It’s not every day that a horse like Big Brown appears to get media attention; It’s been about 30 years, in fact. So why are horse racing fans clamoring to bet on him to win the 2008 Belmont Stakes? It’s actually simple: Big Brown has won the first two jewels, he’s fast, he’s strong, he has excellent stamina and divine determination. But most of all, he has the heart of a champion: a Triple Crown champion.

When Big Brown shot out the gates in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and blew up the field at Churchill Downs to win by 4 3/4 lengths over runner-up Eight Belles, we all stared at him in awe. When he did a repeat performance at the 2008 Preakness Stakes, this time finishing 5ΒΌ lengths before the Macho Again long throw – we all stood up and we all clapped because we all knew this was a special moment.

Big Brown is a big deal, he’s the real deal.

So what if you have a cracked hoof? (It has been repaired and, according to trainer Rick Dutrow, is as good as new.) What will we do if Big Brown wins the 2008 Belmont Stakes? What will we do if it doesn’t?

Big Brown, the favorite to win the Belmont Stakes, must instinctively know that this next race will be the most important.

The favorites likely to win the Belmont Stakes have gone 12 of 30 and the last five horses were beaten. The last favorite likely to win the Belmont Stakes was the last horse to win the Triple Crown – Affirmed in 1978. If Big Brown can win this one, he will become the twelfth winner of the Triple Crown in the history of thoroughbred racing. Americans.

Here is the list of Triple Crown hopefuls who won the first two jewels, but then lost the final jewel: Belmont Stakes:

  • Smarty Jones finished second in the 2004 Belmont Stakes.

  • Funny Cide finished third at the 2003 Belmont Stakes.

  • War Emblem finished eighth at the 2002 Belmont Stakes.

  • Charismatic finished third in the 1999 Belmont Stakes.

  • Real Quiet finished second at the 1998 Belmont Stakes.

  • Silver Charm finished second at the 1997 Belmont Stakes.

  • Sunday Silence finished second in the 1989 Belmont Stakes.

  • Alysheba finished fourth in the 1987 Belmont Stakes.

  • Pleasant Colony finished third in the 1981 Belmont Stakes.

  • Spectacular Bid finished third in the 1979 Belmont Stakes.

    • Minor helmet injuries aside, Big Brown’s big day should still be a challenge

    Critics and punters say that the field of horses competing in the Belmont Stakes is not as challenging as it has been in the past; that due to its size and strength, a winning bet on Big Brown seems easy enough even for the novice horse handicapper.

    But don’t be too quick to write off one of Big Brown’s main competitors: Casino Drive.

    Casino Drive comes from the same mare (Better Than Honor) as the last two Belmont Stakes winners, Jazil and Rags to Riches, and won the $ 200,000 Peter Pan Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths, covering the 1 1 / 8 miles. at Belmont Park in 1: 47.87 and gaining a Beyer speed figure of 101. With that kind of history, you’d think Casino Drive could do short work on the 1 1/2 mile oval dirt track across from he. in the next Belmont Stakes.

    Even with Big Brown kicking dirt in his face?

    Jockey Kent Desmoreaux, the American Thoroughbred Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the American record for most races won in a single year, will ride at Big Brown again on race day, September 7. June. Having won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes over Big Brown, Desmoreaux knows what this special horse is capable of. Ironically, Desmoreaux was also the winning jockey who drove Casino Drive to victory in the Peter Pan Stakes. Nonetheless, Desmoreaux stands firm in his decision when asked which is the better horse: Casino Drive or Big Brown.

    “This is the best horse I’ve ever ridden,” Desmoreaux told reporters at a press conference after the 2008 Preakness Stakes. “I said so.”

    Watch and bet on Big Brown going the distance to win the 2008 Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown on Saturday, June 7. Post time is 6:30 pm EST on ABC.