SENSATIONAL

THE VERY BEST OF HORSE RACING - THE VERY WORST

BIG BROWN - 109 BEYER FIGURE,courtesy DAILY RACING FORM


And after all that - the favourite won. But what a favourite. BIG BROWN (Boundary-Mien by Nureyev) can be called the next BARBARO, the next SMARTY JONES, perhaps he is even better.
Maybe, just maybe, he is the next TRIPLE CROWN WINNER.

His trainer was right. His jockey was right. Rick Dutrow Jr. and Kent Desmormeaux and the gang at IEAH plus Paul Pompa...celevrating the Derby win of a superstar.

Very hard for some to celebrate though when a horse goes down. It happens a lot in big races.

EIGHT BELLES ran so hard to try and catch Big Brown. She was almost as good. Her owner and trainer were right.

Rick Porter and Larry Jones at the Fox Hill team report on its website that the filyl will be cremated and buried with a memorial dedicated to her.


"She had her ears up as she crossed the wire. We were high- fiving. I told everyone if we run 4th, 5th, or 6th, we've had a great weekend as long as she comes back to the barn good.
It was a 1/4 mile after the race.
(Breakdowns) just don't happen there. There's always a reason things happen, but right now I see no reason for this.
She ran the race of her life; she put it out there.
She went out in glory.
She went out a champion to us.
She was our family. I saw my son yesterday and my daughter today, but I saw Eight Belles every day.
She had been with us for a year.
Losing animals like this isn't fun. We're heartbroken. We're going to miss her."
Jockey Gabriel Saez added, "After we passed the wire I stood up. She started galloping funny and I tried to pull her up. But she went down."
Veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage said, "That is an injury that is painful. There was no way to save her. It was a catastrophic injury. One of the outriders saw both ankles collapse as she was running out."



**THOROUGHBLOG WILL TAKE TODAY OFF AND RETURN TOMORROW**