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Big Brown has obstacles in Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - For years, dissecting the Kentucky Derby began with nitpicking at the favorite. The idea was to toss the public's choice and any reason would suffice - the final prep race was too taxing; the final prep race was too easy. My first Derby live was '84, and that year gender bias Xed out Life's Magic. In '92, 2-year-old sensation Arazi was not properly prepared. Two years later, Holy Bull was dismissed as a sprinter. Eliminating the favorite was golden for 20 years until Fusaichi Pegasus won in 2000. Now, along comes Big Brown, and the anti is more of a personal thing. Call me naive and petty, but the ownership structure is too cold. Derby winners should be rewards for people who have been in the business forever, people like Frances Genter (Unbridled), Cal Partee (Lil E. Tee), Roy Chapman (Smarty Jones) and Paul Mellon (Sea Hero). Mellon was 85 and his trainer, MacKenzie Miller, was 71 when they won in 1993 and AP's lead writer crafted something about "Two Old Men and a Sea Hero ..." International Equine Acquisitions Holdings is the majority owner of Big Brown. IEAH is currently raising $100 million to buy, sell and breed horses, and there is talk of the company going public before the end of the year. Michael Iavarone, who told Newsday that he started out making cold calls as a broker on Wall Street, put together IEAH, which is seeking investors to put up a minimum of $1 million each to be part of the horses owned by the stable. IEAH horses have already earned more than $3 million this year. IEAH paid somewhere between $2.25 million and $3 million for 75 percent of Big Brown, and if the colt wins today, he'll be worth 10 times that much as a stallion. Kentucky horse farms are also in the business of breeding and making money, but this appears more indifferent. Those connected with Big Brown believe he is unbeatable if he breaks alertly. "I just haven't seen any other horses with my eyes that can beat him," said trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. A romping winner of the Florida Derby, Big Brown has run three times and Iavarone is well aware that no horse has won the Derby in his fourth start since 1915. Last year, Arkansas Derby winner Curlin tried to pull off that feat and finished third. Since then, Curlin has established himself as the best horse on the planet. "I believe in history, but horses don't know history," Iavarone said. "He's faster than all these other horses." More than any other race, the Kentucky Derby does not always go to the swift. Big Brown has 19 horses inside of him and he has to beat about 15 of them to the first turn or risk taking the overland route. He made the lead from the outside in the Florida Derby, but I'm not sure how many others tried to get to the front. Just inside of him today are Arkansas Derby winner Gayego, Illinois Derby winner Recapturetheglory, and BlueGrass runner-up Cowboy Cal, all of whom have demonstrated speed from the gate. In the No. 13 hole is the super-quick Bob Black Jack who lost the Santa Anita Derby in the final strides. From the far outside, Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux can look to his left and check out the competition. He says he will have much more time to make a decision than he did in Florida where the track has been reconfigured and the first turn is an almost immediate left from the gate. In addition to the traffic, Big Brown will have to deal with a raucous crowd and there is a good possibility of thunderstorms. Maybe Big Brown can be Curlin-plus, Iavarone said. Maybe, maybe not. If he is, more power to him and all the investors. If not, Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John is the logical choice. Arkansas Derby runner-up Z Fortune and backstretch buzz horse Denis of Cork might be in the trifecta. During the last trip to Oaklawn, future wagering on the Derby was available and I invested $5 in Court Vision out of respect for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Garrett Gomez. Come on No. 4. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
