His move down the backstretch was the best I've ever seen.
Yes, that Preakness move from last to first was just one of the awe inspiring things Secretariat did in his career; it was really something to see. But consider this little factoid in the comparisons between Secretariat and Big Brown, thus far-—throw out all “final time” or fractional time considerations and comparisons-—any scientific handicapper knows they are meaningless.....a more interesting factor is HOW BIG WERE THE FIELDS and HOW MANY HORSES DID HE BEAT? Secretariat’s fields were 13 in the Derby, 6 in the Preakness, and a paltry 5 in the Belmont-—in other words it got EASIER for him to win.The small Belmont field may have facilitated his record breaking margin of victory and final time. Going into the Belmont he had beat 17 horses in Triple Crown races.
BIG BROWN going into the Belmont has beat TWICE that nearly-— 30 horses, and won ONE of those races from FAR OUTSIDE, probably the equivalent of at least 15 lengths from the rail. These things do matter. If the Belmont plaYs out like I think it will, Big Brown may prove to be the equal of Secretariat. He has already generated twice as much true excitement as Funny Cide, or Smarty Jones, or even Real Quiet did in years past. I think the public recognizes a superhorse when it sees one.
And yep SD, Big Brown could very well turn out to be among the elite in the sport's long history.