In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: Big bust at Belmont
Video: Race replay
Reactions: Dutrow blames Desormeaux, Big Brown pointed to Travers
Background: Belmont preparation
Background: 'It’s a foregone conclusion'
Historical Context: The 30-year drought
Key Players: Nick Zito and Da’ Tara
Opinion & Analysis: What happened?
Reference: Belmont and horse racing guides
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Big Brown, ridden by jockey Kent Desormeaux, falls to the last place on the home stretch
in the 140th Belmont Stakes (AP).
in the 140th Belmont Stakes (AP).
What Happened to Big Brown?
The seemingly unbeatable Triple Crown contender was eased up on the final turn and finished dead last in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
30-Second Summary
Before the race, trainer Rick Dutrow called it a “foregone conclusion” that Big Brown would win the Triple Crown.
But the horse never looked like himself and was eased by jockey Kent Desormeaux on the final turn. He finished so far behind the winner Da’ Tara, a 38-1 underdog who won the race wire-to-wire, that the margin of defeat wasn’t charted.
“I had no horse,” Desormeaux said after the race.
Dutrow, Desormeaux and co-owner Michael Iavarone are at a loss as to what went wrong. Doctors have examined Big Brown, but have yet to find anything physically wrong.
There are many theories as to why Big Brown flopped. Some believe that Big Brown was fatigued by the grueling Triple Crown schedule, the oppressing heat or the mile and a half distance. Others believe that a quarter crack injury was more serious that originally believed.
Dutrow and several writers have criticized Desormeaux's ride, believing that held Big Brown back too much in the early going and had no reason to ease him.
There is also a belief that Big Brown’s supposed greatness was the result of steroid use. The Belmont was the first race he ran this year without the steroid Winstrol in his system.
Big Brown’s failure illustrates the difficulty of winning the Triple Crown, which hasn’t been won since 1978. Desormeaux, who nearly won the Triple Crown in 1998 aboard Real Quiet, said, “I can’t fathom what kind of freaks those 11 Triple Crown winners were.”
But the horse never looked like himself and was eased by jockey Kent Desormeaux on the final turn. He finished so far behind the winner Da’ Tara, a 38-1 underdog who won the race wire-to-wire, that the margin of defeat wasn’t charted.
“I had no horse,” Desormeaux said after the race.
Dutrow, Desormeaux and co-owner Michael Iavarone are at a loss as to what went wrong. Doctors have examined Big Brown, but have yet to find anything physically wrong.
There are many theories as to why Big Brown flopped. Some believe that Big Brown was fatigued by the grueling Triple Crown schedule, the oppressing heat or the mile and a half distance. Others believe that a quarter crack injury was more serious that originally believed.
Dutrow and several writers have criticized Desormeaux's ride, believing that held Big Brown back too much in the early going and had no reason to ease him.
There is also a belief that Big Brown’s supposed greatness was the result of steroid use. The Belmont was the first race he ran this year without the steroid Winstrol in his system.
Big Brown’s failure illustrates the difficulty of winning the Triple Crown, which hasn’t been won since 1978. Desormeaux, who nearly won the Triple Crown in 1998 aboard Real Quiet, said, “I can’t fathom what kind of freaks those 11 Triple Crown winners were.”
Headline Link: Big bust at Belmont
Big Brown ran most of the race behind Da’ Tara and Tale of Ekati. On the final turn, he seemed to be in a perfect position to make the same devastating move that he made in the Derby and Preakness. However, when Da’ Tara began to pull away, Big Brown didn’t respond. Desormeaux eased him up; many observers worried that the colt was injured, but Desormeaux dispelled that notion. “He was empty. He didn't have anything left,” he said. “There’s no popped tires. He’s just out of gas.”
Source: ESPN
Video: Race replay
The New York Racing Association hosts a video of the 2008 Belmont, as well as every other race since 1970.
Source: New York Racing Association
Reactions: Dutrow blames Desormeaux, Big Brown pointed to Travers
Dutrow criticized Desormeaux for his ride. “I don't see the horse with a problem,” said Dutrow, “so I have to direct my attention toward the ride. That's all I can come up with.” He also questioned Desormeaux’s decision to ease up Big Brown, saying, “I don't know why he had to do that.” Iavarone, on the other hand, lauded Desormeaux for his decision. “We didn't tell Kent to ease Big Brown,” he said, “but we're glad he did. Kent was worried about the horse, and we're all glad that he brought him home healthy.”
Source: ESPN
On Sunday, Big Brown’s connections were still trying to determine what, if anything, is wrong with Big Brown. “We went over him good last night after the race, and again this morning, and there’s nothing physically that’s shown up,” said Michael Iavarone, co-owner of IEAH Stables. “He scoped clean. His feet are ice cold—quarter crack not an issue. He had a very loose hind left shoe, but that’s not an issue. We’ll just chalk it up to a question mark at this point.” Iavarone said that Big Brown would likely run next in the Travers Stakes on August 23 at Saratoga.
Source: Newsday
Background: Belmont preparation
Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes convincingly. In the Preakness, he exerted barely any effort in pulling away from the field, convincing many that he way ready to dominate the Belmont. Only Japanese import Casino Drive appeared a worthy contender to thwart history.
Source: findingDulcinea
Before the Preakness, Dutrow acknowledged that he injects all his horses with the steroid Winstrol on the 15th of every month. However, he skipped Big Brown’s May 15 injection, meaning that the Belmont would be the first race in which Big Brown raced without Winstrol in his system. “With three races in five weeks, this horse does not need Winstrol,” Dutrow explained.
Source: Thoroughbred Times
Two weeks before the Belmont, Big Brown suffered a quarter crack on his left front hoof. Dutrow and hoof specialist Ian McKinlay downplayed the injury; “This quarter crack should not be any concern at all. I’m not concerned,” said McKinlay. The day before the Belmont, McKinlay applied an acrylic patch to the hoof and Big Brown was ready to go.
Source: Baltimore Sun
Background: 'It’s a foregone conclusion'
The outspoken Dutrow, who correctly predicted that his horse would romp in the Derby and Preakness, was equally confident heading into the Belmont. He declared it a “foregone conclusion” that Big Brown would win the race and looked forward to winning the Triple Crown. “I can’t imagine what I’m going to feel like when they turn for home,” he said. “I know that it’s going to be a beautiful picture for us. I know our horse is just ... he’s just in a zone and I see his competition, that turning for home something is going to come over the crowd. So, I can’t wait.”
Source: The Blood-Horse
Many in the media were also convinced that Big Brown would make history. The New York Post’s Ray Kerrison said, “It just doesn’t matter to this horse. Nothing fazes him. It will be yet another new track, Belmont Park—a new distance, a mile and a half; a new post-position, the No. 1 slot on the rail. It doesn’t matter. The Big Brown machine will kill ’em.”
Source: FOX Sports
Big Brown’s road to the Triple Crown got a lot easier on the morning of the Belmont, when Casino Drive was scratched due to a bruise on his heel.
Source: ABC News
Historical Context: The 30-year drought
Many old horse racing observers felt that Dutrow was underestimating the difficulty of winning the Triple Crown. Since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978, may other “sure things” have fallen short in the Belmont, including Spectacular Bid. After romps in the 1979 Derby and Preakness, trainer Bud Delp predicted that Spectacular Bid would win by 32-lengths—one more than Secretariat’s 1973 win. Due in part to a safety pin in his foot and a poor ride, Bid faded down the stretch and finished third, beginning the 30-year drought.
Source: findingDulcinea
Key Players: Nick Zito and Da’ Tara
Da’ Tara is the son of Tiznow, a two-time winner of the Breeder’s Cup Classic, but he had just one career win heading into the Belmont. After a second place finish in the Barbaro Stakes on Preakness day, trainer Nick Zito convinced owner Robert LaPenta to take a shot in the Belmont. He told jockey Alan Garcia to go for the lead, which the 38-1 shot shockingly never gave up. After the race, Zito said, “When Big Brown was starting to fade I started jumping up and down because Alan did what I told him. I said: ‘Da’ Tara you can do it.’”
Source: Chicago Tribune (free registration may be required)
This is the second Belmont Stakes win for Zito, a New York native. In 2004, he trained Birdstone, a 36-1 shot who spoiled Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown hopes in the final stretch. After the race, Zito told Smarty Jones’ trainer John Servis that he was sorry; he did no such thing to Dutrow. “Mom and Pop don’t go for (the boasting), but he don’t mean anything by it,” Zito said. “That’s his style. But, you’re right, before honor, humility. I can say that. I know that.”
Source: Sports Illustrated
Opinion & Analysis: What happened?
The Baltimore Sun’s Rick Maese believes Big Brown’s failure may be the result of the skipped steroid injection. “On steroids, Big Brown ran like few before him; flowers and plants at Churchill Downs and Pimlico Race Course are still shuddering in his wake,” Maese writes. “Off steroids, he became the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish last in the Belmont.”
Source: Baltimore Sun
ESPN’s Pat Forde believes that Big Brown lost due to the arrogance of his connections. “If anyone won … it was racing itself,” writes Forde. “True, it was a letdown for all the fans who turned out to see a coronation. But this was perhaps the ultimate proof that the Triple Crown must be approached with the utmost respect.”
Source: ESPN
The New York Post’s Ray Kerrison blames Desormeaux for a poor ride. He quotes a trainer who said, “Desormeaux screwed up. He should have let him run, just as he did in the Florida Derby, instead of fighting him. He should never have eased the horse, either. Did you see the stretch run? Big Brown was still fighting for his head. I think Desormeaux panicked.”
Source: New York Post
The Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins commends Desormeaux for pulling up at the first sign of distress. “Whatever the sport lost in terms of history and publicity when Big Brown failed in his bid, it recouped thanks to Desormeaux, who proved that there are good people in the sport who put the horses first, something critics had reason to question this season.”
Source: The Washington Post (free registration may be required)
Newsday’s Wallace Matthews believes that Big Brown’s poor performance is simply a part of sports, writing, “The defeat of Big Brown reminds us of what drew us to the racetrack in the first place: the uncertainty and the seemingly limitless possibilities. The sometimes harsh reality that no matter what the numbers say on paper or the trainers say in front of the barn, the horses still have to be loaded into the gate, run the race, and cross the finish line to make it all official.”
Source: Newsday
The Washington Post’s Andrew Beyer addresses the theories for Big Brown’s collapse, including the hoof injury, the steroid issue, Desormeaux’s poor ride and the dry track. Beyer concludes that there is no simple explanation, but theorizes that Big Brown’s light training regimen---due to the hoof injury and Dutrow’s overconfidence---may be the cause.
Source: Washington Post
Reference: Belmont and horse racing guides
The findingDulcinea Web Guide to the Belmont Stakes has information on the history and traditions of the Belmont and includes tips for those attending it. It also links to the best sources for news and handicapping analysis of the Belmont and to findingDulcinea’s previous coverage of the Triple Crown.
Source: findingDulcinea
The findingDulcinea Web Guide to Horse Racing explains everything you need to know about the sport. It features links to racing history and news, plus information on betting and getting involved in racing.
Source: findingDulcinea
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