Jackson challenges Big Brown owners
 

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/46567.htm

And Iavarone fires right back. This is probably going to end up going nowhere, but at least the two camps are recognizing that the public wants to see it.

When told of the offer, Mike Iavarone, co-president of IEAH Stables, replied, “I have a better offer. We’ll donate $250,000 to various charities if Curlin meets us in the Breeders’ Cup. These are the things we do anyway. We strongly feel that championships should be decided at the Breeders’ Cup and that in order to give both horses the proper time to prepare for each other, we believe the race we meet in should be on racing’s biggest stage. It also would allow horses from Europe an opportunity to race against us and prove who the best horse in the world is. You’re not going to prove it in a four-horse field in the Woodward. You’re going to prove it in a full field in the Breeders’ Cup. That’s where the champions have been decided almost every year.

“We have said all along that the Breeders’ Cup is the race we should all be meeting in and we’ll up their figure by five times. It’s unfortunate that Mr. Jackson would have to require our horse to run to make a charitable contribution. When you offer to make a donation to charity, it shouldn’t come from anywhere but the heart. We’ve made significant donations to various charities.
“Coming home from the Preakness at 5 oclock in the morning, we saw helicopters overhead on the Long Island Expressway, and the next morning I read a story about a Nassau County police officer, Ken Baribault, who was rear-ended by a drunk driver while he was arresting another drunk driver. He suffered serious injuries and went into a coma. The story was on the page right next to Big Brown. While we were prospering, he and his family were suffering, and I felt it was our duty as Nassau County residents to come to their aid. The idea we had was donate a percentage of the purse money in the Belmont, and we had his family come to the race. Unfortunately that didn’t work out. We then went to an event where they were promoting officer Baribault and we made a donation of $50,000 to his son for his scholarship foundation. Then we found out two weeks later that the officer had come out of his coma and was sent to a rehab center in New Jersey only 15 minutes from Monmouth Park. So we arranged for his whole family to come to the Haskell and donated a piece of the purse from the race so someone could stay with him until he can get back on his feet.


Why the need to brag about donations? That just takes away from the whole purpose of it...IMO

If two impotent guys had a cock-off this is what it would be like.

That about sums it up. Not sure if the two of them could even fit in the same with the size of their egos.

is it me or does jackson look like the "jokers" dad

IEAH take on this is easy. They want no parts of Curlin on dirt.

Jess should go to $500k to get them to run v. Curlin in Japan, on the Dirt...

They shouldn't. It wouldn't be very competitive. Curlin would beat BB handily and Divine Park might even beat both of them.

BB's feet are shot. He will win his little made for BB turf race and then get destroyed by Henrythenavigator on the synthetic. Nothing to be ashamed of, but he will still never have broken a 110 beyer on the dirt or beat a decent horse on the dirt.

Whaaaat?

IEAH already turned down the challenge, as per the DRF. Sporting.

I'll donate $500 to charity if they go best 2 out of 3 in the Woodward, Classic, and Hollywood Turf Cup.

I'll donate tree fiddy if they avoid each other like they're going to do anyway and then retire by the end of the year.

Please. Do it. STFU. Go away.

This "saga" is freaking hilarious. I hope it continues. I always need a good laugh. IMO, Curlin would pretty much hand BB his lunch if they raced on dirt. On a synthetic surface, Curlin still might beat BB but prob not as bas as he would on dirt.

Henrythenavigator is one awesome horse. I would for him to come over for the Classic.

I might be in the minority here, but I wasn't impressed with Curlin's last race. Perhaps it was the surface, but with the weight advantage he got from the competition and the way the race set up for him I certainly expected more from a horse that is widely thought of as the best in North America. I'd certainly take a shot against him in his next start.

Ya think?

I'm just saying that horses are not machines and it might be a good opportunity to try someone else at a good price if it does happen.

Maybe NTRA should pay for the transportation costs of both horses? lol

After the Haskell, Rick Dutrow said Big Brown was “way better” than Curlin? I don't follow these big horses like a lot of people do, but that comment takes the cake. Maybe on turf he is way better. If I was IAVARONE, then I'd be looking for a turf race as well. I would be looking to race on turf on Breeders Cup day, too.

He is. It is called the Classic.

Ridiculous comments like that just fuel the need for these 2 meet, whether we like it or not. It has made horseracing alot more interesting if they do meet in the BC, certainly it would be more interesting than the BC at Monmouth last year.