Does anyone know what he has stuck on his back legs in this pic?
My UPS driver just delivered a “Go Big Brown” badge and a card to enter the prize drawing here http://racing.ups.com/gobigbrown/
[QUOTE=harvestmoon;3261875]
Does anyone know what he has stuck on his back legs in this pic?
Quoting my own post, but are those things they had under his bandages to prevent him from running down during his work?
[QUOTE=Equibrit;3261894]
My UPS driver just delivered a “Go Big Brown” badge and a card to enter the prize drawing[QUOTE]
Now that is the spirit! Nice to see them do something with their clients in the spirit of this event. Win, loose, or daw they have seen plenty of upside and it hasn’t formally cost them a dime.
[QUOTE=harvestmoon;3261903]
Quoting my own post, but are those things they had under his bandages to prevent him from running down during his work?[/QUOTE]
Those are patches…probably felt, they just hadnt taken them completly off, they go on with a sticky spray, and come off with baby oil or acetone.
Ah, okay, thank you! 
His feet are scary, and that quarter crack is hardly “minor”… Should he really be running?
The question has been answered 15,723 times already.
Horses can and do run on quarter cracks like that. He will be wired up and patched and his leg frozen. He won’t know he has a quarter crack. The farrier attending to the crack, McKinlay, who’s considered the best specialist when it comes to these things, rates it as a 4 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being WCS…
He just galloped 5f in 1:00 flat this morning, so it’s obviously not affecting his ability to run.
Back on topic with the Belmont, two entries are “stuck” in Louisville, KY overnight:
Icabad Crane, who was third in the Preakness, arrived at Belmont on Tuesday after a van ride from the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. Anak Nakal and Da’ Tara were scheduled to be sent by van from Saratoga on Wednesday, and both Denis of Cork and Macho Again were scheduled to fly from Kentucky on Wednesday. Denis of Cork and Macho Again originally were to fly on Tuesday, but severe thunderstorms in central Kentucky area pushed the flight back one day.
ESPNNews will have the live post-position draw (such a pity that ABC/ESPN deems this such a low item of interest) Wed morning at 11am EST.
As I’ve long been trying to bang the drum, the lack of promotion akin to the Derby for the Belmont - even when there is a TC at stake - is amazing. You’d think there would be at least a couple of media savvy folks in the NY area willing to suggest NYRA and NTRA do MORE to build up and keep the momentum!
One of the best laundry lists of failures: NY Newsday Jerry Bossert June 1 2008
It’s also impossible to understand how ESPN has post position draw shows for the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness - both races are shown on NBC - and the Belmont draw only merits a spot on ESPNEWS, while ESPN on ABC will televise the race.
There are no signs or banners about the Belmont Stakes as you enter the track, just a big banner promoting the New York Racing Association’s Internet wagering account system.
In fact, the Internet is another whiff by both the NYRA and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Neither NTRA.com nor NYRA.com has a Triple Crown page on its site.
There, too, the NYRA is pushing its Internet account wagering platform.
In fact, Triplecrown.com, which the NTRA needs to own, takes you to a cable company. With all the deep pockets behind the NTRA, it is inconceivable it has not purchased that address.
There has been no live streaming of trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.'s electrifying press conferences on its site, nor have they been posted on YouTube.
All these would provide added exposure for Big Brown’s run to the Triple Crown.
What NYRA needs to do is create a Belmont week that features live racing and family-friendly festivities through the Belmont Stakes.
NYRA should have taken a cue from Philadelphia Park. The Pennsylvania track embraced the Smarty Jones phenomenon in 2004 by opening its doors in the morning to let racing fans watch Smarty prepare for his run at history.
Instead, Belmont will be empty Monday and Tuesday and another opportunity to create momentum will be missed.
The track will be packed to the gills on Saturday, only because of Big Brown’s run at the Triple Crown.
Belmont history tells us that if a Triple Crown weren’t on the line, that wouldn’t be the case.
To infuse interest in the sport, more has to be done. NYRA and the NTRA are fortunate they have a Triple Crown on the line Saturday. Without that, the Belmont would be just another race and that’s a shame.
I completely agree with you and the article. The NYRA can’t even be bothered to separate TC news into a simple separate link on their site. :no:
ENTRIES ARE NOW 10!
A totally unexpected last entry with Guadalcanal
Final Post Positions for the Belmont Stakes
PP Horse
#1 Big Brown
#2 Guadalcanal
#3 Macho Again
#4 Denis of Cork
#5 Casino Drive
#6 Da’ Tara
#7 Tale of Ekati
#8 Anak Nakal
#9 Ready’s Echo
#10 Ichabad Crane
Regarding the utterly unkown Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal, who has yet to break his maiden in five career starts, was a surprise entry in the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) when entries were taken Wednesday.
Owned and trained by Fred Seitz, the son of Graeme Hall—Bessette (by Quest for Fame), has two seconds and a third, with earnings of $16,100.
Seitz said he realizes the colt will be a longshot in the classic, in which Big Brown is attempting to sweep the coveted Triple Crown, but that he believes Guadalcanal will love the 1 ½ mile distance.
“He was bred for a route, he trains like he will want a route, and there are not many opportunities to race against 3-year-olds at 1 ½ miles,” Seitz said.
In his most recent start, the colt finished second in a 1 ½-mile maiden race on grass at Churchill Downs.
What is interesting is that - in case folks don’t recall their history - is that Guadalcanal is aside from being just a physical location (South Pacific, part of the Solomon Islands) it was most noted as being an uber crucial battle location in WWII for the Pacific Theatre.
Allied forces in the Guadalcanal campaign defeated the Japanese there - a first - which was a key turning point for the war as it allow for a shift in Allied momentum from being defensive (defending) to offensive (invading) and the inverse for Japan.
I don’t think the Casino Drive folks will care too much for the name 
By the way Morning Line Odds on Guadalcanal: 50-1
Got my UPS Big Brown button yesterday as well
You know, as we get closer I like Big Brown more and more. I do think it will be a two horse race until the top of the stretch - and then Big Brown will draw off and win.
Lets see how close he gets to Secretariet’s time. It would not surprise me to see Kent push him down the lane, even if he is by himself. Especially if this is his last race, as many are thinking.
What a bizzaro story it would be if Guadalcanal pulled an upset!
He has as many or more lifetime starts than several of the more highly regarded horses in the race. And we know he can get the distance… even if he’s never gotten there first. :lol:
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3264332]
What a bizzaro story it would be if Guadalcanal pulled an upset![/QUOTE]
Indeed. I suspect he’ll go off at 100-1
His connections have marginal expectations
Maiden Entered in Belmont Stakes
[Trainer, Seitz] “If we are on the board, we will be happy.”
In his most recent start, on May 23, the colt finished second in a 1 ½-mile maiden race on grass at Churchill Downs. Seitz noted that the final time of 2:32 3/5 was close to the 2:31 timing for older horse Lattice in the Louisville Handicap (gr. IIIT), also at 1 ½ miles over Churchill’s turf course the following day.
While his entry in the Belmont is a surprise, Seitz said he always thought highly of Guadalcanal’s ability at classic distances, one reason the colt was an original nominee to the Triple Crown series.
“To me, it’s all about the distance, the trip, and who can get 1 ½ miles,” Seitz said. “He could probably go farther.”
So to his credit the guy can - and has - gone the distance already. He didn’t win but having been on grass and poly he’s learned to rate and relax. I wouldn’t expect him to race to the lead and try and hold on. Da’Tara is more of a speed runner, for example. Others might not be so lucky to just chill and thus the spoils could be his for an in-the-money at the finish.
Guadalcanal’s connect must be hoping for Sarava ‘Part Duex’!
The ONE hole?!? THE ONE HOLE?!?!?!!?
Beezer goes KA-THUNK in a dead faint.
Yeah yeah yeah, I know that that hole has produced the most winners. But did they all have a big, fat bull’s-eye on their backs and a maiden starting directly next to them??
In the immortal words of Lloyd Bridges in “Airplane!”: “I picked the wrong week to stop drinking.” :dead:
That maiden has broken from the gate more times than Casino Drive.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3264802]
That maiden has broken from the gate more times than Casino Drive. ;)[/QUOTE]
A very good point!
But I still need a drink.
[QUOTE=Beezer;3264812]
A very good point!
But I still need a drink. ;)[/QUOTE]
I won’t stand between a gal and a drink (no one had better stand between me and one!), but remember, it’s a loooong way around the Belmont track, and so far Big Brown seems completely unflappable.
It almost seems like drawing the rail is too good to be true.
