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I'm gonna watch the Belmont Stakes tomorrow just cuz there might be a chance that I will witness history. How good are Big Brown's chances tomorrow that he will be the first horse since Affirmed 30 years ago (thank you, David Honea) to win the Triple Crown?

It would be a first for me since I was born two years after Affirmed won.

Odds are good. Casino Drive is the best chance for an upset, and is where I will make my wagers.

The Belmont can be tough because it's a longer race, especially since Big Brown has had some health problems in the last couple of weeks.

I doubt he'll do what Secretariat did in the Belmont. That's still the most astonishing horse racing performance I've ever seen, beating the field by about thrity lenghts.

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:I'm gonna watch the Belmont Stakes tomorrow just cuz there might be a chance that I will witness history. How good are Big Brown's chances tomorrow that he will be the first horse since Affirmed 30 years ago (thank you, David Honea) to win the Triple Crown?

I got busy on the afternoon of the Derby and spaced it out. I was pissed because I always root for fillies (not necessarily in the Triple Crown, of course) in honour of Ruffian. That made it doubly sad when I read the outcome of the race, but also made me glad that I missed seeing it. So I'm not watching any of them this year, just because I'm strange like that.

But I'm hoping BB does it because of my irrational dislike of Affirmed. I was an Alydar fan, so each race was a total bummer. Exciting TC that year, but a total bummer.

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:It would be a first for me since I was born two years after Affirmed won.

I am sofa king ancient.

I was a kid when Secretariat did it and that was amazing. It's odd to be that age and realize that you are witnessing history as it's happening. I still tear up when I see those races and I cried when he passed away a few years ago.

fantine33 wrote:I was a kid when Secretariat did it and that was amazing. It's odd to be that age and realize that you are witnessing history as it's happening. I still tear up when I see those races and I cried when he passed away a few years ago.

That was an astounding performance, wasn't it?

Can't feel too sorry for him, though. He lived a good long life, and I recall what a sports writer said when he ended his racing career: "I'm jealous. He's retired, he's rich, he has all his hair and his sex life is all ahead of him."

I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

minimetoo26 wrote:I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

Maybe next time we call the 50 lb. bags of Ol' Roy High Performance at work "big brown", it may really be Big Brown....

lb13

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote:I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

Maybe next time we call the 50 lb. bags of Ol' Roy High Performance at work "big brown", it may really be Big Brown....

lb13

What on Earth is Ol' Roy High Performance, dare I ask and giving you a chance to creep towards post #2000.....?

minimetoo26 wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote:I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

Maybe next time we call the 50 lb. bags of Ol' Roy High Performance at work "big brown", it may really be Big Brown....

lb13

What on Earth is Ol' Roy High Performance, dare I ask and giving you a chance to creep towards post #2000.....?

It's dog food in a brown bag, silly!

I spent a good year and a half in Pets back in the day, and still have the creaky back to prove it. You thought hernia jugs were bad.....

lb13

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:
Maybe next time we call the 50 lb. bags of Ol' Roy High Performance at work "big brown", it may really be Big Brown....

lb13

What on Earth is Ol' Roy High Performance, dare I ask and giving you a chance to creep towards post #2000.....?

It's dog food in a brown bag, silly!

I spent a good year and a half in Pets back in the day, and still have the creaky back to prove it. You thought hernia jugs were bad.....

lb13

I don't have a dog! But I do buy unwieldy sacks of bird food for the ducks (and the rodents love the sunflower seeds.) Cat food tends to come in buckets when you buy in bulk, and handles are a plus...

minimetoo26 wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote: What on Earth is Ol' Roy High Performance, dare I ask and giving you a chance to creep towards post #2000.....?

It's dog food in a brown bag, silly!

I spent a good year and a half in Pets back in the day, and still have the creaky back to prove it. You thought hernia jugs were bad.....

lb13

I don't have a dog! But I do buy unwieldy sacks of bird food for the ducks (and the rodents love the sunflower seeds.) Cat food tends to come in buckets when you buy in bulk, and handles are a plus...

We don't have cat food in buckets, just cat litter....

There are so many different kinds of Ol' Roy dog food (And there were even more when I was over there 10 years ago), that I learned to remember each by its color, and not its flavor (I had to really think to remember what variety brown was when I made that post)....

And where's the squirrel food on that list....?

lb13

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:
It's dog food in a brown bag, silly!

I spent a good year and a half in Pets back in the day, and still have the creaky back to prove it. You thought hernia jugs were bad.....

lb13

I don't have a dog! But I do buy unwieldy sacks of bird food for the ducks (and the rodents love the sunflower seeds.) Cat food tends to come in buckets when you buy in bulk, and handles are a plus...

We don't have cat food in buckets, just cat litter....

There are so many different kinds of Ol' Roy dog food (And there were even more when I was over there 10 years ago), that I learned to remember each by its color, and not its flavor (I had to really think to remember what variety brown was when I made that post)....

And where's the squirrel food on that list....?

lb13

EVERYthing is squirrel food! I feed the ducks, then the cardinals come and eat what the ducks leave, then the squirrels come around, until they're chased away by the raccoons. It's a veritable Mutual of Omaha deal in my yard....

minimetoo26 wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote: I don't have a dog! But I do buy unwieldy sacks of bird food for the ducks (and the rodents love the sunflower seeds.) Cat food tends to come in buckets when you buy in bulk, and handles are a plus...

We don't have cat food in buckets, just cat litter....

There are so many different kinds of Ol' Roy dog food (And there were even more when I was over there 10 years ago), that I learned to remember each by its color, and not its flavor (I had to really think to remember what variety brown was when I made that post)....

And where's the squirrel food on that list....?

lb13

EVERYthing is squirrel food! I feed the ducks, then the cardinals come and eat what the ducks leave, then the squirrels come around, until they're chased away by the raccoons. It's a veritable Mutual of Omaha deal in my yard....

My neighborhood's just infested with cats, probably a majority of them decended from the dear departed Fluffy. At least we don't have much of a problem with mice, and birds, and rabbits, and, well, about anything else a cat can catch and kill....

lb13

gsabc wrote:

fantine33 wrote:I was a kid when Secretariat did it and that was amazing. It's odd to be that age and realize that you are witnessing history as it's happening. I still tear up when I see those races and I cried when he passed away a few years ago.

That was an astounding performance, wasn't it?

Can't feel too sorry for him, though. He lived a good long life, and I recall what a sports writer said when he ended his racing career: "I'm jealous. He's retired, he's rich, he has all his hair and his sex life is all ahead of him."

How many human athletes when they retire get free room and board for life and all the women they can handle?

minimetoo26 wrote:I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

If anything happens to Big Brown because of those cracked hooves, I think it will sound the death knell for horse racing as we have known it. I don't think the public will be able to stomach one more high-profile racehorse euthanasia on their television screens.

Probably nothing will happen, but the stakes on the bet are far higher than the investment of Big Brown's owner.

My uncle, a now retired former trainer (albeit at a low level although he did work with Spectacular Bid for awhile) and the gate operator for years at the Louisana Downs, along with my father, who follows the races closely and was a training jockey as kid, both seem to think that the hoof is not a major issue and that Big Brown can do the 12 furlongs without much problem given that he seemed to win going away whilst barely breaking a sweat in the first two legs as long as something new doesn't happen.

I am inclined to give them the benefit of doubt and go with their choice. Which certainly doesn't mean he will win but suggests the odds on him are justified in spite of the hoof issue.

We shall see soon enough!

silvercamaro wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote:I've heard the crew surrounding Big Brown is an unsavory lot, and they've given the horse steroids that are still legal in the states where the races are located. Now the poor creature has another cracked hoof (the third in a year) that they've filled with some sort of epoxy to get him through the race.

I hope it doesn't end up being another Barbaro deal. The horse can't help it that people can be shitheads...

If anything happens to Big Brown because of those cracked hooves, I think it will sound the death knell for horse racing as we have known it. I don't think the public will be able to stomach one more high-profile racehorse euthanasia on their television screens.

Probably nothing will happen, but the stakes on the bet are far higher than the investment of Big Brown's owner.

Sadly, I don't think an injury to Big Brown would matter. Far worse goes on in dog racing and no one has succeeded in stopping it, or even putting much in the way of controls on it. I realize some states are better than others, but it still goes on everywhere. But then, you probably know all about that since I'm assuming your four-footers are both grayhound rescues, true?

As long as there is big money behind any animal use, then the money will matter more than the animals.

I'm not opposed to horse or dog racing, btw. Just the abuses that too often occur. I can understand, and to some extent agree with, the people who say you must abolish the sports to eliminate the abuse, much as we have tried to do with dog fighting (not that I consider the former as bad as the latter). But I don't think that's the answer. I do believe animals are MORE than just property and should be treated to a certain standard, and I have no problem legislating to that standard.

hf_jai wrote:
Sadly, I don't think an injury to Big Brown would matter. Far worse goes on in dog racing and no one has succeeded in stopping it, or even putting much in the way of controls on it. I realize some states are better than others, but it still goes on everywhere. But then, you probably know all about that since I'm assuming your four-footers are both grayhound rescues, true?

My greyhounds cover both ends of the spectrum. Rusty, the male, was retired from the track after a brief career, circumstances unknown. Annie -- based on the age and conditions in which she was found -- was more likely a cull that a breeder tried to kill or, perhaps worse, simply threw away. After her rescue, it was estimated that she probably had survived on her own since she was six weeks old or less. When she was picked up a few weeks later, a shelter vet estimated that she was within 24 hours of starving to death and riddled with parasites.

As long as there is big money behind any animal use, then the money will matter more than the animals.

Agreed, and sadly that sometimes applies to human beings, too.

I'm not opposed to horse or dog racing, btw. Just the abuses that too often occur. I can understand, and to some extent agree with, the people who say you must abolish the sports to eliminate the abuse, much as we have tried to do with dog fighting (not that I consider the former as bad as the latter). But I don't think that's the answer. I do believe animals are MORE than just property and should be treated to a certain standard, and I have no problem legislating to that standard.

Hallelujah! I know there are good owners, breeders and trainers who care about their animals as much as I care about mine. I do think thoroughbreds and greyhounds (as well as some other breeds) would rather run than anything else, and they don't care whether other animals are involved or if money changes hands as a result of the outcome. I just don't want any of them to have to pay with their lives for those moments of exhilaration.

Casino Drive has been scratched.

I'm betting $2 win each on Big Brown and Guadalcanal: One for souvenir and one for hoping for a miracle.

I'll have an exacta box with Big Brown and Tale of Ekati.

I'll use Big Brown, Denis of Cork and Icabad Crane in a trifecta or superfecta, but not boxed.

Investing a whopping $12 or so makes the race even more exciting.

I'm putting my imaginary $2 on Denis of Cork to show. He provided the biggest payoff in the Derby, and he may well do it again.

This is the shortest story I've ever seen on espn.com

My imaginary $2 won me an imaginary $4.10. I think I will treat myself to something imaginary.

Big Brown's head was bobbing today in a way that hadn't happened in the Derby or the Preakness. It wasn't his day. I liked his jockey, who made no excuses.

ToLiveIsToFly wrote:This is the shortest story I've ever seen on espn.com

Ah. It seems they're writing the story while it's already up. When I linked to it, it was one sentence long.

Big Brown did make history.

The first horse with a chance at the Triple Crown to finish last in the Belmont.

silverscreenselect wrote:Big Brown did make history.

The first horse with a chance at the Triple Crown to finish last in the Belmont.

Far, far better last than for the jockey to force something that, for whatever reason, wasn't there. BB still should be worth a fortune in his future career as a stud.