Elmont, N.Y. — The order came down at the last minute from the New York Racing Association: Hold the Hooters girls.

While UPS was all over Belmont Park on Saturday as part of its sponsorship of Big Brown, another Atlanta-based company was denied a chance to join the party. Hooters, the restaurant chain famous for its orange-shorted waitresses, had announced at midweek that it had signed on as a secondary sponsor for the Triple Crown hopeful. There even was a photo op at the horse's barn, featuring several leggy models. Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux was prepared to wear a Hooters logo on his riding pants during the race.

But NYRA, which runs the racetrack and the Belmont Stakes, late Friday rejected the deal and threatened to fine Desormeaux if he sported the restaurant's logo during the race.

"A conflict with one of our sponsors," said Gavin Landry, NYRA's senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

The name of the sponsor? "We haven't released that. The sponsor wanted to remain anonymous."

A sponsor wants to remain anonymous? "That's all I can do for you," Landry said.

The Hooters folk were disbelieving.

"Obviously the timing of this new sponsor is very suspicious," Mike McNeil, vice of marketing for Hooters of America, said in a statement. "[Thursday] NYRA makes statements to the media that they are concerned about the Hooters sponsorship and then a little more than 24 hours before the race, a new sponsor is suddenly found that is in conflict. I never had heard of something like this happening.

"For them to threaten the jockey with suspension and a fine if he races with the Hooters logo on his pants this close to the biggest race of his life is just mean," McNeil said.

Big Brown had no comment on the corporate ruckus.