Casino Drive Scratched, Leaves Big Brown Without Competition
Just hours before the running of the Belmont Stakes, the challenger that promised to make the race interesting has withdrawn. Casino Drive, the horse that some thought could give Big Brown a run for the money, suffered a bruised hoof earlier this week, and the decision was reluctantly made this morning to scratch the feisty stallion.This leaves Big Brown as an overwhelming favorite to win and complete the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. Big Brown was already as much as a 1-3 favorite; now that Casino Drive, the second choice at 3-1, is out of the field, the Belmont may prove to be as easy a run for Big Brown as the Preakness was.
If Big Brown does finish first in the 1 1/2 mile race, the longest of the Triple Crown events, some may question whether he is truly as special as a Triple Crown championship may indicate. He has shown himself to be a dominant runner, taking down nineteen other horses in the Kentucky Derby from the outside 20th position.
However, there is the common thought among American sports enthusiasts that a true champion needs a challenger to push him to greatness. After beating an extremely weak field in the Preakness, Big Brown was to have faced that competitor in Casino Drive.
Now, even in victory questions about Big Brown's legacy may remain. Eight Belles, the filly that took second in the Derby, may have also pressed Big Brown, but she suffered irreversible injuries at Louisville that forced her tragic euthanasia.
Denis of Cork was listed third on the oddsmakers' charts, a 10-1 pick; but Denis finished a distant third at the Derby. Any victor today other than Big Brown, who may move to as much as 1-7 by race time, would be an historic upset.
A Triple Crown horse would be great publicity for the sport; it's a shame that the level of competition could not be higher.
