zell - Big Brown's odds were 1 to 5. $20 to win on him would have returned you $24 - a $4 dollar profit on a $20 investment.

The owners would not take a chance on losing out on all future money to be made from this horse.

He's already been syndicated for $50 million and was scheduled to be retired to stud at the end of 2008. So in that area he has a ceiling. And no doubt he's also insured, though I don't know for what amount. You're right about purse monies. For example, the winners share of the Breeders Cup classic is something like $3 million.