Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown is running in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth park in New Jersey on Sunday.
My reaction? I can't believe it. Never did I ever think we'd see a $50 million horse run again, but after losing the Belmont, I suppose some of this has to do with the owners IEAH Stables and the trainer Rick Dutrow feeling like they have something to prove.
For horse racing fans, it might be seen as a victory. A flashback to old days when horse greats would race long after their three-year old year.
But if I owned Big Brown, I'd be out. Why? Because no matter how much insurance I had, I just couldn't risk another loss. (Recall, after winning his first five races, he was pulled up in the Belmont and finished last.)
If Big Brown loses here, the money Three Chimneys Farm paid for his breeding rights could turn into a folly. Big Brown's owners made a smart bet by selling rights before the Belmont. What's keeping this horse from the barn -- where it should be -- could be the same hubris that led to this horse being called as sure of a thing since the Titanic.
If Big Brown went off into the sunset after the Belmont, you could call it a fluke forever. But if he doesn't win this weekend, Big Brown actually could come off worse than the many others that won two legs of the Triple Crown before him.
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