News
Big Brown Means Big Business At Monmouth Park This Saturday
By John Piesen
The presence of superstar three-year-old Big Brown in the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 3 at Monmouth - combined with perfect weather and a cap giveaway - brought out a season-best crowd of 45,132 to the Oceanport racing palace.
Big Brown didn't disappoint.
After looking hopelessly beaten in mid-stretch, Big Brown turned on the jets the last 100 yards, and won going away, sparking a standing ovation.
The connections of Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, were so delighted with the reception the colt got that they are coming back for an encore.
On Saturday, Big Brown will return to Monmouth Park to run in the Monmouth Stakes.
The circumstances will be far different from the Haskell.
Unlike the Haskell, which was run on dirt, the Monmouth Stakes will be run on grass. The $500,000 purse will be half the Haskell prize, and it's unlikely the crowd will approach 40,000 this time.
But just the very fact that a Kentucky Derby winner will be competing at Monmouth Park in the middle of September is mind-boggling. Until recently, Monmouth didn't even conduct racing in September. The facility traditionally closed down on Labor Day, and the thoroughbreds moved north to The Meadowlands.
Moreover, the very fact that Big Brown, who is based at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, will be making two straight starts in New Jersey is off the charts. The folks who run New York racing pleaded with Big Brown's people to run the colt at Belmont Park this weekend, but were turned down.
So score this a major victory for Monmouth Park.
The Monmouth Stakes, to be run at nine furlongs on the grass, will not be a stroll in the park for Big Brown.
Brownie will be facing older horses for the first time, notably multiple stakes-winners Shakis and Proudinsky from the powerful New York barns of Hall of Famer Bob Frankel and Kiaran McLaughlin, respectively.
Top Jersey trainers John Forbes and Dennis Manning will take their best shots with Get Serious and Victory Alleged, Silver Tree, Kiss the Kid and Hotstufanthensome, all established grass stars, also are expected to challenge Big Brown.
That said, the eyes of the racing world will be on Big Brown - just as they were in the Haskell.
"We've said right along," says trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., "that Big Brown is a better horse on grass than on dirt, and we're confident he'll prove us right on Saturday."
On Tuesday morning, Big Brown had his final tuneup for Saturday - five furlongs in 1:03 1/5 over a slow Aqueduct grass course. His fractions were :12 2/5, :25, 40, and :52 2/5, and he galloped out six furlongs in 1:22 2/5.
"Big Brown had a fun time," exercise rider Michelle Nevin said after the work. "He felt great out there, very comfortable, very smooth."
Although his people consider Big Brown superior on grass than on dirt, the Monmouth Stakes will be only Brownie's second start on grass. In his debut, last September over the Saratoga grass course, he won by 11 lengths.
A week later, Paul Pompa Jr. of Warren, Big Brown's owner, sold 75 per cent of the colt to International Equine Acquisitions Holding (IEAH) for a reported $3 million - and the rest is history.
Overcoming some initial foot problems, Big Brown reeled off consecutive blowout victories in the Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness to take the public by storm. But the bubble burst in the Belmont Stakes when he finished dead last while bidding to become racing's ninth Triple Crown winner, and the first since Affirmed in 1978.
In the aftermatch of the Belmont, rumors circulated that Big Brown would be sent to stud, but Dutrow brought him back in the Haskell, and the colt responded with a dramatic victory.
If all goes well Saturday, Big Brown will head to California for his final start in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita - and a possible showdown with the four-year-old Curlin for Horse of the Year.
"I'm just hoping," says Dutrow, "that Big Brown runs big Saturday."
But, as far as Monmouth Park management and fans are concerned, just the fact that Big Brown will be there - up close and personal - is the story.
And a huge one.
