As the racing writer for the Lexington Herald- Leader, I have won three Eclipse Awards in thoroughbred racing, three Hervey Awards in harness racing, and I have had a lifetime of working with horses, on the track and in the show ring. But most of all, I simply enjoy horses. The opportunity to write about them has been a true gift.
Alicia Wincze is a general assignment sportswriter, covering everything from the Kentucky Derby to girls' soccer. She started riding at age 8 and was a four-year member of the Pace University equestrian team.
The browning of Pimlico
Posted by Maryjean Wall on May 15, 2008
Why is Big Brown so superior to other horses? One reason is his balanced 
stride. He’s so balanced, he could be a show horse. But he’s all race horse, as everyone saw when he came from post position No. 20 to win the Kentucky Derby with no effort. His stride eats up the ground, as horsemen like to say.
After arriving at Pimlico Wednesday evening, Brown made his first venture onto the race course here Thursday morning, with exercise rider Michelle Nevin in the saddle. He handled the course as smoothly as he does everything else, whether crowds, traveling by airplane, or running a race.
The buzz today is all about the stallion deal coming down concerning Brown. Michael Iavarone, managing partner in the ownership team, said this morning the deal is 99 percent finished and Brown will stand at a Kentucky farm. That’s all we know so far.
After Brown returned from his gallop, trainer Dick Dutrow talked about a variety of subjects including the short time between the Derby and Preakness. Here’s an excerpt:
“There’s no way anyone can tell how a horse is going to run in two weeks. I mean, you don’t have time to train them, breeze them a few times. But since he’s come out of the Derby, I’m very happy with the horse. He’s just done everything you’d want a horse to do when they’re coming out of a race like that. He hasn’t missed an oat, he’s aggressive with his gallops, it’s all good. I don’t know how he’s going to run with the two weeks but I’m certainly not going to dismiss him.
“I don’t like 2 weeks. I like running them back in 3, 4, 5 days or 30-40 days. But that’s just me. It doesn’t mean that Big Brown won’t like it. He seems like he’s on his game enough, so I’m sure he’s going to show up the right way. He’s a lightly raced horse, only got 4 starts, so it’s not like he had 4-5 starts as a 2-year-old and this is his 5th or 6th start this year. He’s pretty well fresh, so this might work to his advantage. We’ll see.” (Photos by Maryjean Wall/Staff)
