Kentucky Derby Blog

Here are 11 Belmont contenders with Belmont betting odds, past performance (from DRF), and jockey info.

The Belmont is only a week away and our Triple Crown contender, Big Brown looks fine and ready to run in the Belmont. Click here to see Belmont betting info and below is the Belmont schedule.

Date: Saturday June 7th, 2008
Location: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY
Post Time: 6:25 PM (EST)
TV Network: ABC 5 PM (EST)
Post Positions Draw: June 4th

Nike signed Big Brown to a 7 year, $80 million endorsement contract that included a $10 million signing bonus as well as the creation of a signature horseshoe, the Air Brown.

Big Brown was flown from New York to Portland in a private Nike jet stocked with the world’s finest bourbon, caviar, sugar cubes, cigars, carrots, and hay. Upon arriving on the west coast, the equine superstar’s handlers whisked him past a throng of cheering fans into a stretch limousine bound for Nike headquarters, where Brown, his 11-horse entourage, and his team of lawyers reviewed the contract one last time before signing.

Although Big Brown was approached by a number of suitors from sportswear manufacturers including Adidas, Reebok, and Pony, the undefeated 3-year-old was ultimately won over by Nike’s willingness to work closely with him to create a horseshoe conforming to his strong sense of personal style as well as his physical needs. Big Brown was reportedly impressed by Nike’s efforts when technicians used cameras to record his gait from multiple angles while he ran on a treadmill.

Despite being overwhelmed with pre-orders of Air Browns, Nike has maintained that Big Brown’s new casual line, the B2 Titanium HorseNeaks, would be available for purchase in August.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown went back to the track Tuesday morning, jogging once around Belmont Park’s 1 1/2-mile oval under exercise rider Michelle Nevin.

McKinlay the hoof specialist who put stainless steel sutures in Big Brown’s feet on Monday, said jogging the horse would be okay.

“I felt the horse going to the track was not only good for his conditioning but also good for his mind,” Dutrow said. “He’s been kind of aggravated. He doesn’t know why he’s not going to the track. He just doesn’t understand why he’s not doing it. We can’t explain it to him and we just let him go out there today and take the edge off him. He’s getting too rough around the barn.”

I hope he runs fine in the Belmont and no more injuries in horse racing.

Big Brown has a quarter crack, which is a split in the wall of a hoof. Trainer Rick Dutrow announced yesterday morning at Belmont Park that the Big Brown had not trained since Friday because of a condition foot specialist Ian McKinlay termed “very minor.”

The photo is from horseracingbettingtip.com. This is what a quarter crack looks like; similar to the injury to Big Brown’s front left hoof.

Dutrow and McKinlay expressed optimism that the ailment could be cleared up within a few days, and in the “best-case scenario” Big Brown could return to the track “Wednesday or Thursday.”

Dutrow expressed confidence that his superstar would recover quickly and be at full strength for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes on June 7. “It sucks that it happened, but it’s good that it happened now,” he said. “He’s like a little kid who’s always coming up with something. He’s going to get his breeze and he’ll make the race.”

When asked about the worst-case scenario, Dutrow said, “The horse is not in pain, and if he misses the race, it won’t bother him. It would bother the human beings, but he wouldn’t know he missed the race.”

“He’s been as aggressive as I’ve seen him,” Dutrow said of the colt, who will try to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.