Big Brown

[westcoastinvader]

I guess I was wondering your thoughts on how Big Brown left his mark on the 2008 season? Was he good for horse racing?


I'd venture that with the preponderance of horses also winning the first two Triple Crown races in recent years (7 of 11 or 12?), he will not have any more of a legacy than a Smarty Jones for awhile.

I think he's especially at risk for being lost in the long term limelight because he was so lightly raced.

That said, if he shows quality as a stallion, he can greatly build his legacy in years going forward.

[westcoastinvader]

That said, if he shows quality as a stallion, he can greatly build his legacy in years going forward.



And just to expand on the stallion legacy, I'll point out again that in real time 1977, Seattle Slew was practically swept under the rug with an asterisk.

Slew was just 48 months from the shadows of Secretariat's stunning Belmont and Triple Crown win. And then to compound, Affirmed went back to back with him as a Triple Crown winner just 12 months later.

I was at Belmont the day Seattle Slew went for the Triple Crown, and I heard way more than one fan say something like, "he may have gotten here undefeated, but he's no Forego."

Real time consensus was.....and even I sort of bought into it at the time......that Seattle Slew just kind of coasted to be an Undefeated Triple Crown Winner due mostly to a weak crop of 1977 competition.

I was a more than solid racing fan based in South Florida in the years after his successful Triple Crown campaign and I can attest that Seattle Slew was in the shadows of Secretariat and the Affirmed/Alydar memories for quite a few racing seasons.

It wasn't until people began to take note at the success of his offspring that his legacy really began to build.

Point is, lots of things can affect the legacy of a horse even years after they last step competitively on a track.