Big Brown
Big Brown (foaled April 10, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and 2008 Preakness Stakes. Bred by Dr. Gary B. Knapp's[1] Monticule Farms in Lexington, Kentucky,[2] the three-year-old was undefeated in his first five career starts. He was sired by Grade III winner Boundary, a son of North American Champion sire Danzig, who was a son of Northern Dancer. Big Brown's dam was Mien, also a granddaughter of Northern Dancer through her sire, Nureyev.[3]
Two-year-old campaign
Big Brown, named by his owner in honor of UPS,[4] was purchased by Brooklyn, New York trucking company owner Paul Pompa, Jr. for $190,000 at the Keeneland 2007 April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale.[5] Pompa turned him over to trainer Patrick Reynolds for race conditioning.[6] Ridden by Jeremy Rose, the colt made his two-year-old racing debut on September 3, 2007 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, running away from the field and winning by 111⁄4 lengths.[7] Pompa then sold an interest in Big Brown to IEAH Stables,[8] a subsidiary of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings, Inc., whose stated purpose is to create and manage an Equity Horse Fund, which will operate as a hedge fund.[9] The new partnership sent the horse to the Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center in South Florida under the care of new trainer, Rick Dutrow.
Three-year-old campaign
Florida Derby
Unraced for more than six months, Big Brown debuted as a three-year-old with a 12 3⁄4-length win in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park.[10] Entered in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, the colt drew post 12, the outside post. Despite his outside post position, under jockey Kent Desormeaux Big Brown won by five lengths.[11]
134th Kentucky Derby
On May 3, 2008, in his fourth race, the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Big Brown was the 2–1 favorite. He became the first horse since 1929 to win the race from the 20th gate and the first horse since 1915 to win on only three starts,[12] winning by 4 3⁄4 lengths over filly Eight Belles, who would be euthanized after breaking both front ankles during the post-race cool-down.[13] The final time for the 1 1/4 mile race was 2:01:92.[14]
Prior to the Preakness Stakes, trainer Rick Dutrow admitted that he administers stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, to his horses, including Big Brown, on the 15th of every month. However Dutrow stated to ESPN that Big Brown did not take the May 15th shot for the Belmont Stakes. [15] Stanozolol is banned in 10 states but not in any of the states where the Triple Crown races are held.[16]
133rd Preakness Stakes
On May 17, 2008, in his fifth race, the 2008 Preakness Stakes, Big Brown came from the seventh gate and won the second leg of the Triple Crown by 5 1⁄4 lengths over Macho Again,[17] becoming the fourth horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness while remaining undefeated.[18] Big Brown was the 1–5 favorite entering the race. The final time of the 1 3/16 mile race was 1:54.80.[19]
140th Belmont Stakes
On the Friday following the Preakness, a three-inch quarter crack was discovered on the horse's left front hoof, the same injury that he experienced in both of his front hooves the previous fall.[20] With Dutrow referring to the injury as "just a little hiccup"[21] and with the crack stitched together with steel wire, Big Brown resumed jogging at Belmont the following Tuesday.[22]
For the Belmont Stakes, Big Brown wore a second set of stainless steel sutures on the inside of his hoof. Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay changed the sutures a week before the race and attached an acrylic and fiberglass adhesive patch to the hoof. Although he missed three days of training prior to the race, his gait and attitude seemed unaffected.[23] After the crack was patched, Brown was exercised by rider Michelle Nevin. [24] Ian McKinlay said, prior to the Belmont, that Big Brown "does not need a patch on the quarter crack on his left front hoof until the morning of the Belmont Stakes. So Dutrow will give Big Brown his final hard workout Tuesday to breeze 5 furlongs without it and gallop him into the race confident the colt’s tender hoof is healed."[25]
Big Brown went off as the 3-10 favorite in the Belmont, but Da' Tara won the race while he finished in 9th, becoming the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish in last place at Belmont. Jockey Kent Desormeaux eased the horse in the home stretch after sensing something was amiss, saying immediately after the race, "I had no horse." His failure to win has led many people to believe that his loss is one of the biggest flops in horse racing history.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]
Breeding rights
IEAH Stables and Three Chimneys Farm have agreed to a deal of over $50 million for Big Brown's breeding rights starting in 2009.[34] According to Dutrow, Big Brown's connections are not planning to retire him following the Belmont Stakes, but instead they plan to run the Haskell Invitational and the Breeders' Cup Classic.[35]
Pedigree
| Sire Boundary |
Danzig | Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natalma | |||
| Pas De Nom | Admirals Voyage | ||
| Petitioner | |||
| Edge | Damascus | Sword Dancer | |
| Kerala | |||
| Ponte Vecchio | Round Table | ||
| Terentia | |||
| Dam Mien |
Nureyev | Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
| Natalma | |||
| Special | Forli | ||
| Thong | |||
| Miasma | Lear Fan | Roberto | |
| Wac | |||
| Syrian Circle | Damascus | ||
| Friendly Circle |
References
- ^ International Herald Tribune, Big Brown's breeder relies on math, not magic
- ^ http://www.startribune.com/local/18545619.html
- ^ nytimes.com, Filly’s Death Casts Shadow Over Big Brown’s Derby Victory
- ^ UPS Extends Its Pact To Sponsor Big Brown - WSJ.com
- ^ A Derby winner's owner who prefers to hang back- NJ.com
- ^ Owner Finds Joy in Loyalty - washingtonpost.com
- ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > Sports - With Big Brown, it's brain that reigns
- ^ A Derby winner's owner who prefers to hang back- NJ.com
- ^ Company Profile and Contact Sheet - International Equine Acquisitions Holdings, Inc.
- ^ Ky. Derby Trail: Hot Brown on Derby Menu| bloodhorse.com
- ^ Big Brown Huge in Florida Derby Rout| bloodhorse.com
- ^ ESPN - Favorite Big Brown dusts field; runner-up Eight Belles euthanized - Horse Racing
- ^ ESPN - Runner-up Eight Belles breaks front ankles, euthanized on track - Horse Racing
- ^ Big Brown Delivers; Filly Breaks Down Blood Horse, updated May 6, 2008, retrieved on June 6, 2008
- ^ AFP: Big Brown trainer admits giving horse steroids: report
- ^ AFP: Big Brown trainer admits giving horse steroids: report
- ^ Big Brown one step closer to Triple Crown after Preakness romp - Thoroughbred Times
- ^ WPRI 12 - Eyewitness News |Big Brown wins again
- ^ Big Brown one step closer to Triple Crown after Preakness romp - Thoroughbred Times
- ^ Big Brown's hoof injury crimps Triple Crown plans
- ^ Big Brown OK after hoof repair - Equestrian, Churchill Downs, Belmont Stakes - chicagotribune.com
- ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Other Sports
- ^ houmatoday.com, Patching up Big Brown's cracked front hoof
- ^ www.courier-journal.com, Big Brown's hoof to get a checkup
- ^ therail.blogs.nytimes.com, Big Brown Doesn’t Need Patch Until Race
- ^ Trainer Dutrow eats crow after Big Brown bust
- ^ Big Brown, biggest flop of all
- ^ Another year, another flop
- ^ Desormeaux 'numb' after Big Brown's flop
- ^ A foregone flop
- ^ Big Flop
- ^ Hard to understand a loser
- ^ Jockey flops again in second bid for Triple Crown
- ^ Big Brown to Three Chimneys | bloodhorse.com
- ^ SalisburyPost.com - Sports - Briefs: Trainer has big plans for Triple Crown threat Big Brown
External links
- 2008 Kentucky Derby video
- 2008 Preakness video
- 2008 Belmont video, June 7
- Big Brown's pedigree and partial racing stats
- Bloodhorse.com article on Big Brown's win in the Florida Derby
- Thorough Time-line of Big Brown's Life and Career - constantly being updated with news, videos, commentaries