Blog and Pony Show: Ready for the "Big Brown Race"? (Belmont Stakes)

Friday, June 6, 2008

Ready for the "Big Brown Race"? (Belmont Stakes)

I haven't been following the sports news on the race tomorrow, but heard from my son 2 nights ago that there's another strong contender for the Belmont Stakes besides "Big Brown". He's a Japanese-owned horse called "Casino Drive". We could see another upset this year for the Triple Crown, but I still think Big Brown has the better record, experience, and late speed to win it all (his overdrive gear!). If he does win the Belmont tomorrow, he'll be the first horse to win the Triple Crown (the 3 races including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) since 1978! "Smarty Jones" almost won the crown in 2004, but took 2nd in the Belmont. Only 11 horses since 1919 have won the Triple Crown, many more have failed in the final race at Belmont.

My son was born in 1979, so he has never seen a Triple Crown winner. He's a people sports fan, not horse racing, but he knows the rarity of a winner. We're having him over tomorrow to watch the race on our high definition big screen. Should be a very interesting race and commentaries, especially with "Big Brown's" steroid controversy.

UPDATE: I just read at http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0645596020080606 that Casino Drive has a bruise and might end up being scratched from the Belmont tomorrow.

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QUOTES

"A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse." ~ Will James
"A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks, but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan." ~ Pam Brown
"A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character." ~ Frederico Tesio
"A horse is the projection of people's dreams about themselves; strong, powerful, beautiful and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence." ~ Pam Brown
"A horse is worth more than riches." ~ Spanish Proverb
"A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot." ~ John Steinbeck
"A pony is a childhood dream. A horse is an adult treasure." ~ Rebecca Carroll
"Above all, a horse should never be chastised out of foul mood or anger; but always with complete dispassion." ~ Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere
"And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew his breath over it and created the horse." ~ Bedouin Legend
"Competitive riding should be classical riding at its best." ~ Charles de Kunffy
"Far back, far back in our dark soul the horse prances...The horse, the horse! The symbol of surging potency and power of movement, of action in man!" ~ Apocalypse
"Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter. It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark." ~ Gypsy Saying
"He has galloped through yound girls' dreams, added richness to grown women's lives, and served men in war and strife." ~ Toni Robinson
"Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world." ~ Josephine Demott Robinson
"Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls, they give us hope!" ~ Toni Robinson
"Never thank yourself; always thank the horses for the happiness and joy we experience through them." ~ Hans H.E. Isenbart
"The educated horse is a thinking horse, and it seems that he understands that every now and then something happens that he must chalk up as a mistake and be done with it." ~ Dennis Murphy
"The sight of that pony did something to me I've never quite been able to explain. He was more than tremendous strength and speed and beauty of motion. He set me dreaming." ~ Walt Morey
"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." ~ Arabian Proverb
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." ~ Sir Winston Churchill
"Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them printing their proud hooves in the receiving earth; for 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings." ~ William Shakespeare
"Tjhere are times when you can trust a horse, times when you can't, and times when you have to." ~ Anonymous
"Whenever you observe a horse closely, you feel as if a human being sitting inside were making fun of you." ~ Elias Canetti
"You can tell a gelding, ask a mare, but you must discuss it with a stallion." ~ Author Unknown