StarTribune.com content is available via e-mail, mobile devices and as RSS feeds.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey was on the backside at Belmont in New York on Sunday morning, the day after the Kentucky Derby, and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"When I got to the barn that Sunday, everyone was talking about Big Brown winning the Triple Crown," McGaughey said. "I just thought it was funny. People ask me if I think he will win the Triple Crown, and I say no. It's just so rarely done.
"Is he a good horse? Yes. Is he a talented horse? Yes. Do I think he has a chance to win the Triple Crown? Yes, he has a chance," McGaughey said. "He's a special kind of horse, but it's only been done 10 times in 130 years. The chance of it happening, no I don't think it will happen."
That is what Big Brown is running against now -- the ageless odds of history and racing lore. A long list of great horses have fallen short of winning horse racing's most coveted prize -- the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.
No one has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 -- 30 years and countless horses ago.
Still, Big Brown has created that kind of buzz and he will take that and more to the gate Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore, when he attempts to win the second leg in the Preakness.
"I think he will win the Preakness, and if you're asking me if he's got a good chance to win the Triple Crown, absolutely," said Bennie Stutts Jr., whose Smooth Air finished second to Big Brown at Gulfstream Park in the Florida Derby and finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby.
"We could have run around the track again at the Florida Derby and no one was going to catch Big Brown," Stutts said.
Big Brown has won only four races, and after winning the Kentucky Derby by 4¾ lengths, has beaten the four fields by a combined 33¾ lengths. But he didn't just win the Derby. He became the first horse since 1929 to win from the 20th post position, and the first horse to win in his fourth start since Regret in 1915.
Trainer Eddie Plesa points out a big field has entered the Preakness, so other must feel he is beatable. "After the way he won the Derby you would expect a field of six or seven horses, and we're going to have 12 or 13," he said.
| Continue to next page |
|
See thousands of photos from other StarTribune.com readers and share your own photos and video today.
![]() Open positions!A new career awaits. Look through thousands of listings to find your new job. Start now! |
Win a season pass to Music at the Zoo!Win a season pass to Music at the Zoo! Enter by midnight on Thursday, July 10, 2008. |
Featured comment
Battler
Just remember that he is a lightly raced young horse, and I expect him to get only better. Keep this in mind if you are picking him to lose … read more in the 12 horse Preakness or in the next leg at Belmont....you cannot bet the field against him, only individual horses. I think the triple crown winning drought ends thsi year. GO BIG BROWN
Add your own comment | Close comment