[QUOTE=JER;3283137]
Here’s a cute photo of Funny Cide and Big Brown at Belmont.
Love Funny’s expression.[/QUOTE]
That is really cool. He should have given BB some tips!
LOL…Funny’s looking none too impressed:lol:
In my opinion, the whole BB scenario can be summarized by stating the obvious…A good horse can train itself and can overcome just about anything. Dutrow couldn’t train Lassie to bark and if he could-he wouldn’t be sure how he did. He is a 
…Big Brown is a nice horse and should be given to a “REAL” trainer-imagine the possibilites…
[QUOTE=europa;3277921]
…he was tired and did not have his trademark kick…why? Because he was not in shape. The horse came in to the hardest longest race of his life in scorching heat off steroids, on lasix and with little to no electrolytes. Now…whose fault is that Kent’s? [/QUOTE]
Thanks for bringing this up. It’s been sadly overlooked in the articles that I’ve read in Blood Horse.
The horse’s body and temperament were totally messed up due to the combination of drugs he was both on, and off of.
What a mess.
You can point the finger at all sorts of people but what it comes down to is that BB just “wasn’t there”. I agree with Kent that he didn’t have any horse when he needed a run. The horse was just plain spent. No injuries, no emotional refusal to turn it on. Just an empty tank.
The heat, lack of steroids, undertrained. Maybe even the distance (one of the longest races in America NOW - anyone remember back when the Jockey Club Gold Cup was 2 miles? )
Well, I did watch the live race, and they even had a camera above BB in the starting gate, and he was standing there so calm he looked like he was falling asleep. I think BB is - normally and steroid-free - a talented but under-achieving, lazy type of colt, and that the steroids help give him impetus to run like he did in the previous 2 races.
In that kind of heat/humidity (and yes, if he was on lasix, low electrolytes), and w/o any pre-race blow-out works he was seriously handicapped by many factors. Certainly the trainer needs to face up to the part he played in getting the horse beat.
My photos of Big Brown at the start of the Belmont- start here and you can click through 15 frames:
Great picture of Funnycide and BB. :yes: IIRC, Barclay Tagg and his longtime girlfriend (or maybe they’re married now)/assistant trainer kept him as a pony horse because he was so much happier living at the track than elsewhere. 
As for the $50 million figure for BB, that is what he is insured for. Yes, Three Chimneys paid X amount for a piece of him, but that figure has never really been confirmed. The $50 mil is the insured value of the horse, or what whichever company that holds the policy on him would have to pay if…
Still really like the horse. He had a really bad trip and it wasn’t his day. It happens, and to pretty much every racehorse who’s ever stepped on the track. If it was easy to win the TC, it’d be done every year. Just makes the ones who do it that much more special.
[QUOTE=Alibhai’s Alibar;3284321]
My photos of Big Brown at the start of the Belmont- start here and you can click through 15 frames:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockandracehorses/2571595523[/QUOTE]
Holy smoking photos, Batman! You have solved the “misplaced man” mystery!! It’s not the starter BB spooked so hard at, it’s an ABC cameraman and his crew! They’re right in his freaking lane.
[QUOTE=Beezer;3284468]
Holy smoking photos, Batman! You have solved the “misplaced man” mystery!! It’s not the starter BB spooked so hard at, it’s an ABC cameraman and his crew! They’re right in his freaking lane.[/QUOTE
What I find the most intersting about those photos is BB looking back … the whole time looking back at Kent like (WTF??)…
Great photos!
I’m amazed how well those jockeys “stick”. Looking at shots #7 and #8 when he’s spooking to the right I’m impressed. If I was riding with leathers 12" long I’d have a hard time staying on! :eek::eek:
[QUOTE=Beezer;3284468]
Holy smoking photos, Batman! You have solved the “misplaced man” mystery!! It’s not the starter BB spooked so hard at, it’s an ABC cameraman and his crew! They’re right in his freaking lane.[/QUOTE]
Actually looking at picture #5 I’d say it’s the guy with the rake coming under the rail.
Great shots!
Should also dispell that rumour that BB did not sweat!
[QUOTE=Alibhai’s Alibar;3284321]
My photos of Big Brown at the start of the Belmont- start here and you can click through 15 frames:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockandracehorses/2571595523[/QUOTE]
I just wanted to say I always love your photography! :yes:
Thanks for sharing - you are a talent. The vibe of the track is expressed so well.
BTW: I’ve always wanted a shot of the starting gate from the back, and from above. I think all the jockey colours would look neat in a row. Want an enlargement for my wall - Is that a possible shot?
