Quote:
Originally Posted by slotdirt
Big Brown seemed a virtual cinch for the Belmont in 2008, and how many showed up at Belmont Park? 98k? I know it was one of the hottest June days on record, but still, it was a much smaller crowd than the one that came to see Smarty Jones, for instance.
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Smarty had a huge Philly/Pa contigent, so I'm thinking many of them made the trek to Belmont that day. Also Smarty had that feel of being the people's horse with very likeable connections.
Big Brown seemed to be the opposite. IEAH came across as these mercenaries with their black suits and sunglasses that bought their way in. Not to mention what some people's opinions of Dutrow are. It just didn't seem like everone was on board rooting for Big Brown, like they usually do when a horse is going into the Belmont trying to capture the crown.
The Eight Belles tradgedy also seemed to take some of the starch out of the triple crown campaign that year as well.