Big Brown: Last, But Safe (so far)

According to his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown was in trouble in the turn for home, so Desormeaux slowed him down and let him gallop down the stretch. The favored contender for the Belmont Stakes, and, consequently, the Triple Crown, crossed the finish line last in a field of eight others.

Speaking on the television broadcast, Desormeaux offered this explanation: "The racetrack just didn’t hold him up." He continued: "He slipped. I got him outside early and he cantered. He wanted to jump up in the bridle but I could tell I had no horse [italics mine]. I took care of him."

Rick Dutrow, BB’s trainer, had this to say after the race: “He’s in good shape, he’s OK. We’re very, very proud of him. Something has to not be right for him to pulled [sic] up in a race, so I have to try to find out what it is. I’m sure it’s not the horse’s fault, so there’s nothing to be down on him.” According to the on-call veterinarian for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Dr. Larry Bramlage, a preliminary examination of Big Brown didn’t reveal any issues with lameness.

I should add that Big Brown ran in the Belmont Stakes today without his monthly dose of Winstrol, an anabolic steroid. Dutrow said he hadn’t received a dose since April 15th, according to a report in The New York Times. Anabolic steroids are some of the most powerful drugs in sports. They can improve a horse to improve of the initial dosing, but they do carry side effects, such as suppressing natural hormone production as well as the immune system. Because of the rapid increase in muscle strength, bones and ligaments experience more strain. Unfortunately, there are trainers that ruin horses by abusing these drugs.

I can empathize with Big Brown. I don’t know much about horses, and I have no experience with anabolic steroids, but I do know a lot about another kind of steroid, corticosteroids, used to ease inflammatory conditions such as asthma and arthritis. When I’ve taken Prednisone for asthma, I, too, experienced increased strength, a sense of greater well-being, and diminished inflammation. Corticosteroids are another classification of powerful drugs which suppress the immune system and the adrenal glands. At the height of my steroid regime, I felt as if I could run twelve furlongs. Breathing was perfect. Any sore muscles or other inflammation was nonexistent. At the end of the regimen as I tapered slowly, if anyone had mounted me and given me the whip, I wouldn’t have had anything to give, either, except a yawn and a long, loud snore. Fatigue as the adrenals slowly return to normal can be nearly debilitating.

The longer horses are on a steroid regimen, the more likely they are to be permanently damaged. Long-term regimens not only impact hormones and liver function, they strip muscles of the fat between the sinews, increasing the chance of tendons and ligaments stripping away from the bones during exercise. I suppose BB, only three years old, will be retired to the stud farm. Insiders says that remaining competitive on the track too long is a risky path to self-destruction.

But what??!!

How can it be called self-destruction when the horse is not in control of his or her own destiny?

Kudos to the jockey for "feeling" the horse and acting accordingly.

(I really like to think that Big Brown had enough sense to avoid putting undue stress on his already cracked hoof.)

He looked a little wobbly, maybe disoriented. Maybe BB just said, "Fuck it, it's too damn hot to run today!"

As my grandmother would have said, "Big Brown, baby, you ain't got nothing to be ashamed of."

Big Brown . . . Hoping for Your Win, Praying for Your Safety

Big Brown has a stress fracture of the hoof wall. His trainer calls this "a minor setback " and says that the three-year-old colt, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, will be ready on June 7th for the Belmont Stakes to possibly become the 12th Triple Crown winner since Affirmed beat Alydar in 1978.





Affirmed & Alydar





I don't know much about thoroughbred racing. I simply know that I love horses and love to see them run. I've attended two races in my life, both with a good friend and afficionado who introduced me to the sport (his knowledge of the sport and its statistics is encyclopedic). Unfortunately, on each occasion, I witnessed a track tragedy. At the end of the first race, a three-year-old Canadian filly, Cryptic Solution, broke down and had to be euthanized on the track (and fictionialized in a novel that I'm working on; perhaps I'll include that portion in this posting or a subsequent one). It's a sight -- struggling horse, the van, the tarp -- that will always be with me, and for months afterwards, the recollection of it made me ill. I vowed never to return to the track, but I did. And on my second visit, there was another breakdown of a horse whose name I don't remember (and perhaps never knew); however, a life was saved, I believed. I vowed never to return to the track, and I haven't. The anxiety that ensues from possibly having to witness another horse (or jockey) accident is too great for me, negating any pleasure of watching the horses run. I won't even watch races live on TV; I simply wait for replays during the sports segments of the news, as long as I know, in advance, that all crossed the finish line standing on all fours.

Back to Big Brown: In spite of the horse's problem with sore feet, Dick Dutrow, BB's trainer, says BB's right hoof injury is "nothing like the ones Big Brown sustained last fall and over the winter. Those injuries sidelined him for nearly three months." Let's hope that Big Brown heals well, and, if there is the tiniest question of his readiness, that his trainer and owners exercise wisdom and caution and do the right thing.