Well, I guess a good week has passed since the hype over Big Brown's loss in the Belmont Stakes that cost him the Triple Crown. This was a horse with promise. I guess it all has been said before, hasn't it? An undefeated horse with a lot of potential. Oh, to bring this into context...he held the top post position, #1, started out third throughout the race, then in the homestretch he pulled up and finished last. No horse with a shot at the Triple Crown had ever finished last in the Belmont before this.
Remember, this is the 30th Anniversary of Affirmed's big win in Belmont and the last Triple Crown winner. But, as with other recent horses winning the first two jewels (Kentucky Derby and Preakness), it has always been the "same old song".
Earlier last week Big Brown had that cracked foot. I think that's what did him in this time.
I'm sorry to say though I feel no sympathy for Big Brown, none what so ever. You see, the Triple Crown is one of the toughest challenges of any athlete, human or animal, in any sport. Each distance gets longer and the quest becomes tougher. The trophy (which would have been presented in the Winner's Circle at Belmont) is a tough prize to get. And so it goes for yet another year...what is it now? 30 years? The longest drought in history since the last Triple Crown winner Affirmed in 1978?
Certainly it has already brought bad luck to the "sport of kings" and a reputation ruined. Not to mention all the terrible tragedies that have followed each losing year (anyone remember a thing called 9/11?) I guess we're cursed again. Brace yourself...
In the meantime, let the bells toll 30 times for each year the Triple Crown has not been won. 30 years and counting. Horses, trainers, and jockeys, it's up to you to stop the streak...and perhaps help bring solace to a rapidly deteriorating sport called thoroughbred racing.
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