Jun

7

Bad Karma Beats Big Brown in Horrible Belmont

by Barry Roos
Published: June 7, 2008 4 Comments
Email This Post Email This Post

Drug suspensions, NASD violations, Bragging, not paying your bills, and generally being bad people eventually catches up with you. Karma my friends can be the ultimate bitch. Don‘t mess with her, or she can spoil the party in a big way. That is what happened in New York yesterday, with all the world watching. I commented in my Preakness preview that one of the only things that could stop Big brown was a quarter crack. He had a history of them and thy are a pain to deal with, whether your blacksmith is the best there is or not. You would have thought the onset of the quarter crack would have toned down Team Big Brown, but no, the bragging continued.

Less than an hour before the race, Big Brown‘s trainer, Rick Dutrow, walking from the barns to the paddock, was asked by an ABC Television reporter if he could guarantee a victory, and replied: “Yeah, I sure can.”

As it turned out Big Brown wasn’t right, and the race turned out to be one of the worst ever. Once Casino Drive scratched the race fell apart, and it looked like Big Brown may wire them. But Kent couldn’t see that and fought with Big Brown to keep him just off the pace of a colt who couldn’t win an easy stake in Maryland last out. If you give a horse an easy lead, they get a big heart and can steal a race. I have to give Zito credit, he throws any horse standing in big races, and once every 20 tries or so he pulls an upset. But this is a business and he deserves credit for winning a Classic with a barely Grade 3 level animal. Da‘Tara is a Classic winner, you can never take that away, no matter how slow or poor the race.

The sad part is that Casino Drive would have probably killed this bunch. His connections were classy to a fault, and in the end did the right thing by their colt.

I read a great piece, in the NY Times which claimed if Big Brown wins, racing loses. I am afraid I have to agree. Early on I was for Big Brown as racing needs a hero. But as I read more and more about the connections, I was convinced the op ed piece was correct. Read the New York Times Piece.

As for the Triple Crown? It will be won again at some point. Hopefully by deserving people, with class and dignity. Racing needs a hero, and one we can get behind.


Comments

4 Comments so far

  1. anon on June 8, 2008 8:48 am

    I have to give Zito credit, he throws any horse standing in big races, and once every 20 tries or so he pulls an upset.

    please check Zito’s record in the Classics, he wasn’t just throwing shit against a wall and hoping for it stick. He’s in the money 12 out of 18 times. he knows how to place horses. would you rather 9 other horses scratch and give big brown the walkover like they did in the Preakness?

  2. tomc on June 8, 2008 9:30 am

    Anon – a bit spineless no?

    I like your numbers, can you prove those out? But the post said he wins one out of 20 or so (which may be generous in Classic and BC races). And the numbers don’t show you that he has broken down more of his horses than anyone in history. I think the author gave him credit for winning the race. But the truth is he doesn’t care about the horses, and only his ego. He got lucky yesterday, good for him. But for the 100s of horses he destroyed to get there, there is no way to justify. From a business perspective I give Zito credit as he won a lot of money yesterday.

  3. Tenured Radical on June 8, 2008 5:20 pm

    I never count Zito out at any Belmont stakes race — I actually thought Da’Tara was entered to push the pace for the other Zito horse, Anak Nakal, who I bet on across the board and won my show bet. What kept me from putting a couple fins on Da’ Tara too just for giggles I don’t know, except as far as I could tell his only wins were as a sprinter and it seemed like a waste of money.

    One of the things I think they need to take a look at in racing generally — but specifically re. Big Brown: he has been on steroids, and they took him off in mid-April. I know they say they do it just to keep the horse’s appetite up, but there’s no question that you are going to lose strength eventually. An frankly, I would be surprised if steroids didn’t have something to do with brittleness in bones, hooves and whatnot — humans get osteoperosis on steroids, and it is one well known effect of steroids in human athletes that the muscles get so strong the can start pulling the frame apart (rowers, for example, who snap a rib from training often do so because their chest and back muscles are so strong that the ribs give way.)

    Just a thought. Love your blog, btw.

    TR

  4. denny barber on June 10, 2008 4:13 pm

    I tend to agree with the author’s karma thesis – I was really put off pre-race week with Dutrow’s boasting comments and I thought the rest of BBs connections were unsavory as well – so, all things considered, maybe it was the racing gods who determined BB was not a worthy Triple Crown champion.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind