Why did his trainer and jockey let Big Brown race in the Belmont when he OBVIOUSLY wasn't in racing shape?

Question

His hoof was clearly bothering him, so why let him go out there and take the risk that the hoof could be injured further(which unfortunately it probably is)????

Answer 1

money and infamy obviously.

Big Brown didn't give in to his trainer because he didn't want to permanently injure himself.  brown was the bigger man (horse; man is just an expression not to be taken literally) and showed who the real boss was.  I'm proud of him for being conscious enough to realize he was in danger

Answer 2

There was nothing worng with the horse.  The veterinarians evaluated him before and watched him during the race.  they saw no issues whatsoever.  

"'This horse was no way in any shape or form lame,' Desormeaux said. 'He was probably just tired and I thought in this horse's best interest, let's just get him back to the barn and recharge his batteries.'

After the race, Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said he was going to closely examine his horse to determine what went wrong.

'He doesn't seem to be off in any kind of way,' Dutrow said. "I don't see a problem and I'm looking for one.'"

There are many reasons for a horse to finish poorly in a race.  Just because he was supposed to win and didn't doesn't mean he was hurt.  It happens more often than you think.  The same thing happened with Smarty Jones, but no one compained of him being hurt.  the horse was just having an off day, just as human athletes can.

Answer 3

It is hard to tell for sure if a horse is absolutely ready to race or not. Trainers and jockeys try to do the best. But disappointing indeed. Heat could have been a factor and having to race back to back to back within a few weeks could have been another reason. Big Brown is a good horse. Today just wasn't his day. He'll comeback again though.

Answer 4

They want money it sad there use to be some honor in this sport in all sports now people are just plain greedy. It’s a lot to ask a 3 year old horse to run 3 races in less then 6 weeks.  KD – 2w –PS 2week- BS. I very much doubt he will come back they only plan to race him once more in the fall, even then it wasn’t for sure they may just send him to stud and not race again.

Answer 5

The Almighty Dollar.   The stud value of that animal is enormous now.  If he had won the Triple Crown it would be even more enormous.

Answer 6

The sad truth is that it wasn't because of big brown's hoof. It was because the trainers did not give him steroids, which Big Brown uses for support in big races.

Answer 7

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