"IEAH Stables’ Michael Iavarone said the chances of Big Brown running as a 4-year-old were 'none.' "
Terrific. Big Brown will be whisked off to stud at the end of the year if we're lucky, possibly sooner if his feet bother him again or he gets a cold or a hangnail or somebody looks at him cross-eyed... And we wonder why this sport is losing its fan base? IEAH, you suck!
In other news, Big Brown will run in the Preakness this Saturday. What a novel concept, eh? (Can you tell I'm bitter?) He will break from post position 7 in a field of 13, surprisingly just one shy of the gate limit. The field is mostly comprised of also-rans from the Triple Crown trail, but there are a few horses who should keep it interesting. Macho Again comes into the race off a win in the Derby Trial, and though his pedigree would suggest that he could handle the distance, he has yet to win beyond 7.5 furlongs. Icabad Crane has a cool name (there goes all my street cred) and also has a record similar to Big Brown's---he raced once at 2 and the Preakness will be his fifth start. His last outing was a win in the Federico Tesio. He could be dangerous. Late-blooming Lexington winner Behindatthebar is also a threat, and horses like Stevil, Gayego, and Hey Byrn may have a chance to redeem themselves...unless Big Brown runs like he did two weeks ago, in which case, they're all running for second place money.
I don't have a gut feeling about this race, but I think if Brown doesn't bounce, we should see a Funny Cide or Smarty Jones-like romp. If that happens, the Belmont is going to be very interesting. That remarkable mare, Better Than Honor, has produced her third straight Belmont contender in Casino Drive. He won the Peter Pan at Belmont easily this past weekend in a very nice time of 1:47.87. He looked pretty professional doing it, too, considering it was only his second lifetime start, his first having been in Japan. I would love to see a Triple Crown winner this year, despite the looming premature retirement of Big Brown, but I don't deny that I wonder about his ability to go 12 furlongs. If he can't do it, then I will be rooting for Casino Drive to complete a different and altogether rarer triple for his dam---three consecutive Belmont winners.
Whatever happens on Saturday, please let them all come home safe.
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