Brownout

HORSES DON’T HAVE HUBRIS, BUT THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM SOMETIMES DO

FITSNews – June 7, 2008 – The horse himself is calm, gentle and obviously oblivious to the storm that surrounded his dramatic loss in yesterday’s Belmont Stakes. In fact, the monster colt known as “Big Brown” was as gracious in defeat as he had been in previous weeks coasting to two runaway victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

The same couldn’t be said, however, for his trainer- the cocky Rick Dutrow, who had boldly proclaimed in the days leading up to the race that Big Brown’s quest to become the first Triple Crown winner in three decades was a “foregone conclusion,” and that “these (other) horses just cannot run with Big Brown.”

Well, those other horses ran right past Big Brown, and Dutrow and his IEAH stables were left holding the bag on the biggest upset in horse racing history … from ESPN’s Pat Forde:

Dutrow and IEAH — newcomers to this level of success — ignorantly swaggered into their home turf of New York thinking they had it won. And they made a naked money grab along the way … The Big Brown camp plastered the UPS logo on (jockey) Desormeaux’s silks and the colt’s saddle cloth.

Dutrow showed up in the paddock for the Belmont wearing a hat flacking for the Trump Taj Mahal casino. And there was a deal with Hooters as well, but Belmont nixed the idea of having hotties in orange pants prancing through the paddock.

They turned the Belmont Stakes into a crass NASCAR race. Then blew an engine after guaranteeing victory.

The response from the New York crowd was part sympathy for the horse, part disdain for the people. Some fans booed and threw cups. Some cussed at Dutrow as he escorted the horse away from the track.

And somewhere — wherever the racing gods live — there was unabated laughter at this comeuppance. Karma’s a bitch, babe, and so is the Triple Crown.

We were rooting for “Big Brown” simply because the Triple Crown is something we’ve wanted to see happen ever since “Real Quiet” missed it by a nose at Belmont ten years ago. But just like one of Dutrow’s colleagues, something about the horse’s trash-talking trainer also rubbed us “the wrong way.”

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