With just 13 days to go until the Belmont Stakes and a tremendous shot at the first Triple Crown in thoroughbred racing in 30 years, word has come that Kentucky Derby and Preakness champion Big Brown has suffered a slight injury that could keep him from training again until Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/sports/othersports/26racing.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
The injury, a quarter crack to his left-front hoof, is being quoted as 5/8 of an inch. While not considered serious, it certainly brings back fears considering Big Brown’s history of foot issues. Trainer Rick Dutrow noticed the injury during the colt’s workout, but insists that he hasn’t shown signs of being in pain.
Obviously this is something we’ll be keeping an eye on as Big Brown’s date with desitny approaches.
Hate to leap to conclusions, but am I the only one having frightening visions of yet another horse going down in a triple crown race?
Thankfully this seems to be a “minor” injury – at least from what they are saying on TVG right now. But yes, I think we’re all worried about that. Especially with BB’s history.
What kind of shoes do they have on him? A quarter crack is the kind of thing that good care should prevent entirely.
Not sure what kind exactly, but they were showing on TVG last night how when they put his shoes on the’ll try and make them centered more towards the rear so that they don’t end near the crack and cause more pressure on it.
Big Brown’s had some ginger feet all his life. It’s the one chink in his armor apparently. They say it shouldn’t bother him and that he’ll be fine come Belmont Day, but it makes for good drama nonetheless.
This is the most info I have seen so far on Big Brown’s shoes/feet:
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/racing-news/2008/May/13/big-brown-quarter-cracks.aspx
I think with this sort of injury, the worst that will happen is that he’ll pull up lame. The part that bothers me is that in light of all the recent discussion over horseracing safety and breeding a stronger, better horse…..they are desparate to breed this horse with recurring foot problems. Yes, he has speed, but is speed any more likely to be inherited than a hoof wall that tends to separate with hard use on dirt tracks?
That’s a great point, rifkind1969. I too have worried about that – exactly how much to we want what appears to be defective hooves pumped into the top of the breeding line? I think that’s something that needs to be talked about a bit more.
[...] heartbreaking upsets. There are some that are predicting doom for the son of Boundary – that his quarter crack, historical foot problems, or perhaps a new challenger like Casino Drive will spoil the fun and [...]