So now we have Rick Dutrow once again saying how Big Brown is the better horse than reining king Curlin. What a surprise and how uncharacteristic of him! That is what we have come to expect from this trainer, and in a way it is good for the sport. It gives the media something to talk about, and like him or hate him, Dutrow doesn’t really care.

He boasts that Curlin did not win the Kentucky Derby, Big Brown did. Curlin lost to a girl, Big Brown didn’t. Curlin lost the Haskell, Big Brown didn’t. If Big Brown is so fabulous, let’s see it. We surely did not see it in the Haskell.

Excuses can certainly be made for Big Brown in the Haskell, and he did still win. He just wasn’t dazzling, and that could prove to be that he needed a race, and was off a long layoff. It could also mean that Big Brown off Winstrol, is not the same animal he was on Winstrol. Or, maybe Coal Play is getting good. Certainly other late blooming three year olds came around in the past at this time of the year; horses that were not even mentioned during the Triple Crown races. Java Gold, Tiznow and Wajima come to mind.

Unfortunately, we will never know how great Big Brown is unless he faces Curlin. He, unlike Curlin is the one with something still to prove. Curlin faced a consistent, brilliant, sound crop of three year olds. Certainly last year’s group would have given a world of trouble to the likes of Pyro, Denis of Cork, Cool Coal Man and Recapturetheglory. And dare I say, Rags to Riches would have humbled the tragic Eight Belles. Curlin did not lose to just any girl, he lost to one of the best fillies of this decade, maybe even the past 25 years. Big Brown thus far has beat up on other three year olds, and weak ones at best.

Curlin has never been worse than third, proved the best of the three year old boys last year, defeated older horses and took a trip around the world, where he proved a world beater.

His connections have stated the Woodward is his next stop. It would be an ideal race for Big Brown. It is thirty days after the Haskell and he could still run one more time and set himself up for the Classic. Of course, if Curlin trounces Big Brown in the Woodward, and skips the Classic, it doesn’t really matter who wins the Classic. The Woodward will decide year end honors. If one were really confident in their horse, the Woodward would be the way to go. Is there a point to Big Brown beating up some glorified claimers at Philadelphia Park? Or running against another weak field at some specially made for him turf race? If he wins one of those races and the Breeders Cup Classic, he still may not win Horse of the Year, and rightfully so.

The Breeders Cup Classic will be run on an untested surface, and no championship honors should be decided there. The big boys may decide to stay East, and really it should be their entire body of races, not just what happens Breeders Cup day. Maybe that will be the good to come out of suffering two Breeders Cups at Santa Anita. Maybe voting will get back to the good old days when the other 364 days of the year counted come voting day.

Either way, Big Brown has more to lose by not meeting Curlin right now. If he beats up on some allowance horses, and then wins the Classic, great. But if Curlin wins the Woodward, and maybe even the Breeders Cup Turf (a good spot for him, and a feat not yet accomplished) or another race overseas, the three year old is going to have a tough time unseating him. It does bring back memories of War Admiral and Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit had to face War Admiral in order to win the respect of the voters, because all Seabiscuit had beaten were ‘lowly horses from the West.’ Same thing with Big Brown. All he has beaten, again, is a weak crop of three year olds.

Speaking of the Breeders Cup, how about Zenyatta making a go of the Classic? She certainly deserves mention with the likes of Big Brown and Curlin, and could be a real threat to spoil Big Brown’s Breeders Cup party. It would be, perhaps the best poetic justice to have him lose to the super filly. Jess Jackson would have to laugh at that one, as would thousands of horse racing fans.