Big Brown wins the 2008 Haskell Invitational

[Webuiltthepyramids]

If only he hadn't thrown that shoe in the Belmont. One of the greatest of the decade in my opinion.

[ridings82]

won this one on pure class alone... wish he had made it to the BCC

[Tangospell1]

Thanks for the great video - I too feel BB doesn't deserve the negativity. Very typical, we like to raise our heroes up then enjoy tearing them down (human or animal). I am not up to date on what is happening - did they retire Big Brown due to injuries? He is OK I hope!

[cf1970]

You're very welcome. Big Brown is now enjoying his life as a stallion at Three Chimneys Farm. He was retired from racing after injuring his hoof in a workout last October.

Take care.

[lildaveyy]

that stride he had isent seen very often

[BE109]

Big Brown's last 2 starts illustrated he had the deep desire to win that all top runners MUST have. He is most deserving as 2008 3 yr old champion colt!!!

[nameofthepen]

Oh, man...

He MADE it happen. It just didn't look like it was possible, and he MADE it happen anyway! Awesome. I'm just grinning like an idiot.

Lovely race. Thanks so much for posting, CF. :)

[leafeonon]

i love big brown when hes in the gate hes calm hope his hoove gets better

[all66books]

Another great call by Larry Collmus. He seems to get better each year. I remember Bob Weems from the 'days of yore' at Monmouth, and Collmus has certainly proven to be a worthy successor.

[sillchill]

Wow what a stretch call by Collmus. I usually don't notice calls but I made a video of this race and his call fit perfectly to the music. I feel all race announcers are excellent but this call is outstanding.

[jockeyjn]

Yay Big Brown! I was so disappointed that he didn't win the Belmont, and although I don't personally like his human connections, its all about the horse anyway, so good for him. I think he will continue to improve back to his amazing way of winning as in the K Derby if they just give him time. I really hope to see him race again. And yea, it did seem he went a little wide in the far turn.

[BrianShaw23]

coal play with this performance could've beaten any great race horse today. coal play ran a world class race.

[jameycruz]

I didn't think the race was that bad.Zenyatta at 1-5 barely won her race before last and she romped in the next one.Good Luck,Big Brown.Win!

[ChrisLikesSooners22]

Personally, I don't like Big Brown,, but he's really good, so oh well!

[krisstruss]

Also can i add? looking at the replay,i thought he was a shade "comfy" in the end,he just needed time in the straight to get into his stride.

[krisstruss]

He has shown he can knuckle down and fight,i was impressed,plus i still think he will beat Curlin if they can keep him sound.

[StarPir1315]

Big Brown is a great horse. Too many downed him on a very hot humid last race. Good for you Brownie, you showed them.

[StarPir1315]

Hooray for Big Brown. I think you are still great!

[Wings71ny]

it sure looks like his feet are still an issue, otherwise they would have never worked him on turf with no shoes.... he's a danger if he takes to the poly...

[BrianShaw23]

both BB and coal play were impressive. i dont think anyone expect coal play to turn in a performance like that. coal play ran the race of his life. BB looked good, i thought he went too wide on the turn for home and he finished the race around the middle of the track. pretty impressive performance from BB.

[TrevorM03]

A great champion!

An incredible channel you have here cf1970.

Thank you for posting this footage!

[ercmangenius]

bb gutted it out. i was there...was an awesome race. check my profile i taped it lived, but yeah was an awesome race. glad he won.

[OHRaceFan]

Good to see him rebound. I think that his Haskell performance was better than the TV

commentators gave hime credit for. A decent time with a decent final 1/8. He's cetainly the best 3 year old in the land. It's been a crazy year with War Pass then Pyro then Big Brown then the Belmont. I think that he'll be even sharper in his next appearance, where ever that might be. Still a long time until the Classic. Thanks for another quality post. Five stars!

[ruffian72]

I was disappointed when he lost the Belmont,but he sure showed everyone he had heart and spirit in this race. He dug in and won! Wow! Thanks cf70!

[porkrollboy]

i was there. Monmouth is my home track. This race made my voice die. I had 20$ to win on coal play thinking he could steal it and go wire to wire. I also had a 5$ exacta box 6-4, big brown coal play. If he held on for another 100 yards or so i wouldve been set. Great race. Could not ahve asked for better

[DoWnToWn4mW]

yea man are you kiding? if anyone came on here with rude comments then they have no idea what they are talking about. Big Brown is a great and a living legend. Every single race he has physically competed to finish he has won. AND if people do not recognize this Haskell win as impressive... it was by far his most exciting race he has run and it was the fastest he had ever ran a 1 and 1/8 mile race. that is a little piece of trivia right there as he smashed his old record of 1:50 with a 1:48

[tennisnut86]

I love Big Brown !Thank you cf1970!

[BE109]

CONT:I really liked what I saw from BB,whether he can beat Curlin or not he showed me he is worthy of the rep he had before the Belmont. He showed me in this race that he has the desire to fight for a win. That is WAY MORE important than a horse who only wins when he has everything his own way. Before this he never had a fight like this on his hands,when Coal Play kept on going,BB rose to the moment and at the end he was moving on out. He proved he was what everyone hoped he was before the Bel.

[FireGirlG]

I'm so proud of Big Brown. I've wanted him to win like this, gutting it out till the very end. Well done my friend. Thanks for posting.

[CatzKr]

Yay, Big Brown is back on track..both literally and figuratively. =) What a show of speed in that last half furlong or so. You can't help starting to think, "I know the title says he won the Haskell, but how is he supposed to win that? They're almost at the finish." But, he did it, and that's all that matters. I suppose it's on to the Travers then. Just wait Da'Tara...we'll get a rematch! XD (hopefully)

[BE109]

Some might say his win wasn't impressive,because he seemed to be laboring. Well I couldn't disagree more,he showed a new element of his game,that being guts. He could have folded at the 1/4 pole,remember Coal Play was really running a race,Coal Play wasn't going to just lay down,BB showed he had the intestinal fortitude to dig down and come back at Coal Play. When a horse wins in this manner it is more impressive than winning easy by 5 or 6. Where was the 3rd place horse,he was up the track -

[cf1970]

Couldn't agree more. Coal Play ran a HUGE race here and ANY top quality horse would have been all out to beat him. It's amazing how many negative comments there have been in the past day. It's getting unbelievably tiring to see the doubting Thomases who have little or no faith left in the horse. It's his first race back for pete's sake, I wish they'd cut him some slack. If Big Brown flounders or struggles next time out, THEN the real questions can start, it's only fair.

Thanks for the comments.

[BE109]

The problem with many of the doubting thomases is simply that they in general do not understand the game. All they see is a horse who appears to be struggling,not the reality of two TB colts going at it in a big way. It is the essence of the sport. Your correct on the fact that the way Coal Play was running,the only way to beat him was to run all out. Lastly,our society is tied to the "what have you done for me lately" thing. It took 1 bad day for BB,for them to drop him like a hot rock. Just 1

[cf1970]

Hear, hear, BE109! "What have you done for me lately" is the perfect description of the way many in society think. It's really depressing that so many people have such a poor outlook on things. What IS the world coming to?

Have a good day.

[Jazzgirl8888]

I agree cf. I admire and respect his winning spirit. He really showed what he is made of in this race.

[cf1970]

Hey Jazz, thanks for the support and comments. Big Brown proved his mettle. To those who think that our way of thinking is "burying our head in the sand" really need to have faith and let things play out more. All I wish is that others would adopt a positive stance more often.

One race does not a horse make. We'll see just how good Big Brown is in his next start. If he wins, great..if not, THEN I'll have concerns, and rightly so. It all depends on his way of going.

Take care, my friend.

[dcm0891]

I'd say that this was his most impressive race. He clearly wasn't as fit as he was in the derby or preakness but he needed the race. Throw out the Belmont and he hasn't raced since May. He will be tough to handle in his next start no matter who shows up. It the time was 150 and change then I'd be worried but 148.1 is damn good.

[Dakota0584]

Terrific horse!

[zacor96]

Great race ! Thanx cf1970 !

[aljazeri]

My favorite horse! Still fun to watch. Man,that was a gutty win!

[DEBBIE092461]

thank you cf1970

[Slightlybent]

I absolutely adore this horse!

[ShadowedWolfen]

I knew he could do it.

[XxemoxqueenxX]

Well in a way it is a good thing he lost the third leg, because this means we will get to see this valiant horse run some more =) Things always happen for a reason, nothing is ever left to chance in the greater scheme of things...

I'll admit he's not one of my faves but this race proved to me that I can aknowledge him as a brave hearted horse! Go BB!

[ridingxruffian]

Give him wings and he would fly. I love this horse; a fierce win.

[carlykaiser]

<3 Big Brown

[sugarpuppy137]

Big Brown rocks =]

I wish Assmussen would allow Curlin to run against him in the Breeders Cup x_x That would be one heck of a race. Thanks for posting this.

[Jazzgirl8888]

Big Brown showed a tremendous amount of heart and courage today!

I will never get tired of watching this great win by Big Brown :)He will always be one of my favorite horses .

Thank you so much for posting this so quickly cf .I appreciate it very much!:)

God Bless .

[horseyaddicted]

Go Brownie! You can do aynthing. :)

[cf1970]

No profane, inflammatory, or rude comments here, please.

I'm EXTREMELY happy Big Brown won, and in the way that he did, proving that he has a TON of heart. What a race!