What do you think....will Big Brown and Curlin race each other some time this year?

Question

What do you think....will Big Brown and Curlin race each other some time this year?

Answer 1

It's possible, though not likely. BB is going to be retired at the end of the year ( assuming he survives his next races and doesn't break down in them, that is) and Curlin is destined for Europe and the Arc at Longchamps outside of Paris. Since the Arc is held on Day 2 of the BC weekend, I don't see how it's going to be physically possible for Curlin to meet BB in the Classic.

As for the possibility of a Match race, you need to hold your horses a minute ( no pun intended) and remember what happened during the last major Match race, which was 33 years ago this month. THAT race resulted in one of the worst tragedies in racing history when Ruffian broke down. There is NOTHING to prevent history from repeating itself- and the likelyhood that it will is rather high, because BB is a horse who comes from the same atrocious genetic stock which produced the filly Eight Belles. If Dutrow has even an ounce of sense in his head, he will do the right thing and VETO such an idea, once and for all. Whiteley, Ruffian's trainer, couldn't bring himself to do this back in 1975- and it turned out to be the BIGGEST MISTAKE OF HIS LIFE, because it cost the filly HER LIFE. People BLAMED him for her death for YEARS afterwards, and every single one of the filly's connections suffered grieviously, both when she broke down, and for years after her death. Her groom, Dan Williams, DIED a couple of years after she did- of acute alcoholic poisoning !! It was said that he drank himself to death over the filly- he had loved her like she was his own child, and never got over the loss.

One of the side effects of that tragedy, in fact, has been that there has never been another match race held since then, unless it was an impromptu match which happened naturally during a major race, such as the battle between Sunday Silence and Easy Goer a few years back. Something like that is part of what racing is supposed to be all about- but a planned Match race is a whole other story. BB already has had serious hoof and leg problems this spring and summer- and the extra effort required to try to beat an established older horse like Curlin is going to do him no good at all. Besides, where would they run such a race? Hopefully, not at Belmont, so as not to jinx it. How would the race be set up so as to give both horses an equal chance of winning- and who'd be the sponsor and provide the purse monies for it?

CBS television was the sponsor of Ruffian's ill-fated race- that was part of the problem, in fact. That match was billed as a "boy versus girl" event, at a time when America was a place where the concept of equality for women was only just begining to take hold in a major way. That year was also the year when Billy Jean King had beaten Bobby Riggs in a tennis match- and Riggs was a confirmed male chauvanist at that time. Playing on this idea, CBS decided to sponsor the Match race as a way of boosting their ratings during the slow summer rerun season. They might have gotten some really good ratings and favorable reviews too, had the filly won the race. But the executives who ran the network never imagined what would follow- or how high the price would be for everyone involved. What happened to Ruffian in that race makes what happened to Eight Belles this spring look like child's play. PETA and groups like it didn't exist at the time of the match, but if they had, you can bet their reaction to Ruffian's death would have been every bit as bad as it has been to the tragedy involving Eight Belles, if not worse. This group is still trying to make public scapegoats out of that filly's trainer and jockey, and I have NO DESIRE WHATEVER to see the same thing happen to Dutrow or Asmussen, or to the jockeys of either BB or Curlin, if anything should happen to either of those colts. I may not like Dutrow, but I would never wish such a fate on him, or on anyone else in the racing world. What happened to Ruffian's connections was bad enough- we really don't need a repeat of that, especially not now. Nor do we need any more stunts or events that are going to arouse the ire of groups like PETA, who are already causing enough trouble for racing and other horse sports as it is right now- there are going to be PETA protests at this summer's Olympics, at the equestrian venues in Hong Kong. That's sad, and sickening in a lot of ways, but it's true.

If Curlin and BB meet, it will be in a natural, unplanned, impromptu match, not a public spectacle- at least, that's what I would hope for. I don't want to watch one of these colts break down and die- going through that experience once was more than enough for me.

Answer 2

Kmmm, who really cares what Dutrow wants?

I doubt we will see a race with BB and Curlin in it.

It is up in the air if Assmussen will keep Curlin on the grass.

Geez, that was his first try on grass and he did not do bad. I think with more training and another smaller race, he can adapt and still race in the Arc'.

If they switch him back to dirt then we might luckily see both Big Brown and Curlin in the Breeder's Classic.  

I doubt that both sides would consider a Match Race. . .

Answer 3

Given Curlin's second place finish in the Man O War, a Big Brown v Curlin matchup in the Breeders Cup Classic looks increasingly more likely.  If Curlin sticks with the turf and goes to France, I think we still may see the two horses race each other... Dutrow had wanted a match race in maybe December or something like that... of course what Dutrow wants will likely be affected by how well Big Brown comes back... after his Belmont debacle and his snail workouts, Dutrow may not want to put Big Brown in a position to get a big loss.  I do believe we will see the matchup at some point... although, personally I'd rather see Zenyatta beat them both.

Rhonda, I don't care what Dutrow wants... however, the question was 'will the two horses race each other.'  The fact that one of the trainers wants his horse to face the other one is very relevant.  After all, if Dutrow didn't want Big Brown racing Curlin, then it would be less likely that the horses would race.  Since Dutrow wants it to happen, it's more likely that it will happen.

Answer 4

Since BB is going to be sent off to the breeding shed after this season, I think that his owners will almost have to match Big Brown with Curlin-the racing world wants to see it, and they've only got one chance to get this race done.

It will all depend upon how well BB rebounds from his loss in the Belmont (and, of course, if Curlin is healthy). If BB wins at least his next two races convincingly, then they will probably meet in the BCC.