Big Brown Scareoff
 

Or so says the article on bloodhorse. Let me get this right....none of the 18 other Derby starters are going to Baltimore?!?!? huh? Now I realize he looks like a monster, but that is total BS....take the unfortunate incident with Eight Belles and combine that with Big Brown being the only Derby starter to run in the Preakness and what do you get? Zero interest in the Preakness......Then a handfull of well rested Derby starters will have a go in 5 weeks at the Belmont when Big Brown goes for the triple crown....I realize that there will always be some defections but no one running against him....ridiculous....

It's early, I wouldn't be suprised if some reconsider as we get closer to the race.

i think it's just the morning after blues...some of the horses who might not go will come out of the derby fine, and plans will change.
or maybe they won't. but the preakness will not just get handed to big brown, nor will the belmont or triple crown.
remember the gang tackle of smarty a few years ago in elmont? if big brown wins it, he'll earn every bit of it.
but he has to win it...i've seen writers already giving him the preakness. but we've been there before, more than once. there's a long list of horses, some more seasoned and some who turned out to be truly great, who came up short.
good, lucky, healthy...he needs all that and more.

Why should any of those horses run in the preakness, I am sure most of them came to the conclusion after watching their horses walk home that the pundits were right, we are not very fast. Even the Belmont seems like a real stretch for most of these, I guess Dennis of Cork. Its going to take a new shooter to beat these, and I have seen a couple but I dont think they will be ready by the Belmont.

Mark my words.... 6 or 7 horse field in the Preakness.... 4 horse field in the Belmont....and ultimately a Triple Crown winner.... yippee

I would say the chances of beating him in the Preakness are poor.Yes,I think there is a 3 year old that could beat him,but he would be only with two and a half weeks rest.I don't think he will try it.I think he will wait until the Belmont to try him.Either of those 2 horses who came top 2 at Hollywood on Wednesday would have huge chances in the Belmont.

that's what was said when smarty was running. didn't pan out that way. and i doubt it does here.

If he wins that Preakness,they will show up to face him in that Belmont.Trainers know they have a big advantage if they bring a fresh horse against him going 12f.They won't be afraid of him.Why should they try to beat him in the Preakness? The Belmont they get an edge against him.The Preakness isn't a tiring track.Why would you show up to face him there? The only horses who should show up there are horses with distance issues.

Exactly, why would you run your horse in the Preakness with little chance to beat him. The horses bred to get the 1 1/2 should rest and take their shot in the Belmont.

Day after is all knee-jerk reactions, banter, etc. Trainers will think it through and make their decisions. The bad decisions come from those who said "no" planned on not going, went home, etc. Then, they changed their minds when they saw who was going, wasn't going, etc.

Eric

If you run up the track in the Derby, and you have good breeding, it makes little sense to wheel back when you can be fresh in five weeks for the 12 furlong Belmont.

This is ridiculous. If you owned the horse you would just run him in the Preakness? In this day and age where horses don't run very often, it is important to give them there best chance to win. Running against a healthy Big Brown in the Preakness is not their best chance.

Why is it when I watch the Australian races, horses run 1 1/4 miles on Sunday, then a few days later, 4 or 5 of those same horses are running in a 1 1/2 mile race on Friday?

There may be a somewhat short field in the Preakness (I still say 7-8 horses show up), but there's no way in hell there will be four horses in the Belmont. Too many things can happen at 12 furlongs, and trainers from the Derby will have well-rested horses. I don't think there'll be less than 10 horses in the Belmont, no matter what happens in the Preakness.

I believe Harlem Rocker will be running in the Preakness. I'm not saying he'll beat Big Brown or even be near him but there's a few similarities between Big Brown/Harlem Rocker from this year and Barbaro/Bernardini two years ago. Harlem Rocker's pps look eerily similar to Bernardini's, and Big Brown was every bit as impressive a Derby winner as Barbaro was.

There's gonna be strong pressure on Stronach to run him in the Preakness, but they sounded pretty ardent about going to beat up on some hosers.

Why can't they do both?? Queen's Plate is 5 weeks after the Preakness.

Good point.

I was speaking on it from the perspective of tradition and what the triple crown series is supposed to be about in my opinion. It's just my opinion that the entry should be into the series and not just the Derby. It's all about greed...

No, it's all about the horse. There's no reason to enter a horse that just went through the most rigorous race of his life two weeks later if he doesn't have a legitimate shot. Of course it's kinda lame that not one in 18 is willing to wheel back, but saying that it's about greed is incorrect.