Moments after the Belmont Stakes, once the shock wore off, the first words out of my mouth were, "This is why horse racing is the most unpredictable and crazy sport there is. They could run that race 100 more times and I still would not wager $1 on Da' Tara."

Now that 24 hours have passed and I've had time to digest it all, I feel the same way. I am more surprised at who won than Big Brown losing. Although I thought Big Brown was clearly the best horse and had a great chance to win, I know how difficult winning the Triple Crown is and that anything can happen. But seeing Da' Tara, who lost to Big Brown by 24 lengths two months prior and had only a maiden win to show for seven starts, go wire-to-wire for 12 furlongs - now that shocked me. And it had to shock 99% of you too, because I didn't see or hear one person pick him to win. Not one.

As far as Big Brown, was it the heat? The quarter crack? Was he tired? Did he not like the inside post? Did Desormeaux make a tactical error by holding him early and then going so wide? Trying to figure out what was wrong with Big Brown is anybody's guess. It was probably a combination of a lot of things, including the horse reacting poorly to adversity for the first time.

In hindsight, lost money (and pride) aside, I was glad that Big Brown did not win the Triple Crown. And this is coming from someone who needed him to win to close out the late Pick 4. Here is why I feel that way and a few other observations one day later:

• Rick Dutrow handled himself in the same classless manner after the race that he did throughout the Triple Crown trail. His failure, along with representatives from IEAH, to show up at the post-race press conference was poor sportsmanship. Go make sure your horse is OK and then come back to face the media. There was enough time to do both. They were all laughs and smiles after the Derby and Preakness, and the first ones to soak up the limelight during the good times. But as soon as Big Brown loses they ran and hid. What's the old saying, "One's true character is best revealed during times of hardship?"

Dutrow handled the loss as most of us should have expected him to. He was arrogant and cocky throughout this whole run. He treated the Triple Crown like it was winning a series of allowance races at Aqueduct. He showed no respect for the connections of Casino Drive and the other 3-year-olds who raced against him, not to mention John Servis. His comments these last three weeks now make him look like a fool. Who goes into the Belmont Stakes saying it's a "foregone conclusion"? Who does that?

And when it came time for Dutrow to eat some crow what did he do? Hide. As I stated, we shouldn't have expected anything more from him.

• Had Big Brown won the Triple Crown, there was always going to be the lingering questions about steroids and illegal medication. Dutrow's long list of medication violations cannot be overlooked. Because of this, as much as many of us wanted to see a Triple Crown winner, this was not a horse I could embrace. Dutrow took that away from me. In hindsight, I'm happy he lost. It just didn't feel right. Perhaps if he had stayed with Paul Pompa Jr. and Patrick Reynolds all along I would have felt differently.

• Kent Desormeaux should not have eased Big Brown to the wire, and if NYRA does what is right, he will be suspended. There was nothing wrong with Big Brown. He was not injured, Desormeaux confirmed it, and so did Dr. Bramlage. Whether Desoremeaux did this on his own or was given instructions to pull him up if he wasn't going to win, who knows. But it was clearly against the rules. If Big Brown wasn't healthy enough to be out there, he should have been scratched. Once he goes into the starting gate it is the jockey's obligation to ride the horse to the best of his ability unless he is injured. Would he have won or hit the board? No. But he owed it to the public to finish the race "even if there was no apparent chance to win prize money." He did not do that. And to watch him being eased only five weeks after the Eight Belles tragedy made millions of TV viewers assume we had another major injury on our hands. It made horse racing look bad once again. Just ride the horse home under wraps Kent. The one thing I do give Desormeaux credit for is showing up like a man after the race to answer questions. He was the only representative of Big Brown to do so.

• Hats off to Nick Zito. The "Triple Crown Killer" did it again and shocked us all. He is not a Hall of Famer for nothing and unlike some trainers who get scared off by entering horses against huge favorites in big races, Zito does not. He has guts. Nice job Nick.

• I am convinced we will never see Big Brown race again. I hope you enjoyed him while he was here.

• Finally, thank you to everyone who has contributed to making this blog successful and enjoyable. Many of you have asked if it will be continuing now that the Triple Crown is over. It will! In a few weeks it will change names to "Breeders' Cup Chat" and we will begin talking about the second half of the racing season. Name change aside, this is a continuous blog. As long as I am with Blood-Horse we will have this forum to share our views. Thanks again.

So you are going to try to beat Big Brown huh? Me too. Short of hitting the superfecta or Pick 4, there is no way to make any significant money in this race if Big Brown wins.

With that in mind, here is one longshot to consider in the Belmont: Anak Nakal.

Anak Nakal? I know, he hasn't been better than fifth in four races this year and on paper, doesn't look like he even belongs on the same track as Big Brown. But upon further review, there are a couple angles here. Just ask trainer Nick Zito.

You may remember a little horse that Zito trained four years again named Birdstone. He limped into the Belmont off a fifth-place finish in the Blue Grass and a flat eighth-place showing in the Kentucky Derby. He then went off at 36-1 in the Belmont and disappointed racing fans all across the nation when he overtook Smarty Jones in the final sixteenth to deny a Triple Crown.

"I'm a fan of racing first and foremost," Zito said when asked what he recalled most about that day. "I have been following it on a daily basis since I was a teenager. I'm big into the history and tradition of it. So as a fan, I felt a little funny when Birdstone won. I was happy for us, but it was a little weird.

"But at the same time I had tried to win that race so many times and was second five or six times before. (Smarty Jones' trainer John Servis) made it a little easier for me because he was so classy after the race. He made me realize it was a competition and we are all trying to win."

Zito says there are similarities between Anak Nakal and Birdstone.

"They both were better as 2-year-olds. Birdstone won the Champagne and Anal Nakal won the Jockey Club. Birdstone was eighth, not 18^th in the Derby. Anak Nakal was seventh, not 17^th in the Derby, if you know what I mean. They are both tough, little horses that needed to improve going into the Belmont."

Anaka Nakal turned in a handy :46.68 half-mile work May 26 and Zito says he is pleased with his training since the Derby.

Perhaps the biggest omen for Anak Nakal is his sire, Victory Gallop. You may recall that it was 10 years ago that Victory Gallop denied Real Quiet's Triple Crown by coming from four lengths back at the top of the stretch to win by a nose.

"We know (Anak Nakal) will love the mile and a half," Zito said. "His daddy won this race. He will run all day and he proved that in the Derby when he kept coming."

The thought of Anak Nakal improving so much that he will beat Big Brown is a reach. Zito knows this. But he also knows another thing:

"A mile and a half is tough. It changes everything. You can't take anything for granted in this game."

This time one year ago Carl Nafzger was the hottest name in the sport. His tremendous 3-year-old Street Sense was just starting his campaign to the 2007 Kentucky Derby, beginning with his victory in the Tampa Bay Derby. Earlier this week I caught up a considerably less busy Nafzger to ask him to recall, among other things, his spectacular ride.

JS: I guess things are a lot less hectic for you compared to this time last year?

CN: A lot less hectic. I don't know why people stopped calling me. I can't figure out what I did to them. I'm certainly not as popular this year.

JS: Just a guess, but it may have something to do with Street Sense. Speaking of Street Sense, the ride he took you on last year was magical. What was your favorite part of the whole experience?

CN: It's hard to say. I enjoyed all of it. He was such a great horse and I enjoyed watching him take all the steps from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile to the Kentucky Derby. Every time there were questions about, would he move forward or would he get enough out of each race, he answered it.  Just watching him through the whole ride was fun. There was some anxiety, but I never had any doubts. If it was meant to be, it was going to happen.

JS: Was there any part of the whole experience, perhaps the intense media focus, that you did not enjoy?

CN: No. It's all part of it. The hardest part of success is dealing with the responsibility of success. You have to be responsible in life. It comes with the territory.

JS: You really did seem to enjoy the ride. Some trainers are not as approachable as you were during the road to the Derby.

CN: Well, it was my second time going through it. I knew what to expect (from Unbridled in 1990). I learned that you have to enjoy the moment. You can't get too worked up about winning. You're at the Derby, it's a once in a lifetime experience, so just relax. I knew I wouldn't be there without the horse, so just enjoy the moment.

JS: You don't have any horses on the Derby trail this year. From an outsiders perspective, who do you like?

CN: Well, you have to like War Pass and Pyro. Pyro looks like a terrific horse and will have the seasoning going into the Derby. But if I had to pick one right now it would be War Pass. Nick (Zito) has done a great job with him. As a trainer, you love consistency. Consistency is more important than winning and War Pass has always showed up. I like the path that Nick is taking with him too. He will have a very fresh horse on Derby day.

JS: How many horses do you have in training now?

CN: I only have about eight or nine. It's nice that Lady Joanne (Alabama winner and most recently, 4^th in BC Distaff) is on her way back. She just started training again and will probably run sometime this summer.

JS: Any late-blooming 3-year-olds?

CN: I have one nice colt by Gone West, but he is a big horse that will take more time to develop. I'm at Ocala right now trying to find the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner (laughs).

JS: Being a finalist for the Hall of Fame must have been a nice way to start the year?

CN: Oh, it was. It was a great honor. It will be terrific if I get elected at Saratoga this summer.