 |
|
 |
|
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
Big Brown and No Triple Crown With Big Brown’s recent defeat in the Belmont Stakes, now the world wants to know, “what happened?” Big Brown certainly appeared unbeatable to any 3-year-old rival in existence, but the hit-hard reality was to be his last place finish that shocked millions of fans. I was a professional jockey for 25 years and having worked around race horses my whole life, I have gained my Big Brown is an amazing animal whose accomplishments prior to his running in the Belmont Stakes, had everyone already declaring him the victor of America’s next Triple Crown before the race was even run. My inner instincts were saying “uh oh.. don’t go there. “ Of course, he deserved heavy favoritism and myself along with 99% of the world wanted him to be the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. As millions of us watched with disbelief as the field neared the top of the stretch “our” Big Brown was being passed by them all! More over, as they entered the top of the Belmont Park stretch, Big Brown’s jockey Kent Desormeaux began pulling him up out of the race completely. This would be something a jockey may do when they feel the horse beneath them may be in some sort of distress or have obtained an injury. As many of us held our breath, thankfully Big Brown did not appear injured or in any distress and seemed to be sound as he exited off the racetrack. This leaves us with: why? What happened? The press and television personnel immediately and expectedly swarmed to get some sort of explanation from both jockey and trainer, but there was none to be heard. Big Brown’s jockey Kent Desormeaux stormed off to the jockey’s room and trainer Rick Dutrow refused to comment and kept his back to everyone in silence as he walked back to the stable area with his defeated champion. Why weren’t they talking? Well, my guess besides their enormous disappointment and humiliation, they did not have an answer, excuse or explanation. As a jockey for so many years, there were thousands of times I had no explanation for a horse’s poor performance. Sometimes there will never be an explanation. It’s just the way it is in this business. Horses are a living breathing animals that are quite capable of having a bad days just like any of us. In my career, I have been asked millions of times if I had any tips from fans or friends---something concrete that they can bet on. Something that can definitely cash a ticket on. I usually responded with a sigh and a bad feeling in my stomach. Yes, I always hated that question! Of course, sometimes there are horses you ride that you might like their chances, but it still means nothing! There are other jockeys, trainers, owners and stable help that all like their horses chances, but there can only be one winner and the rest are losers. Even if you love your horses chances, still how would you know if they might be having a good or bad day? The good news from all this---and aside from ever having any real answer or explanation for Big Brown’s flop effort---he has seemed to come out of this race in perfect heath. There was and still is speculation and criticism flying around of why this wonder colt did not perform to his ability. Close connections to the colt, aside from scratching their own heads, feel that Big Brown has shown signs of being a “nonsweater”. A condition some race horses acquire that leaves them the inability to sweat properly , which is natures way to keep the body temperature cool. The temperature was in the 90’s and the humidity was extremely high the day of the Belmont, this could definitely hinder anyone’s ability to perform under those conditions. Out of all Big Brown’s accomplishments, this type of heat is one foe he hadn’t yet faced. Could the answer be as simple as that? Did the heat cause our super star to fall? Yes, it could be as simple as that. There are a million things that could have caused his poor performance. Maybe something else will surface with time, but as I mentioned, it is horse racing and there are “no sure things.” The late great jockey Bill Shoemaker said that one of the toughest races he had ever ridden in his career, was the day he rode Spectacular Bid in the 1980 Woodward at Belmont Park. Shoemaker said he was never so nervous riding a race. Why? This race made history! Why again? It was a “walkover”. A walkover is a one-horse race. Something I have only seen one time in my life. What started out as a 5 horse G-1 Stakes race with some of the best older horses in the country, drew 4 scratches by post time. This meant Spectacular Bid and Shoemaker were in it all by themselves. He did not have to beat anyone! All he had to do was break from the starting gates and complete the race to the finish line. Sounds easy? Shoemaker said he thought of one million things that could go wrong. Things you would not be thinking about if there were 10 other horses in the gates with you. As simple as a little stumble or equipment failure or if Shoemaker was to lose his balance and become unseated from his mount. Any of these things happening could have caused him to not finish the race or be disqualified . So many things could have and can go wrong. Just remember, there are no “sure things” in horse racing, no guarantees!
About the writer : Frank Lovato Jr was the 1980 Eclipse Award Winning Apprentice of the nation and also the creator of the Equicizer. The Equicizer is mechanical horse that enables horse riders to train, exercise and use as a therapuetic tool when a real horse may not be an option. Frank retired from racing in late 2004 with 1,686 wins from 15,603 mounts. Now residing in Norwalk, Ohio, Frank works full time with his Equicizer business. |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
Horses Magazine is Available FREE all over Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky & Northern Tennessee Published By 877-735-2431 Fax |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
share of knowledge in the world of horse racing. Sometimes even with all of the knowledge and experience I have, there just isn’t a simple answer. There are always many opinions, expert analysis and “know it alls” in every business and sport, but there is one important thing I have learned in horse racing and that is that there are no guarantees; there is no such thing as a “sure thing” in horse racing! 