I couldnt agree more. No way should he go in the BCC.

When does Santa Anita have to switch to a different surface?

I thought they were making the move after Oak Tree.

begin 2008

Thanks. Then he wont have to worry about it. I thought they were going to do it after Oak Tree this year.

im guessing it would only make sense after santa anitas winter/spring meet in the summer before next years oak tree

Looks like after the winter meet

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ory?id=2603831

Good!

The horse ran a great Derby and was beat to sh it. Good Lord was he in the 19 or 20 hole... Jeez louise. And he should not have run in the Preakness. This guy is gonna come back and bite you if he is handled right and stays sound.

Yeah, I've changed my tune. I'm still a huge fan of the horse, and think that he is a solid Grade II animal, but I know that he can't go with the big boys. I've changed my mind because I'm learning. Remember, I'm fairly new at this game:)

That race took alot out of him and i'm not sure he'll ever be back to the form he was during his derby prep campaign.
He's not going to bite me if the connections keep putting him in races that our over his head. The logical thing to do is keep him at Santa Anita where he seems to run quite well.

The reality is (and it's a pretty sad reality) that Brother Derek is probably one of the top 10 Classic contenders at this point. But he's very far behind the top 2-3 contenders. After u get past Bernardini, Lava Man, and Invasor (if he runs), can u honestly say that Brother Derek is outclassed by any of the rest of the Classic contenders? He ran as well against Lava Man as Perfect Drift did. Strong Contender, Ball Four, It's No Joke? None of them outclass him. Bright One? Sun King? I don't see them as outclassing him either. I'm not saying he's better than them but I think he fits. If he's able to get fourth, or third if Invasor is not there, it's worth it to go. Usually, I say that if u aren't entering to win a race or using a race as a prep for a bigger one that u shouldn't go. But the purses of the BC make it different. I don't think Brother Derek has a shot in hell to win the race. But outside of Bernardini and Lava Man, I don't think anyone else does either.

Sheesh. What's gotten into you?

No, he doesn't have to be big to be good. I am judging his ability on his performances and my ability to pick out horses that are going to stay at the same level and those that are going to improve. I have watched tons of horses mature and develop over the years. You are talking down to the wrong person if you think that I don't know a little bit about muscular development.

It doesn't mean that BD can't win a G1 out west here and there. It just means that he can't go with horses such as Bernardini, Sun King, Lava Man, and Invasor.

And for the record, Seabiscuit wasn't the prettiest horse, but I liked the way that he was built. He was all racehorse.

Also, I never said that Smarty was a dud. Smarty was awesome. I just said that he wasn't as good as Bernardini, and IMO, he isn't.

And I think that you were referring to someone else when you were talking about bloodlines. I'm a performance person, not a bloodline person, although I do like a good performance horse with a nice pedigree.

Agree completely, King G. Brother Derek is not outclassed by any horse in the race except the top 3, which may well become the top 2, and the unproven-on-dirt Europeans. For that matter, I actually think the 75-1 future odds on him are attractive.

--Dunbar

It doesn't surprise me that he started working great,and running great at where???????? Santa Anita. He is a known commodity at this track. Why keep forcing him to run at tracks he obviously doesn't like nearly as much.

I think it's far too early to call Brother Derek a lesser animal. He had a horrendous experience in the Triple Crown, he is a very efficient mover and has nice tactical speed. If he could learn to relax and rate a little better he could be a very nice horse. I loved the way he looked on track Saturday, he has matured nicely and muscled out well. I could see him developing a running style like one of my all time favorites, Medaglia d' Oro.

Hes much better than most people think. Hell have a good showing in the BCC. Rounding back into form. I was very impressed with his last race, he had a bad trip and still finished running.

Latest report has him and Giacomo in the Classic.

I thought he ran a nice race on Saturday, hopefully he progresses to be a nice 4yo...

Brother Derek should stay in California, Whenever he runs elsewhere he comes in 4th.........Derby,Preakness and Juvenile..He is a cut below, but in California, he is a cut above..........

Brother Derek over hyped hmmmm. I don't know. Going into the Derby who was a deserving morning line favorite. He won everything he had too. After the Derby it seems there has been allot of excuses made for him, some have merit, some don't.
IMO I think Hendricks took a huge gamble with Bro Derek going into his fall campaign and up to this point has failed. I think it was a huge mistake keeping him from the major summer stakes races for 3 yr olds. Either he was secretly hurt or sore or just bad strategy. Sort of reminds me of Phletcher and Flower Ally But either way his stock has fallen drastically. A shocking upset in the BC is a must otherwise we'll see how he is as a four yr old.

Bro. Derek needs to stay in Cal if they want him to win anymore.

He could surely have beaten a sorry field like that one in the Indiana Derby. He could have won the WV Derby. There are plenty of fields outside of California that he can beat. He just won't beat a horse like Bernardini or Barbaro even if they ran the race in his dreams.

Why bother shipping him for those kinds of races when he can find similiar or better in Cal and win them?

There weren't any he could have won in Cal for anywhere near the purses of those races. The Del Mar meet really lacks in 3yo dirt racing.

So wait until the Hollywood meet or Santa Anita meet. Besides, I wouldn't run a dog on that Del Mar track......
BTW, when was his first race back since his layoff?

Brother Derek could have run in the Pegasus at the Meadowlands in NJ(on his way to Churchill). I think he would have defeated one of the weakest fields in the history of that race.

The Swaps is the only big race in California for 3yo's on the dirt after the TC. The purse there is $250k, $350k if u are a BC eligible horse. The purse for the WV Derby is $750k. For the Indiana Derby it's $500k. The Super Derby was run for $500k. Do u still have to ask why bother?

I just have a tough time fathoming how there can be so many easy races for 3yos with huge purses at all these tracks throughout the midwest and east coast and more decent horses aren't shipping in for them.

Yes, why bother shipping a horse outside of California that won't/can't win outside of California? Now do you understand what I am saying about the horse? I was trying to be nice to his fans.

I have had the same question myself. I guess alot of it has to do the the grade of the race. Anymore, owners seem to be more concerned with graded stakes (gr. 1s) than the purses, because it's the grade of the race that makes the difference in the breeding shed rather than amount of money won, it seems.

That's silly. Are u saying that if the Derby was in Cali, he would have beaten Barbaro? If the Preakness was in Cali, he would have beaten Bernardini? If that's your belief, this is useless. The fact is that he wasn't going to win those races no matter where they were held. But if he had shipped to the Indiana Derby or the WV Derby, he wouldn't have been facing Barbaro and Bernardini. It wasn't where the races were being held that was getting him beat. He can ship to Japan and beat horses like Cielo Gold and Star Dabbler. Come on now.

Did I say anything about him beating Barbaro or Bernardini???? What I am saying is the horses' style of running is more suited to Cal. He's a Cal-bred, and he needs to stay in Cal. He needs to run with his caliber of horses, and hope no big dawgs ship in for the big races next year. He was the best 3yr. old in Cal this year. Can he be the best 4 yr. old in Cal next year? I don't see it.
Kentucky Derby, Preakness in Cal??? Ha. And no, Bro D. still wouldn't have beaten any of the TC winners this year had they ran the races in Cal.

So u say he needs to run with his caliber of horses. In other words, u are saying that he couldn't run with Star Dabbler or Cielo Gold or Bright One? Are u seriously suggesting that those horses outclass him? If not, then why couldn't he ship to Indiana and run with them? If u are saying there is no need to ship to the Haskell, the Jim Dandy, or the Travers.....I'd go along with that. But to say he couldn't run with the horses that were in the Indiana Derby based simply on the fact that the race wasn't in California is a pretty silly opinion.

OK, so why the hell didn't his trainer ship him for those races??? The horse has proven he's not a great shipper. Why ship him out of the state to lose???

Think about what u are saying here for just a moment. U saying he's afraid to ship him out of state to face the vaunted Star Dabbler and Cielo Gold in the Indiana Derby......but willing to ship him out of state to face Bernardini and Invasor as well as Lava Man? What kind of sense does this make? U say that horse has proven he's not a great shipper only because he lost races that he would have lost anywhere. If he was facing Bernardini and Barbaro in California, he still would have lost. Then would u say that he needs to ship to Mexico because he's proven that he's not able to win in the U.S.? He lost those races not due to shipping but due to facing better horses, something that he wouldn't have had to do in Indiana or West Virginia. If he was shipping and losing to the same horses that he had beaten in Cali, then u would have a point. But there is nothing to suggest shipping has been the problem. The competition has.