We've seen this before.
The Preakness has sent seven Triple Crown candidates to the Belmont Stakes since 1997, and you all know what happened to the other six. They all went the way of Smarty Jones instead of Secretariat.
They call New Orleans the "Big Easy." Maybe they ought to call Pimlico Race Course the "Big Tease."
Smarty and Funny Cide, War Emblem and Charismatic, Real Quiet and Silver Charm. They all went to New York to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. They all went home good horses instead of great history.
This year just might be different. This year, Big Brown charged out of the No. 20 slot at Churchill Downs and scared off all the competition. Only Gayego of the other 19 Derby horses made the trip to Baltimore, and, with fuel prices what they are these days, its owners probably would have been better off saving the airfare.
Big Brown duplicated his dominating Derby performance yesterday at Old Hilltop. The big bay colt took control at the clubhouse turn and cruised away from all the double-digit dreamers and the silly bettors who tried to take advantage of their inflated prices.
It was an amazing performance, considering all the extra weight Big Brown was carrying - the weight of the horse racing industry.
Could this horse be this generation's Seabiscuit, lifting up a troubled sport in its moment of need?
Maybe that's stretching a point, but the horse business has had to weather the tragic loss of two high-profile Triple Crown contenders over the past two years. It has found itself again in the crosshairs of the animal rights movement after the very visible death of Eight Belles at the Derby.
No one wanted to acknowledge the obvious, that just about everyone associated with the Triple Crown series was on edge yesterday, hoping against hope that the Preakness would go off without incident.
It did better than that, generating just enough suspense to keep the huge crowd engaged before Big Brown sent a signal to an entire nation of racing fans: The first Triple Crown in 30 years is more than a possibility. It's there for the taking.
"I know we have horse left," trainer Rick Dutrow said.
Of course, he'll need it. The Belmont is a unique test of speed and endurance. Big Brown and his handlers were in unfamiliar territory yesterday, with the colt coming back to race just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. They'll get an extra week this time, but the 1 1/2 -mile third jewel has dashed so many dreams that even the overly confident Dutrow will have his work cut out for him.
