Big Brown’s Last Race: A Fight to the Finish at Monmouth 9/13/08

A DAY LIKE TODAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2008: BIG BROWN’S FINAL RACE, BEFORE ANYONE REALIZED IT Four months earlier, Big Brown appeared to be on the verge of ending racing’s 30 year Triple Crown drought. He dominated the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before his unbeaten record and Triple Crown bid ended when he was pulled up in the Belmont Stakes. Big Brown returned two months later and won the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Then came September 13. Monmouth created the inaugural $500,000 Monmouth Stakes, a 1 1/8 mile turf race for horses three years old and older. The conditions made it obvious who the attraction was. If the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner did not start, the purse would drop from $500,000 to $200,000. Big Brown showed up. For the first time in his career, he would face older horses. It was also his first race on turf since his spectacular debut at Saratoga in 2007, when he won a maiden race by 11 1/4 lengths. With Kent Desormeaux aboard, Big Brown was sent off as the 3 to 5 favorite. He went directly to the front and controlled the pace through fractions of 23.46, 46.83 and 1:11.21. But this would not be another Big Brown runaway. Proudinsky, an accomplished older horse ridden by Ramon Dominguez, came after him in the stretch. Big Brown had to fight. And he did. He refused to let Proudinsky go past, holding him off by a neck at the wire. Shakis finished third. Final time: 1:47.41. More than 17,000 fans at Monmouth Park had just watched Big Brown win again. What they did not know was that they had also watched him race for the final time. The Monmouth Stakes was intended to prepare Big Brown for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where a possible showdown with Curlin had become one of racing’s most anticipated storylines. It never happened. On October 13, while preparing for the Breeders’ Cup at Aqueduct, Big Brown injured his right front foot during a workout. His racing career was over. Big Brown retired with seven victories from eight starts. His final victory was not the dominant performance that had made him famous. Instead, in his last race, Big Brown had to dig in and fight all the way to the finish. And he won. #BigBrown #HorseRacing #MonmouthPark #ThoroughbredRacing #WinningStride