It is not often that a horse wins a $1 million grade I race and people still walk away scratching their heads. Was it a good performance or not? It is a difficult question to answer. Then again, we should not have expected anything less. From the very start, everything about Big Brown seems to be complicated...
Now that the Triple Crown run is over and more than five weeks have passed since the Eight Belles tragedy, I thought it would be a good time to pick the brain of Larry Jones. Thought of by many as not only one of the most talented, but most respected trainers in the sport, Jones gave his take on a few...
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...
The nearly three decade drought is over. Big Brown takes over after six furlongs, opens up a clear lead, and holds off a very game Denis of Cork by two lengths to win the Belmont Stakes. That is my prediction and although it is the way I see the Belmont unfolding, to back myself up I will also use Denis...
If you haven't seen the latest comments from Rick Dutrow Jr. regarding Smarty Jones and what he feels was questionable training by John Servis leading up to the 2004 Belmont Stakes, here they are: "I think maybe the way they trained that horse for that race going up to the Belmont had a lot to do with...
On May 21, Rick Dutrow Jr. told Blood-Horse reporter Karen Johnson that "the plan is the Belmont, Travers and Breeders' Cup" for Big Brown. If that really is the plan, horse racing just got a tremendous boost. And I think IEAH Stables' Mike Iavarone deserves a ton of credit for making it happen. With...
He talked the talk and he walked the walk. Well, actually, Big Brown walked the walk for him, but you get the point. The week prior to the Derby, I wrote on this blog that trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. had gone too far in proclaiming that he didn't see "how his horse could get beat." While I still believe...