Today we have found out that Big Brown will be retired due to a foot injury. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner is heading out to stud. He goes to Robert Clay’s Three Chimneys Farm by December 31st of this year.

The ultimate match-up of B.B and Curlin will be a talked about as a memory. It will not take place on racing’s biggest stage; the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

His injury would have taken too long to heal. He tore off a chunk of the inside quarter of his right front foot. Just another footnote for history.

The characters kept the saga alive.  Dutrow and his big mouth…. IEAH Stables and the inner conflict. Blaming Kent D. for his ride in the Belmont; oh, that one may make some sense…. But the players all made the horse bigger than life. It is a shame we won’t see the big show.

Rick Dutrow for the record is great. He comes from a family of trainers, and has overcome many obstacles in life; mostly himself, in this past year. But his overall grade is excellent. Go ahead, bet against the Dutrow boys in New York or Delaware Park. When they both have an entry, over 50% of the time one of them wins.

The saddest part of the story is that we never saw the big dance. He was as tough as a nickle steak, and had the heart of a champion. His tools were called into question, but no one could ever squabble that Big Brown delivered.