Go Big Brown!!!

[hcammack]

He is just so much longer and bigger and more muscular then the smaller bred horses and he can just get the extra length on his strides that really matter at the end of the race he also has great stamina. I really believe that he will break the dry spell of triple crown winners which will be great !

Henry

 

[CarriBrown]

I really hope we have a Triple Crown winner!!!

 

[Hotwings]

I will probably be crucified here but here it goes. Am I the only one that hasn't fallen to the Big Brown triple crown hype! Granted Big Brown won his races impressively but who did he race against. In my opinion this years crop of 3 years olds is very mediocre. He hasn't been challenged by superior horses and he hasn't ran on a muddy track. Big Brown comes from sprinters so the Belmont will be interesting. Stranger things have happened. I remember the same hype over Smarty Jones. When he meets and defeats Curlin then maybe I will change my tune. What angers me most is he will not race beyond 3! So if he sweeps the triple crown it is bye bye and reap in the stud fees. Does Big Brown deserving to be among the immortals? When he meets better challengers, carries more weight and runs in all track conditions and breaks track records maybe. Some of the best racehorses have never won a triple crown or any triple crown races. This industry is hurting and to deny to race a triple crown winner is hurting the industry. At least Curlin is still running and he is going beyond the norm. There is talk of him entering the Arc! I have seen the best run in my day and Big Brown will have to show me he deserves to be there.

 

[TheOLDNewChick]

I liked Hey Byrn, he was my second choice, but I was rooting for Big Brown.

 

[hcammack]

Hotwings very valid point it just seemed to easy maybe he needs a challenge and then we will see how good he actually is. I was very frustrated hearing about the owners selling him to stud before he has even raced barely at all!

Henry

 

[chicknmania]

And that's what I mean about the great horses continuing to run; everyone knew they really were great because they did have to face all those different adversaries and conditions. And that's the one thing about artificial turf; yes, it is safer, but the really historic racehorses showed they could run in anything. I think it is disgusting, too, that he won't get to run past three. Why not let him continue to run and build up his value even more?? Either a: they're afraid he won't continue that winning streak and his value will go down or, b: they're afraid he'll get injured

and he'll be useless for stud purposes. I didn't know this before now, but I learned yesterday that Man O' War never ran in the Derby, because his owners did not want him to run in a race like that at only three years old. Also, does anyone know whatever happened to Funny Cide? I thought they were going to continue to let him run, him being a gelding and all. Did he get hurt? Seems to me he did, just can't remember.

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
Yep, I agree with that. And Hotwings, I don't think you will get crucified for your post. It makes a lot of sense. It's been a long time since I followed racing, so you obviously know a bit more than I do about what the "scene" is like these days, as far as this year's bunch being mediocre. That I have no clue about. But I totally agree with your post. Except I may have been bitten a tiny bit by the "triple crown bug."

It would just be so cool to see a horse win it! And for most people who have never followed horse racing at all, or even maybe don't know a thing about horses period, the triple crown is something familiar and exciting. It's hard not to get swept up in it!

The Belmont will be interesting. It takes two different horses to win the Derby/Preakness vs. the Belmont. So we'll see just how versatile Big Brown is, wether or not he can handle the distance. It'll be fun!

 

[Bec]

I missed tha dang race!!! I waited all day and then we thought we could make it home in time, I missed it by 10 minutes!!!

But Go Big Brown!!! I hope he does win the Triple Crown!!! What a good life for him if he makes it through injury free....visits with the ladies....nice. An only 6 total races?? Niiiceee....

 

[d.k]

* Me, too-- My step-dad built a kitchen for the people who had owned Secretariat when I was a kid. I got to visit and see a bronze of him they had in the house. I couldn't figure out why they didn't have the real horse there, and, of course, no one was explaining it to a kid, either!!

 

[patandchickens]

I am always happy to see a racehorse retired -- it is not good for their bodies and there is always the chance of a catastrophic breakdown. (A much *higher* chance, please note, when the horse is in training and being campaigned than when he is at stud and just hangin' around in the field.)

Even without a major breakdown, an awful high percentage of racehorses, both good and not so good, do NOT retire sound. They very very often have all sorts of tendon, ligament and joint injuries that plague them for the rest of their lives, making them stiff and sore to varying degrees, and increasing the chances of a serious injury later on at pasture. (Even if they seem fine the day after they are retired, it typically becomes a real issue when they get to be 10 or 12, not very old for a horse).

You can say 'oh, well, that's the price that human athletes pay too' but you know what, human athletes can DECIDE whether they want to go down that road. Horses are incapable of informed consent, because they do not know and cannot be told of the risks and longer-term consequences of Fun On The Track. The longer a horse races, the more damage is done to its body.

And this horse in particular, as I understand it, has a lot of foot problems. Who knows whether they could even get his feet to keep holding together for the rest of the season. Ability is not the only thing in the equation.

So, me, I have no problem whatsoever with them saying they'll retire him. Is it just a greedy decision based on fear that he might start losing races and his stud fee value would drop? Who knows, could be. (It's hard enough to stay financially afloat in horse breeding that I wouldn't really fault them if that was their rationale, though). Or they may know something about his feet or soundness that you don't.

Doesn't matter to me which is which. I think that retirement is CLEARLY in the horse's best interest -- ANY racehorse's, provided there is a good home for him to live out the rest of his life -- and would be happy to see it.


Pat, having owned several off-the-track thoroughbreds over the years (2 out back right now), and having retrained gazillions, and a great admirer of the breed.