FemmeFan Weekly

May 18, 2008

Who Takes on Big Brown?

By Devon Ellington

In addition to the sorrow on Derby day at Eight Belles’s passing, and the work that’s being done on many fronts to make horse racing safer, the excitement towards the Preakness builds.  The looming question is:  Is Big Brown the freak horse for whom we’ve waited and hoped these many years?  Does he have what it takes to be a Triple Crown winner?

I hope so.  It would be great for the sport, and great for the horse.  I repeat:  I was pleasantly shocked that he kept his head together in that crowded field, actually managed to pace himself properly (listening to his jockey), and moved when he should have to take and hold the lead.  He showed much more poise than I expected, and much more poise than he showed in his previous race.  I’d like to see him win.

That doesn’t mean he will.

Except for a single horse, the others in the field backed off from challenging him again in the Preakness.  Recapturetheglory is the only possible Derby runner in the Preakness field.  Since he came down with a fever on May 9, there’s a chance he won’t run.

Ichabod Crane, a horse I really like, is currently entered.  He’s also entered in the undercard for the day.  Wherever he runs, he’ll get money from me.  If he’s in the Preakness, I’ll bet him both across the board and in an exacta with Big Brown.  I also want to take a look at Riley Tucker, with Edgar Prado as his jockey.  Unless Hey Byrn looks and acts amazing, I’ll probably pass.  Behindatthebar, who was a bubble choice of mine in the Derby, will get another look here at the Preakness.  I’ll probably put place and show bets on him.  I like that he has both Forest Wildcat and Runaway Groom in his pedigree.  Racecar Rhapsody is worth a look – I tend to do well with horses that have AP Indy in the pedigree.  Stevil has Maria’s Mon in the pedigree (another favorite), but I’m going to wait until close to post time to make that decision.

I plan to take a look at Giant Moon, but will probably pass on Kentucky Bear, Recatpuretheglory, Tres Borachos, Yankee Bravo, and Hey Byrn.  Since the field can swell to 14, by the time we get to post, more will have joined the race, and a few may have dropped out.

I’ll handicap the entire card again on Friday, the 16^th, in a special edition of Racing Ink on Ink in My Coffee (http://devonellington.wordpress.com) and Kay, over on Seriocity (http://seriocity.blogspot.com) will have some great Preakness tips and commentary.

See you back here after the race!

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