Sports Betting Articles
Big Brown With a Left Foot Injury
By Audrey Nolan
The 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown has been reported to have a crack on his left front hoof. He has missed 2 days of training and will still miss some more days as the horse is being treated by the specialist Ian McKinlay for a five-eighths of an inch long quarter crack on the inside of his left heel.
His trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. is very confident that this injury will not interrupt the process of the horse to run in Belmont Stakes which will take place in less than two weeks.
"We're all concerned because there's a big race coming up," Dutrow said outside his barn. "But Ian has us pretty well relaxed. He's telling me it's nothing and he'll be fine in a few days. Ian is training the horse now until he goes back to the track," Dutrow said through a track spokesman. "He's under Ian's care."
This certainly happen in a very bad moment since the Belmont is around the corner. The good thing is the trainers still have some more days to monitor if the injury heals and if the colt is prepared to compete at Belmont on June 6th.
McKinlay has repaired injuries much more severe before big races, allowing Touch Gold to fight off a leg injury from the 1997 Preakness and go on to win the Belmont and spoil Silver Charm's Triple try in 1997. He is expecting the horse to be ready to practice again on Thursday.
McKinlay assured that it was a very minor cracked and that everything should be fine. Big Brown has been taking some walks inside the barn and right now the horse is not feeling any pain.
"The worst scenario will be for him not to make the race," Dutrow said. "The horse is in great shape. He doesn't know anything is wrong with him. When you touch it and put pressure on it, he's seems fine. But the worst possible thing that could happen is he doesn't make the race, and that will only hurt human beings. Not him. He's laying back, not worried about anything."
A quarter crack is a vertical crack in the hoof wall between the toe and heel of the hoof, usually extending into the coronary band, where the hoof meets the skin of the leg. For the most part, the injury is not considered serious and is fairly common. Healing time can range from a few days to a few months, depending on the severity of the crack.
This kind of injuries are not new for Big Brown; when he was first taken to Dutrow’s barn last year, he suffered an blister in the sole of his left front foot that sidelined him for 45 days. Same thing happened early this year, same injury in the right front foot that sidelined him for another 45 days.
Nevertheless; Big Brown is this season favorite to win the Triple Crown as he is already on track to make history at the race tracks in the United States.
About the author
Audrey Nolan is a high-ranking writer on sports for the online betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.
|
