6/7 (BEL): 140th Belmont Stakes

[fpsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Danzig

maybe it's just me, but i don't see anything amazing about big browns ability, or his turn of foot. hell, my dog would look like she had a quick turn of foot vs this group of 3 yo's. i think afleet alex would be comparable, and i don't think he was anything incredible or special.
but then, just think if alex had won the derby and preakness like he did the preakness and belmont. there'd have been 1374 threads about him and his sure tc win leading up to the race in new york.

Just think Danzig, it may not stop there. Wait until he wins, that's when all the tradition loons will start another 1,000 threads about how he's not deserving, conspriacy theories, he's actually a robot, etc. etc. etc. In kind of reminds me of Oracle talking about the Yankees.

I'll stick around until June 8th only to see some of the crazy posts the day after, then after that I'll take a sabbatical until Saratoga. Hopefully by then some of the dust will have settled.

[herkhorse]

Why can't we just enjoy it for what it is? Sure there are lots of stupid BB threads but so what. If your sick of it don't read them. Winning the TC is a difficult task no matter what your facing. As far as his connections go, who cares? People were saying the same thing about Curlin last year, now he's everyones favorite.
On Saturday I went to Venon Downs to watch KNS and there was a VERY old man sitting at the table next to me. I asked him if he though BB would win the TC. His response: "I sure as hell hope so, I want to see one more Triple Crown winner before I die." Here is a guy that has probably been a race fan for 50 or 60 years. I will be rooting for BB for that old man.

[Danzig]

a lot of people are enjoying what it is. some are going overboard however. i have always maintained it is best to decide what a horse was years later. if bb wins the tc, it sets him apart, absolutely. but the four most recent tc winners were special in ways other than the tc, both before and after that series. now, the way secretariat won it set him apart. but he had already had a fantastic season at two, and did quite a bit after.
the tc alone did not make those horses great, so why should anyone be referrring to big brown as being on the cusp of joining them? i think so many, who didn't get a chance to see a really great horse run and win, are too quick to anoint a possible 'savior' far too quickly. so you have what you have right now. a lot of people have seen great-but when they try to interject a little balance, try to keep things out of the realm of hysteria, they're accused of belittling big brown.

as for curlin, no, not everyone likes him. he's benefitting from the novelty of staying at four, and winning a very soft running of the dwc. is he the top older horse? absolutely. but lawyer ron was last year, so competition is a huge part of it.
but i think curlin would dust big brown, fwiw. in my mind, not much at this point.

[slotdirt]

Zig hit the nail on the head on turn of foot. I'd suggest we've had at least a few 3YO's over the last five years that were as push button as Big Brown is.