Agree with all your points.  Let\'s face it -- BB failed miserably.  Why?  There\'s no reason and there\'s a hundred reasons.  This is horse racing.

KD is an easy target and Dutrow chose to fire at him, at least initially. Dutrow is many things, including a man who takes pride in his work.  When KD says \"I had no horse\" to millions of viewers, what trainer wouldn\'t take that personally in that situation.

I didn\'t have the winner, but sensing a soft pace I used him underneath. The results  weren\'t that shocking, were they?  Only 2 horses with any semblance of speed and one  of them doesn\'t run his race.  The other is more than ready to run, sets soft fractions, and speed-pops the field.  Sure, it was the Belmont and a TC was on the line, but it was just another horse race also.  What kind of odds would we have seen with BB out of the race? The lone speed play would have been a popular angle I would think.

The much more interesting discussion is what we do with BB the next time he runs, an apparent likely possibility.

The racing gods have spoken...

Damn shame.  I was looking forward to some devious race riding by Prado.  Looks like DOC will have to do it all on his own.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that no TC winner has captured the Belmont without a previous effort over the surface.  Interesting, if true, or not.

A couple of years ago Steve Crist filled a gaping void in the handicapping/horseplaying literature with \"Exotic Betting\".

It\'s a wonderful treatise on constructing exotic wagers to represent your genuine opinion of a race or races, regardless of the size of your bankroll or level of expertise.  Plenty of other interesting insights too.

I really like Denis of Cork.  Although I\'ve all but handed the Belmont to BB, I\'d love to see DOC spoil the party.  A few weeks is plenty of time to convince myself that DOC could be a lucrative play.

No need to worry about Borel, Albarado will ride DOC in the Belmont.

Even the most cynical among us have to appreciate how important and talented this horse is.  Just a little more encouragement from KD and he probably runs the fastest (raw time) Preakness ever.  It\'s obvious that Big Brown can win races at the classic  distance while staying in cruising speed.

Draw a distinction between the horse and his connections.  So what if owners and trainer do not exactly make for a \"warm and fuzzy\" story. No one will remember much about them years from now, unlike the horse.

The Belmont will be huge for our game. A nation\'s eyes (well, 2 nations inc. Japan) will be glued to the TV and this time they\'ll witness what they had hoped to witness several times in recent years. Given the probable Belmont field, it seems likely that BB may wing it 12 furlongs on the front end.  That will be a spectacle.

Questions remain...
Can DOC run down Casino Drive for second money?  His connections would be thrilled with that result.
On the heels of a TC, do they run BB in the Travers and the BC?  The easy answer is NO, but wouldn\'t that be something if they did?  We just can\'t continue to be the sport where our superstars simply go away at the peak of their ability.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/05/04/bc.rac.peta.eightbelles.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

As a newcomer to TG figs I thoroughly appreciate Chuckles contribution to the board. Who could possibly deny that he provides plenty of insightful comments.  But I think nerves are a bit on edge since many, including myself, allowed a very lucrative, logical, and hittable tri and super to slip through our fingers.  Hence the frustration.

In any case, I was most pleased to see Denis of Cork establish his position among the leaders of his division, albeit a weak edition of that division. But he\'s no Big Brown. If/when BB stumbles, Denis could be there.

As for the Big Brown-Eight Belles exacta, my 6 year old son nailed it cold and schooled his father this time. I\'m just hoping he can somehow erase the image of Eight Belles lying in a crumpled heap from his mind... it may take awhile.

Denis of Cork is my key.  Using Adriano, Anak Nakal, Colonel John, Tale of Ekati in varying degrees in the vertical exotics.

Good luck to all, even the Big Brown believers...

Not that I like his chances, but Tale of Ekati\'s early odds make no sense.  I would have thought he would drift up from Friday, if anything.  

My friend likes him for the win and thought 9-1 would be fair value while hoping for mid-teens.  He\'s gonna be happy.

DoC is in.  Have to wonder if Sanan/Pletcher ever seriously considered Behindatthebar a Derby horse, or just wanted Warren and Carroll to sweat it out and make some kind of deal.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/94063.html

At any rate, time to factor and scrutinize the pattern of a horse that is better than half of the field, at a minimum.  CJ\'s workout is all the buzz, but DoC is training superbly on the CD surface.

If you were Bill Warren, what would you have done?  I like that he stood his ground.


http://drf.com/news/article/94022.html

I really like this idea. It\'s good to see Churchill Inc. thinking outside the box and leveraging THE Derby in new ways.  The pool will not be huge, but a pretty tough wager to resist.  I\'m sure I\'ll map out a play.  What say you -- silly gimmick or innovative thinking?

I like El Sultry Sun at Calder, but the 12 hole is tough to take.

Interesting, didn\'t realize that. I think War Emblem\'s Ill Derby was the last one at Sportsman\'s though. And if the \"sharing the wealth\" trend continues, whose turn is next -- Turfway?  Adriano, anyone?

I remember thinking last year that the Blue Grass was long overdue to produce a winner in Louisville.  Street Sense came through of course.  Don\'t know if the Blue Grass has ever produced back-to-back Derby winners though -- trivia which may interest Pyro backers.