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.
New York, New York Frank Sinatra is associated with this wonderful song and it has been adopted by the Belmont Stakes and is a tradition to sing before the racing begins. “Theme from New York, New York” (or just “New York, New York”) is the theme song from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film New York, New York. It has music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is performed in the film by Liza Minnelli. Two years later, the song was more famously recorded by Frank Sinatra, and has become closely associated with that singer.
Start spreadin’ the news, I’m leaving today, I wanna be a part of it New York, New York.
These vagabond shoes are longing to stray, And step around the heart of it New York, New York.
I wanna wake up in the city that doesn’t sleep to find I’m king of the hill, top of the heap.
My little town blues are melting away, I’ll make a brand new start of it in old New York.
If I can make it there, I’d make it anywhere, It’s up to you, New York, New York.
Sidewalks of New York was performed prior to 1997. Sidewalks of New York Words and Music by Charles B. Lawlor and James W. Burke
East Side, West Side all around the town, The tots sang “ring a rosie,” London Bridge is falling down. Boys and girls together, me and Mamie O’Rorke, Tripped the light fantastic on The Sidewalks of New York.
That’s where Johny Case and little Jimmy Crowe, With Jakey Krause, the baker, who always had the dough; Pretty Nellie Shannon, with a dude as light as cork, First picked up the waltz step on The Sidewalks of New York.
East Side, West Side all around the town, The tots sang “ring a rosie,” London Bridge is falling down. Boys and girls together, me and Mamie O’Rorke, Tripped the light fantastic on The Sidewalks of New York
Oldest Triple Crown Event The Belmont Stakes, first run in 1867, is the oldest of the Triple Crown events. It predates the Preakness Stakes (first run in 1873) by six years and the Kentucky Derby (first run in 1875) by eight. This year is the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes.
Smallest and largest fields There has never been a walkover in the Belmont. There have been five two-horses fields: 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and when Man o’War won in 1920. The largest field was 15 in 1983, when Caveat defeated Slew o’ Gold.
Largest attendance A New York record crowd of 120,139 attended the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Longshot Birdstone won; Smarty Jones failed to win the Visa Triple Crown.
Letter of winners “C” is the most popular first initial for winning Belmont runners.
Color of winners Chestnut - 50 Bay - 53 Dark Bay or Brown - 29 Black - 3 Gray - 2 Roan - 1
New York, New York “New York, New York” has been performed as the field for the Belmont Stakes makes its way to the starting gate since 1997. The song,which was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, has been performed by many big-name entertainers for decades, including the late Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli. “Sidewalks of New York” was performed prior to 1997.
Casino Drive is out of the same mare as the last two Belmont winners, Jazil and Rags to Riches. He was born and bought in Kentucky but moved to Tokyo to race under leading trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. After numerous delays in getting him to the racetrack because of a knee injury as a 2-year-old, then some influenza outbreaks and quarantine issues, Casino Drive finally picked up his maiden win in his first career start in Kyoto earlier this year, routing the field by nearly 12 lengths.
Casino Drive has run only two career races - his racing debut Feb. 23 in Japan at Kyoto and Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 10 and - both wins, but he turned in the same sort of scintillating performances that announced Big Brown’s greatness at Saratoga last September and the Florida Derby this spring. That explains why Casino Drive is seen as the only threat to stop Big Brown’s sprint to immortality.
Horse of the year Curlin most likely will run in Churchill Downs‘ June14 Stephen Foster Handicap, a $750,000, Grade I stakes. The son of Smart Strike, who is trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Robby Albarado of Louisville, finished last season by winning the $5million Breeders’ Cup Classic. He started his 4-year-old season with two wins in Dubai, including the $6million Dubai World Cup. Owner Jess Jackson said the 11/8-mile Stephen Foster is the probable next start if the horse is fit.
The photo is from 