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I took the bait, I’ll admit it with no qualms. Given supreme confidence after his Louisville triumph that we could have the next Triple Crown winner in our great sport, I immediately made plans for a trip to Belmont during the first weekend of June. My confidence soared as Big Brown powerfully drubbed eleven overmatched rivals in the Preakness. The weeks between the Preakness and Belmont turned to days, the days into hours as I made the trek to the northeast.
As we settled into our seats on what was undoubtedly a toasty June afternoon for these parts, there was an addition to the infield, just in front of the tote board. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) had put out the placards for the immortals in horse racing, all of the horses who were up to the Triple Crown task. Could Big Brown join these spectacular thoroughbreds or was his fate going to mirror that of the Triple Crown disappointments we’ve seen all too often in the last eleven years?
As the thermometer headed northward, a few things became clear. The track was extraordinarily speed favoring, as a wire-to-wire win by Sixthirteen in the second race made clear, a horse who looked absolutely beaten at the quarter pole and again in mid-stretch. His effort followed a gate-to-wire score by Desert Key in the opener. It was also quite clear that the heat was taking a toll on every being at Belmont Park, equine or human.
As the day wore on, a fabulous undercard played out and we saw a tremendous performance by Benny the Bull, a horse who as it turned out was the only to carry the IEAH colors into the winner’s circle on this day. He ran against the bias in his first start back from Dubai, dug in at the eighth pole and ran down a loose leader in Man of Danger. Benny the Bull would have to be considered the very early favorite in October’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint. I could only shake my head as Ventura came under the wire in front in the Just A Game as you would think we’d have all learned years ago to take trainer Bobby Frankel seriously in Grade I races. Another excellent performance by Zaftig, an up and coming filly was a real treat in the Acorn and a win by Dancing Forever in the Manhattan was a great accomplishment for admirable connections.
Then the Belmont came around. The scratch of Casino Drive certainly altered the complexion of the race as Big Brown seemed to have been made an even bigger favorite. It seemed as if his task was much easier and the impediments in his way were no longer severe. The crowd cheered as he was shown on the infield video boards while walking in the paddock. The field came onto the track and Big Brown was saluted by the mostly racing disinterested 90,000+ fans. One horse made quite an impression on the track and it was eventual winner Da’Tara who was absolutely coated with sweat and was extremely jittery in his pre-race routine.
However, as the field approached the starting gate something was missing. There was absolutely no Triple Crown like atmosphere. Having been here five years ago for the Triple Crown bid of Funny Cide, this was completely different. I was unable to decipher if it had to do with Big Brown himself, his connections that have garnered plenty of criticism or the crowd’s inability to keep the sweat out of their eyes long enough to realize the field had reached the starting gate.
As the race was run it was clear with over a minute to go that Big Brown was not going to get it done. He was eased as the field turned for home and was very un-ceremoniously booed by some of the Belmont crowd as he galloped by the grandstand. Unable to understand that you don’t treat a horse who has given everything he had in two tremendous performances on the Triple Crown trail the same way you treat Carlos Delgado when he mis-handles a groundball, these clowns made their feelings known.
It was the Belmont with no atmosphere. Who knows what would have happened if the big bay colt had gotten it done? All I can say is that the next time the Crown is on the line, call me from Belmont and let me know what it’s like.
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As we settled into our seats on what was undoubtedly a toasty June afternoon for these parts, there was an addition to the infield, just in front of the tote board. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) had put out the placards for the immortals in horse racing, all of the horses who were up to the Triple Crown task. Could Big Brown join these spectacular thoroughbreds or was his fate going to mirror that of the Triple Crown disappointments we’ve seen all too often in the last eleven years?
As the thermometer headed northward, a few things became clear. The track was extraordinarily speed favoring, as a wire-to-wire win by Sixthirteen in the second race made clear, a horse who looked absolutely beaten at the quarter pole and again in mid-stretch. His effort followed a gate-to-wire score by Desert Key in the opener. It was also quite clear that the heat was taking a toll on every being at Belmont Park, equine or human.
As the day wore on, a fabulous undercard played out and we saw a tremendous performance by Benny the Bull, a horse who as it turned out was the only to carry the IEAH colors into the winner’s circle on this day. He ran against the bias in his first start back from Dubai, dug in at the eighth pole and ran down a loose leader in Man of Danger. Benny the Bull would have to be considered the very early favorite in October’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint. I could only shake my head as Ventura came under the wire in front in the Just A Game as you would think we’d have all learned years ago to take trainer Bobby Frankel seriously in Grade I races. Another excellent performance by Zaftig, an up and coming filly was a real treat in the Acorn and a win by Dancing Forever in the Manhattan was a great accomplishment for admirable connections.
Then the Belmont came around. The scratch of Casino Drive certainly altered the complexion of the race as Big Brown seemed to have been made an even bigger favorite. It seemed as if his task was much easier and the impediments in his way were no longer severe. The crowd cheered as he was shown on the infield video boards while walking in the paddock. The field came onto the track and Big Brown was saluted by the mostly racing disinterested 90,000+ fans. One horse made quite an impression on the track and it was eventual winner Da’Tara who was absolutely coated with sweat and was extremely jittery in his pre-race routine.
However, as the field approached the starting gate something was missing. There was absolutely no Triple Crown like atmosphere. Having been here five years ago for the Triple Crown bid of Funny Cide, this was completely different. I was unable to decipher if it had to do with Big Brown himself, his connections that have garnered plenty of criticism or the crowd’s inability to keep the sweat out of their eyes long enough to realize the field had reached the starting gate.
As the race was run it was clear with over a minute to go that Big Brown was not going to get it done. He was eased as the field turned for home and was very un-ceremoniously booed by some of the Belmont crowd as he galloped by the grandstand. Unable to understand that you don’t treat a horse who has given everything he had in two tremendous performances on the Triple Crown trail the same way you treat Carlos Delgado when he mis-handles a groundball, these clowns made their feelings known.
It was the Belmont with no atmosphere. Who knows what would have happened if the big bay colt had gotten it done? All I can say is that the next time the Crown is on the line, call me from Belmont and let me know what it’s like.
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New Yorkers are quick to hail their heroes and quick to call them out as well. It's a shame.