P-Dub,

You have license to talk some smack about your boy M. Smith.

Michael D.- nice call; thank you for helping me keep positive about this horse

Agree 100%...completely superior in all the ways that matter

For what it\'s worth, some comments attributed to McKinlay last year regarding Big Brown\'s quarter crack issues...

Said McKinlay: \"Unless I make some boneheaded move this will be a walk in the park.\"– Dave Grenig DRF article on 5/25/08

"It's picture perfect," said McKinlay. "This was a minor, minor injury — on the scale of 1 to 10, this was maybe a 3. He was healed two days ago. Things couldn't be better. It's time for history." – Joe Drape article in the NY Times on 6/7/08

\"I\'ve been reading where people are saying they think this jeopardizes him, but that is absolute nonsense,\" said McKinlay. \"Big Brown has had just a slight, slight crack. Now he is perfect. The foot is cool. We have him exactly where we want him.\" – Ray Kerrison article in the NY Post 6/3/08

McKinlay said Quality Road's quarter crack was far less severe than the ones which affected Big Brown and Touch Gold.

"Compared to Big Brown, this is a nice picnic in Central Park," said McKinlay.– Paul Moran's blog 4/25/09