Later, Babe: Big Brown Loses Belmont

What seemed a foregone conclusion, turned out to be anything but once again in the Belmont Stakes. For the eleventh time in thirty years, a horse looked poised to take racing's greatest honor, but there is a reason the Belmont is the Test of a Champion. It is a mile and a half and a lot can go wrong. It is a puzzlement what went wrong on Saturday.

Big Brown looked miles better on paper, but as stated often, the Belmont Stakes is not run on paper. He lunged out of the gate ready to go. He was so keyed up early in the race, that he almost ran right into Da'Tara. He ran third most of the way, until he was asked for some speed, and then nothing.

Kent Desormeaux knows his horse, and knew he had nothing more to give. Big Brown was eased and became the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish dead last, a wise decision since he was riding a fifty million dollar animal. To push him into a breakdown, would not do anyone any good, least of all the racing industry, still reeling from the death of Eight Belles.

Was it the quarter crack? Maybe, but Big Brown's connections were not sending a lame horse into the Belmont. It would make little financial sense, and that is after all, what IEAH is all about.

Was it the steroid that for once in his career Big Brown was racing without? Maybe Winstrol made Big Brown lengths better than his opponents. It certainly works that way in humans.

Hopefully it is nothing more serious, and we will either see Big Brown come back to contest the Travers, or we will see him shipped off to the barn. Either way, his moment in the sun is over.