Big Brown, Big Red and IEAH
 

BIG BROWN vs. BIG RED
No horse, and very few athletes, have been as revered in their sport as Secretariat. Books, articles, documentaries and many columns have depicted the legendary animal. It had been almost sacrilegious to use Secretariat to compare a good, even great, horse. Secretariat was untouchable, unapproachable and without comparison. Until now.

Big Brown appears to be as talented as any runner in recent memory. He may be as talented as any runner in non recent memory. It is virtually impossible to get a gauge on Big Brown in relation to his competition since it is widely agreed that the 2008 crop of three year olds is well below par. In order to put Big Brown's resume into perspective, we might have to go back 35 years, to the hallowed 6 week span that stamped Secretariat as the measuring stick.

Secretariat came into his three year old season as a much heralded prospect by winning Horse of the Year honors as a two year old. Big Brown had only one race, albeit an astonishing 11 1/4 abolishment of a good MSW group at Saratoga on the grass. His 1:40.1, 90 Beyer, performance brought the current connections out of the woodwork and they laid out $3,000,000 to take majority ownership. While it's fair to say both Secretariat and Big Brown were impressive as two year olds, they could hardly be compared. Secretariat was proven. Big Brown was nothing more than a "potentially" great colt in which the racing public has seen fizzle out many times.

The 1973 and 2008 Kentucky Derby stretch runs were eerily similar. Secretariat pulled away from Sham and those two were 10 clear of the rest of the field. Big Brown and Eight Belles finished over 8 lengths ahead of the 18 other Derby runners. If you watch the replay of the Big Brown and Secretariat moves on the far turn, you could be watching the same colt.

Both Secretariat and Big Brown made electrifying moves at some point during their Preakness efforts. Both races are worth reviewing more than once simply because horses do not make that kind of athletic, confident, awe inspiring accelerations during a Grade 1 race. Neither race was remembered as much for how many lengths they won by but more for the "visual" performance in general. The 2008 Preakness will be forever remembered as late Satruday afternoon workout for the winner. Going into the Belmont, it can be argued, dear I say, Big Brown has been "more" impressive than Secretariat in the first two legs of the Triple Crown and at very least, has been equally impressive.

Secretariat's legend was stamped on June 9, 1973. 31 lengths. No other adjective needed. 2:24 flat is a world record for 1 1/2 miles that should last forever. Will Big Brown run a race in New York that can be compared? Not likely. There weren't but maybe two horses to ever run that could have finished within 5 lengths of Secretariat that day, much less beat him outright. So, what does Big Brown need to do in the Belmont in order to keep pace with Big Red? A repeat of any of his previous 5 races would probably work just fine.


IEAH
Secretariat ran 6 more times after his majestic Belmont win. It was important for the racing public to revel in his greatness for those final 4 months before he was whisked away to the breeding shed. It is already confirmed Big Brown will not race as a four year old. He needs to face Curlin in the Breeder's Cup Classic.

The IEAH group has been painted as a self absorbed, self important, lot, that cares only about being profitable. Allowing Big Brown the opportunity to face Curlin in a match up that has not been seen in racing since Easy Goer/Sunday Silence would help improve their tarnished image. Sports have been built on great showdowns. Ali/Frazier, Lakers/Celtics, Nicklaus/Palmer, Bruins/Canadians, etc. As a racing fan, the anticipation for said match up would be at an all time high. The IEAH group would certainly earn my respect for keeping Big Brown in the game through that big event.

I don't know why you guys criticized that Better Than Honour poster.....Big Brown topics completely dominate this board. As well as they probably should, but still I thought it was weird he got kicked out.

I think you might hold off on the assumption that "Better Than Honour" was excused from further participation here for a number of reasons.

1) Although it was clear BTH was a bit of a lightning rod on the subject of Big Brown I saw nothing that made me think he was so offensive to warrant expulsion.

2) Sometimes people leave the site of their own choice sometimes for short periods and sometimes forever. The energy it takes to argue with others day in and day out even if your right is draining and occasionally people choose the end of a battle and to skip the rest of the war.

3) The people who control content here are actually pretty tolerant types who seem to encourage free thinking and comedic contribution however even they have lines of personal affront which can be exceeded by the few who are truly only interested in being nasty and offensive.

My humble advice would be to wait until the light of day and a new week gives Steve and the others a chance to respond to this particular person's status on the site before saying he was "kicked out" as it may not be the case.

I laughed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by letswastemoney I don't know why you guys criticized that Better Than Honour poster

Maybe because he was an idiot, whose only purpose in 75% of his post were to insight arguments by making completely idiotic statements. Does that clear things up for you?

Then again there is the direct explanation for events in the world.....lol. Another country heard from...

you gotta be kidding.

Thank you. I was just getting ready to say the same thing.

That's where I stopped reading.:D

oh good grief, i can't believe some of the stuff that's being written about Big Brown.

I agree that it seems to be over the top. A real shame the crop is so poor we have no way of measuring him up.

to me that is the real shame, that this one may be retired before we get any true measure of his talent. so we'll be forced to listen to people that want to put him on the pedestal with Secretariat. what a shame that after waiting all this time for a triple crown, it gets almost handed over to a horse that is never seriously challenged. Affirmed will be turning over in his grave, talk about earning a triple crown!

Just the way it is. Seems racing can't win at whatever they do. I do think he is a lot better a colt then must experts but my opinion is based on virtually nothing more then a gut feeling that would be crushed the minute he got passed in the lane..lol

He could be Seattle Slew and he could be Afleet Alex will never really know.

Secretariat set track records in both of his attempts, though the Preakness timer was screwed up. Don't give me the Big Brown could have run much faster argument. Maybe a couple of ticks, but we just don't know. Who is to say Secretariat couldn't have run faster if pushed.

of course I don't know exactly how good he is either, i don't think anyone can be sure at this point. he rates somewhere up with the better horses, but without seeing at least one really fast race, its hard to put him at the very top.

Oh brother...that's all I had to say. This is getting way too silly. Big Brown is a nice animal, but to compare him to Secretariat I am just about to get sick.:confused:

I have actually worked up a quick translation of the initial post for those not willing to read it in its entirety.....



I have very little perspective on the top horses of the game over even the last 10 years, but I will pick the horse generally considered the best of the last half century, and completely inaccurately compare Big Brown to him.

LOL...an excellent Cliffsnotes version.

I don't think IEAH gives two figs for what racing fans want. Like any conglomerate, they're in this to make money. Glory and adulation is great, but it doesn't buy things, so I doubt we'll see Big Brown after the Belmont.

Which is why, though I've been waiting to see a Triple Crown since the first Derby I can remember (1983), I'm so lukewarm on this one. I can't believe it. I know, I know, don't blame the horse for his connections, but if there's someone who cares even less what I think than IEAH does, it's Big Brown. ;)

(Or maybe I'm just mad at myself for not forking out the $$ for reserved seats back in March. I'll be eating sour grapes while I'm smooshed in with 100,000 people in three weeks. 'Cause, lukewarm as I am, I know I'm still gonna go.)

Disclaimer: I'm just the messenger.

With that said, I thought this quote by Baffert was pretty interesting

"This is the best horse I've seen since I've been in the business."


I'd have to say that's a brave statement by Mr. Baffert.

I don't understand.

All that was needed was perhaps a cheap shot at Red for not trying and winning on the turf to complete the masterpiece.

isn't it easier for somebody to just say..I love Big Brown..I think he is capable of incredible speed, although we have only seen it a couple of times.. And perhap he will dazzle us in 3 weeks.. I guess the internet makes everyone brave

Then after he wins the Triple Crown because really I don't see anyone from that group that can beat him if he runs his race. It will be almost impossible to go to any message board because Big Brown will be proclaimed the greatest horse since Citation and or Secretariat. And that to me is just not right...Get the 'excuse my language' there is no other way to put it...barf bag ready gang.

I heard a lot of folks talk about Smarty Jones the same way..I loved Smarty but when Birdstone went by him realty hit me square in the face!

I think Baffert is pumping IEAH for business, from the amount of derby entries he has had of late it may be a smart move to use hyperbole.

Baffert has plenty of clients with money..I think trainers are people too. They get caught up in the hype just like everyone else. There is plenty of reason to think Big Brown can be something very very special. The issue is he hasn't done anything so particularly amazing to suggest he is anything but a super nice grade 1 colt.

It's one thing to be a Hall of Framer it's another thing to be Babe Ruth

I'm not sure what number is bigger.....the number of horses Gary Stevens rode or the number of best horses he ever rode.

I think Baffert is a colorful guy and he is great for the game, but honestly there are some things he says that I hold very little credence to.

War Chant or Brocco come to mind lol

Actually I would vote for Silver Charm

I wish Baffert had horses in every year's TC races. He's great fun.

I'll say one thing else about Gary Stevens......in his prime he was a great rider. One of the best I have ever seen.

So does he

Big Brown is the best horse that Gary Stevens has not ridden.

it just goes to show you that the hyperbole runs deep, even amongst people inside the business. take with a big grain of salt what you hear from them and make up your own mind apart from the hysteria of the moment.

People will laugh at Baffert's comments, just like they laughed at Desormeaux's proclamation (notice how people just aren't laughing quite as hard) -- in part because they think the comments are melodramatic, and in part because I think some people think they know better.

If Big Brown wins the Belmont and retires -- for whatever reason, real, fabricated, or whatever, he will have won the Triple Crown. Put an asterisk next to his name or don't. That's up to you. But it won't change the fact that he won it. If he wins, keeps going, doesn't win, keeps going, etc. -- people will always have an easy target here. The trainer and owners are an easy target, and always will be. If it wasn't that, there are plenty of other aspects that could easily be critisized.

Anyway, here's a horse who is getting this sport and business noticed a bit -- for good reasons and bad. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Eric

Win or lose, I don't think he'll run after the Belmont. I can't imagine any way for his value to increase as a stud- I don't see running in any of the summer classics or in the BCC making any difference to his value.