JoeKristufek

Am I Missing Something?

As spring turns to summer, I find myself wrapped up in 16 hour work days.

Sure I find the time to catch an occasional Cubs game in the bleachers, and to shoot pool on my weekly Thursday league, but unlike most who do their best to enjoy their summers to the fullest, find myself inside, banging away at my keyboard most days and nights.

If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. Despite the frustrations of the back end of the game, I love what I do, but making a freelance "living" in racing can be taxing at times.

My good bud Marcus Hersh often scolds me for boxing myself up in Illinois racing and not enjoying the best the game has to offer nearly as often as I should.

Sorry dude, I'm busy!

It's been a while since I engaged all of you in blog. To refresh your memories, I've been a champion of Curlin, and a Big Brown detractor.

Now I hear Curlin's connections have challenged the Big Brown one to a dirt match-up in New York. Big Brown's connections have downplayed the challenge, stating the horse came out of the Haskell tired, and that a September turf race will lead into a run at the BC Classic.

Curlin won't run in the Classic.

Can someone please tell me why?

He tried the turf. Even had thoughts of conquering the world in the Arc, but he won't sink his hooves into a synthetic surface?

Is it cause his buddy Pyro ran so bad in the Blue Grass?

Big Brown will be there. There's a lot of money on the line.

There's another worthy challenge. Curlin hasn't been one to duck a challenge, so why is he avoiding this one?

Is there something I'm missing?

Careful, that wire is LIVE! 

I've been excited about our new PRO ALERT service for weeks.

Not just because we're offering something fresh and majorly worthwhile as a company -- but because I'll be receiving the e-mails myself.

Those of you who have followed the Winner's Card products since our launch a few short months ago knows how solid our guys are. Toby in Kentucky. Donald in Cali. JP and Pete rolling in the Big Apple.

I've got to pat myself on the back too. The horses to watch I've been providing on the Arlington sheets have been ridiculously live. I'll put our starting five up against any 'capping team in the country.

I'm a BIG FAN of Daily Racing Form's Formulator software. I use it to track biases, zero in on key races, and to detail trip notes. I also know how all the Illinois trainers "operate".

The PRO ALERTS can be used in so many different ways. I'm guessing you'll be able to bet these horses, totally blind, and cash in. Or, use them as a supplement to your own handicapping and perhaps find a gimmick horse you wouldn't have otherwise considered.

Not all my horses to watch wind up being "top choices" on the Winner's Card, and it's cost me on several occasions at square odds!

One aspect of the PRO ALERTS that I'm really looking forward to is when horses change venues. Many of my Arlington horses will pop up at Prairie Meadows, Canterbury, Ellis, and eventually Hawthorne and Keeneland. Toby's Churchill horses will pop up at Saratoga and Arlington. Cali and New York horses change tracks, and their form is often forgotten. In unfamiliar territory, our "watch" horses may not get the attention they deserve.

You can trust that our lists will be updated regularly, with the addition of new horses and notes to current ones, and the subtraction of those who no longer qualify as a "watch" horse, most likely because they just ran.

I hope you all enjoy the free trial. I can't help but handicap our PRO ALERT service as a walkover!

Big Brown Question Mark 

Following his Big Brown Belmont bust, none of the people connected with the horse could shed any light. Jockey Kent Desormeaux took no blame, he simply said he had no horse. The vets said Big Brown showed no sign of lameness after the race.  Trainer Dick Dutrow Jr. refused immediate comment, and later said he had no idea what went wrong.

It was a hot day, but the horse did not sweat pre-race, and he looked completely composed and happy. Following the dull run, he showed no signs of heat exhaustion. For now, it's a puzzler.

I guess the horse just didn't feel like running.

The sign of a true champion.

Lost in the "racing needs a Triple Crown winner" discussion was JP's prophetic warning to all..."Let's all hope to the heavens that it's a safe Belmont for all involved"...he continued..."I know everyone says BIG BROWN is healthy enough to run; and I know there will be a state vet give him the OK to go. But I'm also not naive enough to think that the millions at stake and historical significance aren't factors for all factions to run -- and not just the connections, of which I've been critical. And, as they say, there's "horse sound" and then there's "racing sound." We know for a fact that horses with problems run in every single race, every single day, from all types of horsemen, both respected and unrespected".

Of course the horse didn't feel like running.

He wasn't 100 percent, probably nowhere close.

The Triple Crown is magnetic. Sure the connections wanted to run and win, but the real pressure came from the mystique of history. The Derby winner HAS to run in the Preakness, and if they with that too, they HAVE to run in the Belmont.

The game NEEDS a Triple Crown winner, remember?

We all collectively sighed when Casino Drive scratched, but had Big Brown bowed out, the groan would have been deafening.

Will Big Brown ever run again?

Will the connections feel the horse deserves a shot at redemption?

They're talking about Jim Dandy, Travers and Breeders' Cup Classic.

Will we ever see the real Big Brown again?

The one who had legend written all over him?

Curlin versus Big Brown?!?!?!

Um.....

Should this horse come back and return to top form, even for just a start or two, it would be good for racing. Like Mike Tyson, casual fans will always want to see him compete, looking for him to uncork that devistating knockout blow.

Maybe he should walk the streets of Vegas and pose for photos.

If he doesn't run again, how will he be remembered?

As one of the greatest physical specimens of our time who was retired for selfish reasons, or as a steriod induced freak who failed miserably on the biggest stage of all.

Will he run again?

My guess is no. He's done. Time to make the donuts.

I hope I'm wrong. Again.

Better for the Game if Big Brown Loses?

Everyone keeps saying that racing "needs" a Triple Crown winner.

Acutally, isn't it "better" for the game if Big Brown loses a hearbreaker on Saturday?

Only 11 horses in the history of Thoroughbred racing have siezed Thoroughbred racing's holy grail.

Affirmed was the last one to do it.....30 years ago.

I was eight years old and didn't know horses even raced.

In recent years, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones all won the Derby and the Preakness but were denied their place in history in the Belmont Stakes.

With the exception of Chicago hero War Emblem and Smarty Jones, who would have won it if rival jockeys hadn't done everything in their power to get him beat, I rooted against them all.

I loved it when Victory Gallop nailed Real Quiet, and when Funny Cide (come on!) got stuck in the mud.

The lure of the Triple Crown is it's elusiveness. To drum up the buzz, all we need is for a horse to win the Derby and the Preakness. That gets everyone, soccer moms and ice cream vendors included, into the Belmont.

Charismatic's big hearted attempt, and Chris Antley's heroism. People remember that more than if the horse would have actually won.

It's the potential for history, not the history itself.

After all, it's not like people are going to be able to root for the sore footed beast much longer anyway.

Those Big Brown t-shirts will be used by husband's wives for sleepwear in a few months time.

Win or lose, would it surprise any of you if he retired after the Belmont?

You really think he wants any part of Curlin?

Perhaps, instead of a Triple Crown winner, another near miss would serve us better.

One race at a time, but.....

Big Brown's Preakness stroll was just as impressive as his Derby romp, and after being geared down by jockey Kent Desormeaux in the late stages, he should have plenty left in the tank for a run at history in three weeks.

Following his Florida Derby win, I said he needed to prove he could handle adversity, and win against higher quality competition. I'm not sure he's done that yet, he hasn't he really needed to. 

This is a very special animal. He has a high cruising speed, but is very rateable, and when asked, he simply explodes, regardless of the distance. I'm actually thinking he may relish the 12 furlongs of the Belmont.

Outside of Big Brown, this sophomore crop is collectively slow, but there is an intriguing challenger in Casino Drive awaiting in New York. A romping winner of his career debut in Japan, this half-brother to previous Belmont winners Rags to Riches and Jazil was visually impressive in his own right in taking down the Grade II Peter Pan.

If both Big Brown and Casino Drive make it to the Belmont, there will be massive international attention on the race, particularly if Japan's superstar rider Yutaka Take comes into ride. Desormeaux rode Casino Drive in the Peter Pan, but I don't think you could pry him off Big Brown with a superhuman crowbar.

Denis of Cork and Tale of Ekati, third and fourth respectively in the Kentucky Derby, are also expected to contest the Belmont. Both horses are moving forward, but neither can hold a candle to the big beast. 

Earlier in the day it was announced that Big Brown will stand at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky at the "conclusion of his 3-year-old season". In recent weeks, rumors have swirled that the Belmont would be his final race, although it's just speculation at this point. Remember, Three Chimneys also stands Smarty Jones, whose 2004 Triple Crown dreams were dashed by Birdstone in the Belmont. He never raced again.

Should Big Brown become the first horse in 30 years to capture the Triple Crown, and then be retired prematurely, the racing public would once again be left in the cold at the expense of greed.

In addition to Smarty Jones, other exceptional sophomores of recent years who were never given an opportunity to race at age four include Empire Maker, Point Given and Afleet Alex. Sure they were all good, but none of them can be categorized as "legendary".

The 2007 Horse of the Year, Curlin was really good as a 3-year-old, but he's even better this year, winning the Dubai World Cup without having to take a deep breath. As fellow PRO Toby Turrell will tell you, he came back from the desert in remarkable condition, and is on target for the Grade I $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 14.

Let's say Big Brown smokes Casino Drive, and a week later, Curlin makes short work of his Stephen Foster foes. I know this is a longshot, but perhaps a forward thinking racing executive, or a major corporation (nudge, nudge UPS), would consider offering a monstrous purse for a match race between Big Brown and Curlin.

Not since Foolish Pleasure versus the ill-fated Ruffian in 1975 have we seen a match race of consequence. In fact, in the history of our great sport, nose-to-nose duels have been few and far between. The most famous of all was Seabiscuit versus War Admiral in 1938 (70-year anniversary, another marketing tool people!). Others include Man O'War versus Sir Barton in 1920, Swaps against Nashua in 1955, and King Kong versus Godzilla in 1962 (there were two conclusions to that movie, they each got a chance to pop out of the water at the end).

Think about it.

Big Brown versus Curlin over nine furlongs of dirt.

Couldn't it potentially be one of the greatest events in sports history?

Wouldn't you want to be there?

Who would you bet on?

Sorry, just dreaming.