The Atlanta Braves lost to the Phillies today – 6 to 3… I know because I was there.  I braved the 100 degree heat for a 1:30 pm game.  It was a good game, lots of action in the first few innings than stayed tied up at 3 runs for most of the rest of the game.  Until the last inning when the Braves relief pitcher pretty much gave it away.  I tell you, if the Braves want to be competitive again, they are going to have to focus on getting some pitchers that are worth something.  Anyway, while it was scorching outside and not necessarily the greatest game, it was a good time - even if the Braves did lose.  Now I get to drive to Jacksonville, FL tomorrow for a work conference.  Hope its cooler there, but I don’t much think so.

So Big Brown did not bring his A game to the Belmont.  He looked restless and confused out on the track today.  Not the same Big Brown I had watched in previous races.  I’m not sure if it was the record setting heat, or the jockey pulling back a little at the start after a slight stumble, or the simple fact that he had a some dirt in his face going around the first turn.  But whatever the case, today was not meant for the history books.

In my previous post I mentioned my mixed feelings and discussed some of the sordid past of the trainer.  On the one hand I am tremendously disappointed that yet again we come up short of a Triple Crown victory.  But on the other, I feel like maybe it just wasn’t right.  Maybe the cocky trainer, the greedy owners, and the jockey that seems just a bit too cool for his britches just wasn’t the story of champions.  It wasn’t the time for a winner. 

Maybe when the day comes and we do have a winner, it will be a team that fully deserves it and is humbled and honored by it.  A group that appreciates the heart and soul of a truly great sport.  And realizes that it all centers around a horse, a most magnificent creature. 

As for Big Brown – the horse is indeed a champion and should be respected for the record he’s maintained.  But as for the Triple Crown, all I can say is there’s always next year.