BALTIMORE -- For the last two weeks after the Eight Belles tragedy at the Kentucky Derby, horse racing has been examined, dissected and criticized.
But on a mostly clear, sunny afternoon Saturday before a crowd of 112,222 at Pimlico Race Course, the sport hit a high point as it was proved that, any way you want to color it, Big Brown is a superstar.
After a more-than-convincing 5 1/4 -length victory in the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes, all that's left for Big Brown to do to claim his spot in horse racing immortality is to win the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
He would then become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Big Brown went unchallenged by the 11 other horses in the Preakness. Southern California-based Gayego, ridden by Mike Smith, led until the three-quarter pole, then faded badly and finished 11th.
Macho Again, a 39-1 shot who was eighth at the three-quarter pole, managed to get up for second and paid $17.20 to place and $10.40 to show. Icabad Crane finished third and paid $5.60 to show.
The winner went off at 1-5 and, in an oddity, paid $2.40, $2.60 and $2.40.
Jockey Kent Desormeaux said he never even had to use his whip on Big Brown.
"I kissed at him," he said. "I tapped him on the shoulder. He just took off.
"I don't know. I guess I was knuckling on him, elbows and whatnot, for about 100 yards, and then I looked between my legs and they were eight [lengths] behind me. I stopped pushing. I said that's enough. Then I looked one more time I think at the 16th pole."
He said it was still an eight-length separation.
"I starting slowing him down and watching TV, making sure nothing went crazy," Desormeaux added.
Big Brown, who covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:54.80, is the first 3-year-old since Smarty Jones in 2004 to head for the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown in play.
Big Brown's main competitor at the Belmont figures to be Casino Drive, winner of the recent Peter Pan Stakes.
Asked for his opinion of Casino Drive, Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., said, "Well, I would like to have him, No. 1. He looks like a nice horse. No. 2, he can't beat our horse."
Big Brown's owners are New Yorkers Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo, who once worked on Wall Street. Now they're headed back to New York with a horse that could make history.
