Big Brown
Wadya know....Big Brown pulled up dead last in the Belmont Stakes. I had predicted this from the beginning of hoof crack. For Big Brown I am sorry. I hope he enjoys his short life as a breeding stallion here and then off to Japan for some studly life and then a nice retirement to the slaughter house. I hate to say I knew it I just knew it. I told several people this horse would break down.. I hate it.. don't get me wrong. But, stone bruised horse was pulled...yet give it to the trainer who didn't care about a hoof crack. Big Brown...The world loved you for a short time...unfortunately....there are some poor people who lost money on you, who didn't have money to spend. God will forgive you big guy...but for your trainers...its looking iffy! Carla *Ban HORSE RACING UNTIL & YEARS* Lawson :D

That sucks about Big Brown, but as a whole, the death of a racing career and of the horse itself is an inevitable part of the whole dispicable genre. The "poor people who didn't have money to spend" should have never spent it betting anyway. A fool and his money are soon parted, and for good reason.

I am sorry but nothing is wrong with Big Brown, every horse can have a bad day even if it is not a race horse, just because he is a race horse does not mean that he will end up in a slaughter house. some may but not all of them do, and some owners do care about there horses, i am going to school to work with race horses. :roll:

Actually, I have to agree with zippersmom. BB was pulled up when the jock realised he didnt have it in him so why whip the horse home? His feet are fine..(Quarter cracks are on so many horses in this world that compete DAILY, I dont know why they chose to put all this focus on that unless it was over the lengths they went to fix the crack....I guess for hype?) Whats the problem? Im sad he didnt go on to racing history but even so, he is a gallant horse. Not everyone is going to agree on how to take care of horses. There are always the good guys and the bad guys....Not every person in racing is evil and not every racehorse goes to slaughter...I hate that little label that is popular right now. There are good people who do care about their horses...I hate the sensationalization of it all just because it was in the spotlight and it makes a story...bleh...Accidents happen and horses die in every disipline in the world. Racing simply sees more horses than the rest and the horses it sees are too young and fragile. The only thing I personally wish would change is racing ages...Move every major race back a year and get the long distance races popular again so people will breed the soundness and endurance back into the TB. Maybe another infusion of arab blood.... What racing is today is not what it was meant to be. That fault lies in the racing associations and tracks that make the races...Not with the trainers or owners for the most part IMO....The trainers and owners will follow the money. Its a business for lots of them. The money needs to move to races that make more sense for the horses wellbeing and have age restrictions that allow the horse time to mature.

i was out and about but recorded the race. i skipped through it and one point caught my attention. this is what was being said... ... they feel that big brown is such a SUPERHORSE that they did not give him his steroid shots in may. they don't feel he needs that edge competing in this or any race... then i skipped on through... and it's got me wondering... apparantly the steroids are given monthly, since another report said he hadn't had one since april. does anyone know what some of the side effects of steroid use and then suddenly taking it away? poor guy, i could almost hear him on the backstretch screaming "give me my fiiiix..." i'm positive he was having a bad day without the drug he had probably had his entire life giving him a crutch! what a mess, sooo many horses in the rehab clinics in the upcoming year since 'roids will be banned. i give the racing folks credit for finally banning such a harmful drug. same with soring practices, it's about doggone time!

I don't know about withdrawal symptoms, but steroids make the immune system more vulnerable...which would be why his trainer said he was a "slow healer." And yeah, horses do compete with quarter cracks all the time, but Big Brown had an abscess that had to be drained just a couple weeks ago. We all know those take time to heal...but with his suppressed immune system and slow healing time, I would bet his foot was still sore. He was on the steroid shots for a long time...I seriously doubt being just a few weeks late on his "routine dosage" had much of an effect on his "ability." The effects steroids have on muscle and strength wouldn't have worn off that quickly, so I doubt that we have seen what the "real" Big Brown can or can't do. He lost that race because of a combination of bad feet and plain ol' having a bad day -- the later of which happens to every horse eventually.

If you saw the pictures of BB's feet, he had a lot more going on than the quarter crack. He had way more bondo than hoof. That may be common, but hat doesn't make it right.

I agree with Trinity that racing as a whole needs to delay the training and racing until the horse is older. However, I also agree with Katy. The pics of BB hoofs were alarming at best. I had no idea you could mold and create a hoof like that, it had to affect his feet. But I truly believe the bigger picture and the reason he flailed was coming off steroids. I know horses are different than people, but I have been on steroids before. It took a while to "come down" and it definitely affected my behavior and energy. If giving steroids is routine (and it sounds as if it is from interviews by the trainer etc) then why skip his monthly dose? If BB was used to being on steroids, why would you take a chance and change his routine before such a big race?

From what I heard the trainer say, he wanted to prove that BB wasn't winning because of the steroids. That plan didn't exactly work out...

I agree that racing is not in and of itself cruel but the ages are DEFINITELY an issue. Pushing babies to perform in ways that their bodies aren't ready for is cruel. This article is so far off base from reality, just thought I would share with you guys. http://loudon.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=149776 stephanie

i agree the jockey pulled him up ... how many millions was that breeding contract signed after the belmont stakes? can't breed a dead horse. i often wonder how many straws wee pulled from barbaro in that year... imo horse racing used to be a noble sport. but greed has outweighed the horse's well being. outlawing steroid use is a step in the right direction, even though i'm sure something else will replace it. the age of the horse is what bothers me most. i sure wouldn't want a ten year old boy playing in the super bowl. just because he knows how to play football, is good at it, and wants to do it a responsible parent sure wouldn't let him.