Belmont Pick 4 Selections

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Big Brown at Belmont — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:14:51 GMT

I saw the picture of Big Brown's shoe hanging off. Did this happen because the maiden horse step on his hoof?

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:13:00 GMT

GSO Badger, you can say that again. I couldn't agree with you more. Afleet Alex should have been the triple crown winner but his horrible trip in the Derby did not allow it. He was a great horse. One of my favorites.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

GSOBadger — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:43:34 GMT

One of the oldest sayings in racing is "There's no such thing as a sure thing". Every now and then we need to be reminded. If this were not so, Damascus, Spectacular Bid, Risen Star, Point Given, and Afleet Alex would all have been Triple Crown winners.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Geri Ann — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:51:05 GMT

Just to correct myself, it looks like Sir Barton, the first TC winner, had four DAYS between the Derby and Preakness (when Sir Barton won it, the Preakness was run at 1 1/8 miles and not 1 3/16). And then the colt ran in the Withers later in May before running in the Belmont. What owner or trainer today would permit that kind of schedule for their horse? Times have sure changed!

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Geri Ann — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:39:18 GMT

Actually, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, all the previous 11 horses who won the Triple Crown did NOT run on the same schedule as exists today. From Sir Barton through Assault, there was ONE week between the Derby and Preakness, not the two-week turnaround we have today. Citation was the first TC winner to have a two-week break between the Derby and Preakness. So it could be argued that today's three-year-olds actually have an EASIER TC schedule than the great ones who accomplished the feat prior to Citation.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:03:15 GMT

Flyinhome: What in the world have you been smoking? are you looking at the same replay I am looking at? Apparantly we see things just slightly different. No surprise. I see Kent holding him from the get go. If you will see, had he let BB go, he would have went right up beside Da'tara. That seems to me what would have likely happened. I'm not trying to make excuses but what I see is what I see. Perhaps BB didn't like the rail but he ran into traffic problems because Kent held him back. Kent had the stragedy that he would come out, let the others run ahead and he would go to the outside and settle. BB had a different idea and all the riders were ready for whatever stragedy Kent had. Kent should have let BB go straight to the front like he wanted to. He then could have put him wherever he wanted. He would have been in control of the race.

I will agree 100% that BB was off yesterday. That was clear. I hope they do continue to train him and run him. He nees a chance to redeem himself, but in my opinion the jockey played a big roll in the way this race unfolded. Everyone knows the Belmont is a jockeys race. All greats face defeat. You can't dismiss him based on this performance. That's like saying the Patriots suck because they lost the superbowl. There was a road traveled to get to this level and BB was superior!

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:00:13 GMT

Actually, it wasn't just Da'tara, it was Tale of Ekati who cut BB off. Kent was going to go on the outside of Da'tara and Tale of Ekati closed the hole. BB got squeezed out. I guarantee you folks, that cost BB the race. Kent was holding him back right out of the gate. That was the fatal mistake.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:55:40 GMT

I would also like to add that Da'tara cut BB right off at the start of the race. Had Kent let BB go and settle into stride he would have been either next to Da'tara or close enough so that he couldn't take BB out. He basically cut right in front of him to go to the rail and Kent was forced to put on the brakes. I didn't think you could cut a horse off like that. I thought you had to be clear of the horse to make a move. I've seen inquiry's come out on far less obvious things than this.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Citation — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:46:20 GMT

The Racing Almanac contains the rules of racing. It states very clearly that all horses shall be ridden out even if there is no apparent chance to win prize money. Of course,a horse can be pulled up when injured or so far out of the race that it has no chance to improve position, but Big Brown did not fit either of those conditions, so Kent Desormeaux broke the rules by pulling him up " without reasonable cause ".

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

MikeM — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:39:52 GMT

The state vet said the horse had no physical issue that he could see. That was real bush league by Kent D pulling him up like that.He should have wrapped up on him and ridden him to the wire.The horse stood there while being unsaddled like a statue.No heat stroke, no lameness.He just wanted no part of it today.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Flyinhome — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:38:19 GMT

Karen: he didn't break beautifully! He ducked and pushed the maiden! Kent wasn't the problem. BB oviously does not like the rail. it looks like he fereaked and faught Kent. If kent would have let him go, BB would have practically caused an accident. Kudos to kent. He got BB out of there, even if it meant making the outside horse check hard. BB didn't slip that much.....you can't even see it in teh replay! I've watched the replay over and over. Brownie has ALWAYS gone to rail and finished his race. That is pretty much the key. He saw teh rail, wanted to go, and beat the other horses. HE didn't settle, he didn't slip, no physical damage. no excuses. Good horses overcome slips.....Look at Rags anyone!!! She pretty much kissed the dirt.

Joe:He's a very competetive and agressive rider- That's why only certain horses have him on their backs. Tara Could take him. Tara himself is a very agressive horse; Zito explained that after teh race in an interview. That is why LaPenta and Zito picked Garcia.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

wista — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:14:43 GMT

Some thoughts:

Just a personal opinion from someone who has been an observer of horse racing for 50 years;Big Brown looked uncomfortable to me . . . in the paddock, in the post parade, and while getting into the gate. I don't recall that he had to be pushed into the gate at the Derby or the Preakness. After the race he continued to seem irritated - not really sore, just not himself.

Should someone ask John Servis his opinion about Big Brown's preparation fot the Belmont?

Big Brown was not bred for 1 1/2 mile races!

Racing officials have to put an end to steroids in the sport.

If he was sound, Casino Drive would have easily won the Belmont . . . and what a story that would have been( a broodmare foaled 3 consecutive winners of the Belmont)

This is a really weak crop of 3 year olds!

Do we all now have increased respect for Secretariat? What a horse.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

joe — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:45:14 GMT

Safe to say, Big Brown is not that good of a horse. Had his way in the Derby and Preakness. For once, he had a few obstacles to over come, and look what happened.

And again, Kent "no ride out" D. lived up to his name.

Denis of Cork showed up as predicted. Tale of Ekati did not.

The racing gods blessed the sport yesterday. Had Big Brown won, the last thing the sport needed was arrogant connections tarnishing the sport.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Slew.em.All — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:08:49 GMT

The Racing Gods have spoken! It's funny,BB ran exactly the way I thought he would,in the Derby though.So I was off by 2 races.Never the less,justice is served..Imagine if he'd had won the TC,and us having to hear Dutrow,Draynay & ALL the other BB Yahoos go on & on about how Great he is,yada-yada-yada!..He is what I Always thought he was: a talented individual who just had an easy/lucky path to the TC.Now that the Roids' are out of his system,he fell back to earth.Like I've mentioned b4,every horse/human deserves a Mulligan,BB notwithstanding.But,darnit,it feels Sooo good in knowing that "these shady connections" wont have the priviledge in having a TC Champion in their hands..In due time we will have a deserving,true Triple Crown Champion,unlike the flash-in-the-pan Upstart that is BB.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Jason Shandler — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:04:36 GMT

To Draynay, Wanda and everyone else: Thank you for blogging with me and helping make this blog very successful. I enjoyed all of your thoughts and comments.

This blog is continuous and will run as long as I am at Blood-Horse. Sometime soon it will switch over to the name "Breeders Cup Chat" and we will start focusing on the second half of the racing season. I will have a post-Belmont blog later today. Thanks again and let's keep a good thing going.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

joe — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:26:37 GMT

maybe wise to start following racing alittle better. no mention of alan garcia just killin them all year long at tracks he rides?

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:02:48 GMT

Another thing: Kent claims BB slipped coming out of the starting gate. I can't see it. He appears to have broken from the gate beautifully. Then Kent got in the way big time. Perhpas this was a jockey error. If Kent would have let BB go and relax and get into stride maybe he wouldn't have been so irritated. When Kent took him to the outside he got forced even wider by moving inside of him. In watching BB's previous races, Kent never got in the way the way he did yesterday. Maybe mentally it was to much pressure and he tried to use to much stradegy instead of letting BB run his race. Of course we will never know. Just some of my observations.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:55:28 GMT

I have watched the replay of this race several times now and I am really confused. I do realize horses have off days and yesterday I thought it could have been a number of things that went wrong. First and foremost, the heat. But after watching the replay I have some questions. It just doesn't add up. Kent seemed to get in the way several times of BB getting into stride. Then when it was time to go, Kent did not really seem to ask BB for anything. I can't see that the whip came out on him once. Now granted I don't believe in whipping a horse, I do think a pop once or twice tells the horse its time to roll. Maybe I am just being paranoid. I don't generally like to think of the negative, especially in regards to a sport I love and hold so dear, but I'm not feeling to good about this race. Call me naive, but is it possible this horse race could have been "rigged"? I know, stupid question. But after watching the replay, it did cross my mind. Do any others have any thoughts on this?

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Bryce Be Quick — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:55:13 GMT

Wanda-- nothing for the stewards to look at here: a horse with no run, destined to finish mid-pack at best, eased up. Kent D did right by the horse and particuarly in light of recent events, the sport. End of non-story.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Matthew W — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:23:49 GMT

Monica, the horse that won The Ky Dby/Fla Dby from the far outside posts--and by five easy lengths--did not race today

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

Alex — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:22:47 GMT

Big Brown = Big Baby.Didn't like having dirt in his face and tried to dictate his own terms to disastrous results. Desormeaux couldn't handle him. Running five wide on the backstretch didn't help either.

Once again my theory of not being able to win a Triple Crown unless the horse has an authorotative or militaristic name holds up.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

the wiz — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:14:57 GMT

The great ones win even on off days. The greatest do it over a period of years. Big Brown is a very good horse who by no fault of his own came along in a very weak class of 3 yr olds. His lack of experience caught up with him when asked for 3 races in 5 weeks and faced with what looked to me like just a small amount of trouble for the first time he spit the bit. The public got caught up in a "Triple Crown Frenzy" and was again dissapointed. It is possible but highly unlikely that Big Brown could go on to prove he belongs along side (but not above) the great ones who proceeded him by racing into the future. Money is the name of the game today and unfortunately Big Brown will probably never get the chance to prove if he belongs there or not. So far he hasn't proven anything more than he's a very good horse who has beaten and been beaten by a mediocre class.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

cybertron_log — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:04:08 GMT

I think Da'Tara ran a wonderful race, taking the lead and then showing his heels TWICE to the rest of the field. The time was slow, but just watching him run away was enough to take my breath away.

It was his time to shine, not Big Brown's. Hope the guy's safe and sound, though; I'd love to see how he'll match up with the late developers and older males in the summer and fall.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

SamNotSpam — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 08:50:05 GMT

So the horse was rank early? Anyone care to watch a replay of the Epsom Derby from yesterday; New Approach pulled far harder throughout the race, over a demanding, hilly track, and STILL won impressively. Truly great horses can roll with the punches and still prevail.

I only wish Casino Drive had run - a horse bred and trained to run over the distance, he would have annihilated them.

re: Belmont Pick 4 Selections

MonicaV — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:17:40 GMT

I don't know that we will ever see another triple crown winner. They are talking about changing the schedule for the TC races, spacing them further than they are. To me it would be wrong. The triple crown has been won by 11 horses that ran that schedule, if they change it, they make it easier and what does that prove?

I was so sure the Smarty Jones would win. He was unstoppable until the Belmont. I had my doubts about Big Brown but actually thought he might do it as he dominated early on but that didn't happen either. 30 years is a long time and Secretariat's TC records still stand after 35 years.

We've had some truly great horse and not all have won the TC but you really have to be in awe of the horses that did.