Posted on June 6th, 2008 by Agent 47
The Belmont Stakes is the last race for the Triple Crown, which starts with the Kentucky Derby, then goes to the Preakness Stakes and finishes with the Belmont.
There are only 11 horses that has won all 3 races at once, starting with “Sir Barton” back in 1919, and the last one being Affirmed in 1978, now we have Big Brown, who is left just a win at the Belmont Stakes this coming Saturday to become number 12 on that list.
The Triple Crown races are the biggest events in horse racing in general, and are set for 3 year-old thoroughbred racehorses, much different than in the past where horses aged 5 or 7 still had the chance to run in important races, now everything seems to be based on the Triple Crown, and breeders only focused on lighter and speedier colts.
Big Brown has a good chance of making it, but there is a matter that rises some doubts around the horse racing world, and that is the quarter crack on Brown’s left front hoof, but his trainers are confident that, as “Northern Dancer” many years ago, he’s going to win teh Belmont Stakes and many races to come.
“The ability to deal and manage quarter cracks and keep going isn’t something that is radical or new or anything like that.” Said Ed Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation which specialize in reasearch on horse health.
So in part is a big challenge for Big Brown, and if the quarter crack doesn’t affect him and if jockey Kent Desormeaux can handle Big Brown correctly, this horse will become the best colt of recent times, in fact of the last 30 years.
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