Home > Furman Bisher > Archives > 2008 > May > 05 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBig Brown looks golden
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When trainer Richard Dutrow strode briskly to the big board at the post position draw and dropped the name of Big Brown on No. 20, the outside gate, you had a premonition. There were other inside posts open, but here was a trainer so confident that his three-year-old would win the 134th Kentucky Derby that he wanted Big Brown, who is big and who is brown, out of traffic and unimpeded.
Dutrow had spent the week around the barn area at Churchill Downs bragging about his colt. “Best horse in the field,” he’d said, and he’d said it over and over again. Some blamed on his natural New Yorker swagger, and others simply branded it “shooting off his mouth.” If, as they say, you can get it done, it ain’t bragging.
Now is the time to take it a step further, and you ask: Is Big Brown the next Secretariat? And in the reply of Cot Campbell, who knows something about race horses, “I’d say the chances are good.” So says the master of Dogwood Stable, whose Summer Squall finished second in the Derby, then won the Preakness a few years back.
Based on what we’ve seen up to now, there is no threat to push Big Brown as Alydar was to Affirmed, last to win the Triple Crown in a pursuit that turned into a heart-stopping series. In fact, the Preakness may be run with less than a full gate, and the Belmont with even fewer challengers.
From the time Big Brown stepped on the track he has been dominant. When he won the Florida Derby, he started from the outside 12th gate, and one report read that “he horrified eleven other three-year-olds.” He won by five lengths. His speed ratings, a bunch of numbers with which I’m not familiar, are startling, nevertheless. He has won on grass, on artificial surface and on dirt. The surface? Bah, humbug. Means nothing to Big Brown.
Dutrow knew Big Brown’s speed. So did jockey Kent Desormeaux, who had no fear of the outside gate. It was written often that the only other time a horse won the Derby from the outside post was the race in 1929, won by Clyde Van Dusen, a gelding. It was different then. No starting gate. The starter lined up the horses as best he good and sent them off.
“What you like about him [Big Brown], as inexperienced as he is, is that he’s so impressive in the paddock, like a veteran,” Cot Campbell said.
Desormeaux, no rookie, he. He had won Derbies aboard Real Quiet and Fusachi Pegasus, and had made his home on Big Brown’s back. They got away evenly, and Desormeaux gradually edged his mount nearer the rail, but made no obvious effort to gain ground, held his position on the outside into the far turn, when he began his move. He picked up horses one my one and into the stretch had the lead and the race was over. You rarely ever see the stretch that vacant on the first Saturday in May. Big Brown, then several lengths back to Eight Belles, then another gap back to Denis of Cork. Big Brown led them home on cruise control.
Tragically, the filly broke down breezing out on the turn, and attention turned to her and away from the spectacular quality of what we had just witnessed. I’d say Eight Belles justified the decision to pass up the Oaks for the Derby, especially since her trainer, Larry Jones, won the Oaks with Proud Spell.
Big Brown — the name — refers to just what you’re thinking, UPS. A trucking magnet, Paul Pompa Jr., bought him at Keeneland sales for $190,000, a two-year-old in training. UPS is one of his major clients, and thus the name, matching color and size. The next Secretariat? Maybe a little strong and a little early, but Big Brown is worth investing a dream on.
Comments
By Matthew At The SLC
May 5, 2008 5:43 PM | Link to this
Me and Twan loves to go horse riding on Brokeknees Mountain!
By horselover
May 5, 2008 6:39 PM | Link to this
Great job Mr. Bisher. Big Brown I believe will be a Triple Crown Winner. The first in along time. Eight Belles what a filly, she out ran 18 colts coming in 2nd and looking great. My pray goes out to everyone that worked with Miss 8 Belles, She will live forever in our hearts. Pets is a group of whackos that need something to do rather than causing trouble. They already have destroyed the horse market. RIP Miss Belles. Go Big Brown.
By Marty
May 5, 2008 6:55 PM | Link to this
Saw this online:
“Big Brown (the “super horse” who won) has HORRIBLE feet. I don’t even want to watch the next two races. And, if he manages to pull off a victory, his place in the breeding shed will be secured and he will pass his bad feet onto future generations.
Think about this — for every one of the horses who left the starting gate yesterday, 100’s of TB’s (and countless other breeds) got on trailers to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Their lives and deaths are the result of the overbreeding of horses in an attempt to find the one to take you to the winner’s circle.”
By Gumbo
May 5, 2008 8:42 PM | Link to this
Marty,
HUH?
Bet you’re a riot at cocktail parties. Global Warming got you freaked out too?
By AJC Reader Dude
May 5, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
*Furman, you got about one good column a year left in you. THIS column was “it.” *
So, congrats on the accomplishment of writing something that didn’t stink. Now…do us a favor and step away from your manual typewriter at least 364 days!
Fact is, I had to doublecheck the byline of this column just to make sure it read “Furman Bisher.”
Why? The column lacked it’s normal Bisher-Grade quotient of crotchety, crabby grousing moaning and groaning. You write from one viewpoint and ONLY one viewpoint…
~~~Sports these days, they ain’t what they used to be, ain’t what they used to be, ain’t what they used to be…Sports these days, they ain’t what they used to be, ain’t what they used to be, ain’t what they used to be…
By jimmy carter
May 5, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this
Marty you’re so smart I think I’ll take you back to the Middle East with me to talk peace. If you can leave brokenknee Mountain.
By T
May 6, 2008 1:46 AM | Link to this
Marty’s right though. Every weekend at New Holland PA there’s an auction house where HUNDREDS of horses are brought to be sold for meager amounts (some never topping over $200 a head) to be loaded onto crowded trailers heading for Canada & Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption now that the practice has been banned here in the US. A good heavy percentage of those horses (somethin crazy like 25%) are Thoroughbreds who either NEVER made it as runners or have been injured to the point where they can no longer run - but rather then humanely euthanize these animals (which really are the product of overbreeding of inbred sire and dam lines) or attempting to take the time to place them in permanent homes, they dump them at these sales with complete disregard to where they end up.
Horses such as the GORGEOUS Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand have met the slaughterhouse fate and are further proof that the Thoroughbred race horse is more of a commercial commodity then a loved fleet footed almost heroic creature like the Press and horse racing advocates would love to make them out to be.
Horse Racing as a whole is a “sport” of deceit with a rich history steeped in foul play. Just look at the murder of Aalydar for insurance money (granted it was never proven in court, merely touched upon with a judge saying that he had reason to believe the murder happened as this horse’s owner was sentenced to prison time for insurance fraud)! It’s ridiculous to believe that these horses are never abused or pushed beyond their limits.
I PERSONALLY own one of those tossed away slaughter bound Thoroughbreds who raced up at Penn National. He came off the track with a slab fracture in his left knee and was sentenced to the New Holland sales where he was rescued by AC4H on Inside Edition.
And for those of you who don’t know what a slab fracture is or how it comes about, it’s actually one of the most common injuries in a racehorse. It occurs during a horse galloping when the knee is hyperextended forward to the point where it almost bends the wrong way, the third carpal bone (the bone in the middle of the knee) gets hammered by the bones above and below it and after repeated beating it slowly begins to sheer away a slab of bone, leaving the bone split down the middle in a large chip.
Now this injury CAN be fixed. There are TONS of warning signs that this is happening, but sadly it seems that trainers would rather drug a horse up with pain killers and ice down the knee then discontinue racing a money winner until it’s too late.
Everyday there’s a horse that goes down on a track somewhere in the USA. 99% of the time we don’t hear about it because that horse wasn’t running in a race as publically viewed as the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Breeders Cup, Distaff or any number of other races that have ALL had a horse euthanized as result of injury on that track.
Horse racing’s a farce with more lies and deceit woven within it’s holds then politics.
Sad really.
By T
May 6, 2008 1:46 AM | Link to this
Marty’s right though. Every weekend at New Holland PA there’s an auction house where HUNDREDS of horses are brought to be sold for meager amounts (some never topping over $200 a head) to be loaded onto crowded trailers heading for Canada & Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption now that the practice has been banned here in the US. A good heavy percentage of those horses (somethin crazy like 25%) are Thoroughbreds who either NEVER made it as runners or have been injured to the point where they can no longer run - but rather then humanely euthanize these animals (which really are the product of overbreeding of inbred sire and dam lines) or attempting to take the time to place them in permanent homes, they dump them at these sales with complete disregard to where they end up.
Horses such as the GORGEOUS Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand have met the slaughterhouse fate and are further proof that the Thoroughbred race horse is more of a commercial commodity then a loved fleet footed almost heroic creature like the Press and horse racing advocates would love to make them out to be.
Horse Racing as a whole is a “sport” of deceit with a rich history steeped in foul play. Just look at the murder of Aalydar for insurance money (granted it was never proven in court, merely touched upon with a judge saying that he had reason to believe the murder happened as this horse’s owner was sentenced to prison time for insurance fraud)! It’s ridiculous to believe that these horses are never abused or pushed beyond their limits.
I PERSONALLY own one of those tossed away slaughter bound Thoroughbreds who raced up at Penn National. He came off the track with a slab fracture in his left knee and was sentenced to the New Holland sales where he was rescued by AC4H on Inside Edition.
And for those of you who don’t know what a slab fracture is or how it comes about, it’s actually one of the most common injuries in a racehorse. It occurs during a horse galloping when the knee is hyperextended forward to the point where it almost bends the wrong way, the third carpal bone (the bone in the middle of the knee) gets hammered by the bones above and below it and after repeated beating it slowly begins to sheer away a slab of bone, leaving the bone split down the middle in a large chip.
Now this injury CAN be fixed. There are TONS of warning signs that this is happening, but sadly it seems that trainers would rather drug a horse up with pain killers and ice down the knee then discontinue racing a money winner until it’s too late.
Everyday there’s a horse that goes down on a track somewhere in the USA. 99% of the time we don’t hear about it because that horse wasn’t running in a race as publically viewed as the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Breeders Cup, Distaff or any number of other races that have ALL had a horse euthanized as result of injury on that track.
Horse racing’s a farce with more lies and deceit woven within it’s holds then politics.
Sad really.
By CoastDog
May 6, 2008 6:02 AM | Link to this
good piece and horses are not people-they are animals like cows who are made out of meat so we can eat them.
By Kate
May 6, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this
Of all the inbreeding to carry, having Native Dancer on both sides seems to be a sure way to give a horse foot and leg problems…funny thing, Eight Belles had Native Dancer in her pedrigree as well. So did Barbaro and Ruffian. Perhaps it’s time we look for horses with no Native Dancer crosses?
By Gene
May 6, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this
I moved to KY a year ago, knowing nothing about horse racing. I have been to some races and saw the Derby horses last week. It appears to me that horse racing is no different from football and baseball where we now have steroids and other dangerous substances at the high school level. If we took away these chemicals in all sports, fans would not know the difference. It won’t happen because of greed and corruption, and horses, unfortunately, have no say in the matter.
By Referee
May 6, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
AJC Reader Dude - You are a rude, disrespectful scumbag. Get some manners.
By richbrave
May 6, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this
SECRETARIAT. The Alpha and Omega of horse-racing. Keep swimmin’ FURMAN and I’ll see you further upstream.
By AJC Reader Dude
May 6, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this
Attention Referee, Attention Referee: Three words for you…
“Lick. My. Chubby.”
By referee2
May 6, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this
I’ll pray for you and your unclean mouth.
By Dumbing Down
May 6, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this
Another Secretariat? At those fractions and a Beyer of 109? Are people in Georgia that gullible-stupid? Triple Crown winner maybe… but no Secretariat. This year’s crop is one of the weakest in memory.
The only difference between the NFL and horse racing is that they put the horses down after they are injured(and yes there are career ending injuries in just about EVERY NFL game).
By the way animal lovers… it’s all about the money! Selah? No… Delta, and I mean the airline not the unit… I’m ready! Georgia is CLUELESS when it comes to horse racing (and beer on Sundays, and traffic, and SAT scores, etc…!).
By AJC Reader Dude
May 6, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
. Referee2: Pray hard, buddy, pray hard.
And since you’ll already be down on your knees, you TOO can:
Lick. My. Chubby.
By edhardiman
May 6, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this
PETA hypocritically kills by lethal injection 85% of the animals turned into its shelters annually.Thousands of pets take the dirt nap on PETA each and every year. For an organization with almost a million members you’d think they’d send them to a big PETA farm to live happily ever after like a Disney film. Fat chance.
How does the President of PETA morally justiy the slaughter in her twisted vegan universe? According to the cults head wackjob and founder Ingrid Newkirk; PETA provides,”..a painless exit from uncaring world.” They care so much they kill them dead. She goes onto describe a Walton’s Christmas type exit where the animal is cooed, petted, and loved as it slips this mortal coil.
The reality is PETA was caught red handed injecting them in a van after they collected the animals from supposed inhumane shelters in North Carolina and repeatedly left the bodies in a dumpster behind a Piggly Wiggly Supermarket. The bitter irony indeed. No doubt PETA picked that chain for exploiting the wiggly in piggly.
PETA ia a very dangerous cult. They compare processing animals for food to the Holocaust and owning an animal to slavery. Allowing them to speak for animals is like asking the BLEEP’S to explain Passover.
PETA is the largest funder of animal rights terrorism in the world donating tens of thousands of dollars yearly to terrorist groups like the FLF, ALF, arsonist and bombers. They send a convicted arsonist to colleges to explain how to make incendiary bombs to use on buildings and labs.
PETA will only be happy when every animal is “liberated” from man. In short, no shoes, belts, pets,livestock, meat, fish,or game, no guide dogs for the blind, nobio-medical use for life saving procedures and medicines. Scratch diabetics too, goodbye insulin, cross off leather goods like jackets, pants,or vest, furniture and sporting goods equipment. No hunting, fishing or dancing bears. PETA wants to replace milk with beer for children. That’s not even a joke or a typo.
Do they really care about horse racing? Do the Math. If you turned over every horse used in the sport today, 85% of them would be bloated carcasses dumped behind your local supermarket within 24 hours. Because PETA knows an animal cannot bear the shame of once being held captive. So do us all a favor PETA ooze back into the swamp and leave horse racing alone. I can’t wait until PETP, People for Ethical Treatment of Plants reveal you for the mass murdering vegans you really are. God Bless the USA.
By Bob
May 6, 2008 10:33 PM | Link to this
edhardiman: It aint about PETA, it’s about how dangerous the sport is to the horses and the jockies that ride them. HBO did some sort of investigative series on the sport and about how so many jockies die after their horses break down and land on top of them. So it ain’t just the horses getting killed, it’s people too. The kid riding Eight Belles got lucky he didn’t break his neck being rocket launched off a horse going around 30 MPH+ when it hit the ground.
Make it safer for the horses you’re making it safer for the guys riding them. Gotta think of the human element there too really.
By Bama
May 7, 2008 12:03 AM | Link to this
Bob, what about bull riding? How many jockies have got killed? What about Liberals who justify killing babies in the name of convenience? *Its ok to slaughter babies “abortion” just because a pregnant woman wants one.But its not ok to slaughter horses for food ( Human)or Dog food.Why not? *Everything you do you take a chance of dying, race cars or horses, get over it. Stop telling everyone what they can and can’t do.
By Paddy
May 7, 2008 8:08 AM | Link to this
Marty.. you left out the snaildarter..And how does Peta get funding? I have never known or heard of anyone saying a kind or ambivilant word about those radicals. They also will go the way of “Air America” and “NOW” a footnote in history.
By richbrave
May 7, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
Dumbing Down:
Just want you to understand I in no way am comparing this brown blob with SECRETARIAT. SECRETARIAT is the gold standard of horse-racing. Big Brown is well—-horse-flesh.
By horselover
May 7, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
richbrave…Real horsemen understood you to start with. I still would like a 3rd of that horse flesh. JOE TORRE has 10 or 11 TB’s and believes Big Brown will win Triple Crown. I know from your name you keep up with Joe and Dodgers.
By richbrave
May 7, 2008 10:30 PM | Link to this
Well winning the TC ain’t destroying it, and setting time records in the process all over the tracks. Has BIG RED’S Belmont time been beaten yet?
By too old to care
May 20, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
Dried up racehorse is a delicacy somewhere, after the 90 days needed to metabolize the drugs used to keep him on his feet expire that is.