Thirty-One Years and Counting

We'll have to wait for our twelfth Triple Crown winner at least one more year. Immediately following the race, one of the ABC commentators suggested that the quest for the Triple Crown is just too hard, and horse racing officials should make some changes to make the goal more attainable. Shortening the races or spacing them out more; just something to make it easier.

Well, guess what? It's supposed to be hard. The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes that make up the Triple Crown have been run 135, 133 and 140 times respectively. In that long history, only eleven horses have won all three. Their names are carved in history because they are so special, they have accomplished something that few others have. The challenge of the grueling Triple Crown is what makes the winners great. To change anything would be an insult to those that came before. Moreover, it would be an insult to the fans that put their heart and their hopes into one special horse every spring.

Big Brown walked into this race like a winner. While the horses behind him spun like tops at the crowd noise, Big Brown was calm and cool, head held high like he owned the track. At that moment, I felt all the confidence in him was justified. No one has ever looked like such a winner. Then came the slide at the start. The rank head tossing. Being bounced around behind horses. It appeared to me that the other jockey's tried to force him wide and burn him out; something I think Big Brown could have overcome, had he been on his game. And then, he was eased (eased, not pulled up, eased, NOT pulled up, my mind raced), because Kent Desormeaux knew that something was not right and did not want to push him to finish way back in the field.

I saw Big Brown ease, and appreciated the fact that the jockey was protecting his horse who had no hope of hitting the board. A few minutes after the race, I went to see how the announcement of Big Brown's defeat was being received. Honestly, I expected at least some intelligent people to comment how nice it was to see the jockey take care of his horse. Instead, I saw a whole slew of comments about how the horse people are so greedy, they had the horse eased because otherwise, he might die and they would lose the money on the stud fees. So.... horse people are greedy because they beat the horses to force them to win without care of injury pr death AND they are greedy because they don't want their horses to suffer injury or death??? OK people, pick one argument or the other- they don't work together.

What a disappointing, mixed up day. It remains to see how Big Brown comes out of the race. I just hope they let him run again this year. A horse like that deserves to go out a winner.