As a fan of horse racing I am mostly attached to the horse. Overall, I hope every horse comes home a winner, comes home safe, and comes home in a better place to race next time. I hope to see a Triple Crown in my lifetime so that an equine superstar can elevate this sport into the American sporting conscious, even if for only 2 months. With all that said, it pains me to say I hope Big Brown loses the Preakness, and if not there I hope he loses the Belmont.
An explainer: I didn’t see Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron, I didn’t even see Willie Mays. And that definitely puts me in a perspective where all I feel for these legends is respect. Having only read about them as greats, I see them as greats. It’s faulty to believe they were these mythic titans but it shapes the context of where I put today’s players. When Barry Bonds came along I enjoyed his home run hitting abilities. When he broke the single season record, I was already spent rooting against McGuire and Sosa who broke a fabled Yankee record, so while it annoyed me, it didn’t make apoplectic. That changed when Bonds passed Ruth and Aaron for all time greatest. I guess I was ok with him hitting home runs individually because you could never tell whether it was the steroids hitting them or his keen eye and fast bat. However, over the course of his career it’s foolish not to think that the steroids helped him. Barry Bonds isn’t my home run king, he’s a cheater.
Rick Dutrow has been suspended for a multitude of drug violations. Going to the track with friends you always must be aware of horse out of the Dutrow barn as he has an uncanny ability to turn around the form of what seem past their prime horses. Horses that last ran at big odds would run as the favorite, in some instances at the same level, and win handily. There is no denying that Dutrow is a great horseman who has an ability that many do not have, and could never have. And, I think for the most part horse fans are ok with him winning a race or two, even a stakes race or two. However, the Triple Crown is within his sights. He has a horse that lay over the field prior and post Derby. He is favored to get the first Triple Crown in 30 years. But, looking back and being a fan of this sport I can’t put Dutrow in the same sentence as Fitzsimmons, Barrera, and Laurin (Triple Crown winning trainers) as I can’t put Bonds in with Mays, Ruth, and Aaron.
If Big Brown crosses the line first in the Belmont after having the Black-Eyed Susans laid over his withers I will do the only thing a ticket paying fan can do. I will boo. |
9 comments:
I think you are missing the point. It's not about the trainer, it's about the horse. Dutrow may or may not be scum, but that doesn't change the fact that the horse is phenomenally talented and has a chance to do something no horse has done in three decades. You can argue that Dutrow has performed some suspicious tricks with other horses, but we have had no reason at all to believe that his horse is winning out of anything other than profound talent. If he wins it all (and the odds against that are big despite the current hoopla), then booing him and his talent would be a big disservice to the sport. A horse doesn't choose his trainer, and it's the horse that has to win the races. Dutrow is just along for the ride. The positives of an unbeaten Triple Crown winner for the sport would far outweigh the negatives of a trainer that won't get nearly the exposure of his horse.
Trevor well explained counterpoint, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I guess I could boo at a more specific time, when Dutrow is getting interviewed as the winning trainer. But you know there will always be an asterisk after Big Brown's name if he wins the Triple Crown (for me at least)
I'm on your team; I keep repeating to myself, 'the horse didn't pick his trainer' and I sincerely hope he does well later in the year, but I'd prefer a Triple Crown next year.
Had he won the Derby in something approaching Secretariat's time and beaten a field like last year's, I might feel differently. At this point, he can't prove he's a great horse on so few starts. If he comes back as a great 4-year-old, I'll welcome him with open arms.
I have to agree with Trevor. As someone who did see Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed race, I will continue to cheer for a really (REALLY) nice horse who has a chance to win the triple crown. I don't like juicers and I hope that race day medications and steroids get banned, the sooner the better. But I won't blame a horse for his connections - Big Brown would be a star for any decent trainer - and until he tests positive fo a banned subtance, my enthusiasm for the horse remains, no asterisk required. A horse like this doesn't come along very often, and should he continue winning, he is a rare event to be celebrated.
I can't for the life of me see what booing Dutrow does for the sport. Let's change the drug regulations to what they ought to be, put some teeth into the enforcement with real penalities, and let the chips fall where they may.
If a finishing time is your basis for greatness, Superfecta, it's hard to fault Big Brown's. Since he was stalking, he needed to go only as fast as the leaders. To me his finishing kick was pretty impressive, and the fact that he had to cover all that extra ground racing wide also has to be considered. I think what he's accomplished so far has been phenomenal, and I will cheer the horse lustily if he wins the Triple Crown. I could care less about Dutrow; besides, after a few years, how many people even remember the trainers of the Triple Crown winners? It's the horse we remember.
When I worked for Syl Veich 30 years ago......right before his retirement, he told me he had to get out of the racing business. He was a great legend in his time, and a hall of fame trainer. He told me he could not compete any longer, as there were tooo many trainers medicating their horses. Multiply that by 30 years. lets not be so naive, with whats going on among many of the leading trainers in The United States today. I HOPE BIG Brown WINS it all....He is a magnificent horse who is worthy of his accomplishments
Hopefully, an asterisk will not be needed. I want the horse to lose. As a long time fan, I don't talk about the sport anymore. I tell everyone about Drugs and Thugs, and hope they root against BB.
Hasn't anyone else ever read Run Baby Run by Bill Heller? Drugs have been an outrage in the U.S. for far too long.
I am in between on this issue -- loathe or love Big Brown. He is, of course, a horse, not Dutrow, who by all accounts is an addict. Pick your poision; Dutrow has admitted drug use, and wagers heavily from all reports.
On the other side of the Belmont coin is last year's winner, Rags To Riches. Like Dutrow, Pletcher spent a considerable amount of time in trainer peniteniary for illegal med use. Rags to Riches was loved by almost every racing fan.
Now, take Rags To Riches, who has been retired, then Curlin, who is is an exceptional horse, but his trainer, too, has skeletons.
Look at the trainers caught this decade. Mott, Zito, Pletcher, Dutrow, Asmussen, Contessa, Baffert, Mullins, O'Neill, and how many others? Some of these names are in the Hall of Fame! The Hall should declare that any trainer who is found to use illegal medication is given a one strike reprieve, then it's automatic DQ from Hall consideration and a 2-year penalty from training. A third strike is banishment from the sport and subject to charges which can include felonious tampering with the outcome of a pro sport.
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