As You Know......

.... Big Brown is done. Of course, eventhough he could be back in four to six weeks, that does not matter in our game.

Retiring Big Brown yesterday was all about protecting an investment first, a racehorse second. This is as it should be, of course, since thoroughbred racing exists for one purpose only, and that is to generate revenue for owners, breeders and state governments, with occasional crumbs thrown to the bettors.

And a little dig at the painfully obvious of IAEH's Iavarone.

That is why I had to laugh when, after Big Brown's defeat in the Belmont, Iavarone's response to a perfectly legitimate question -- "How will this defeat affect his stud value?" -- was met with the most disingenuous type of indignation. "How dare you ask that question at a time like this!" Iavarone raged. "You think this is about the money?"

Well, yeah.


Valerie at our bloglist blog has a good post up on Big Brown et al. She slices with her words like I cut a porterhouse, but I need a sharp knife. I wish I had the gift of prose that she has.