Big Brown’s quest for the Triple Crown took a hit this weekend when trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. noticed a slight quartercrack to the horse’s left front hoof. Although the injury isn’t serious, it was cause enough for concern for Dutrow to call in a hoof specialist to determine whether or not it will keep Big Brown from competing in the June 7th Belmont Stakes.

“We’re all concerned with a big race coming up, but it’s better that it happened now,” Dutrow said Sunday. “It’s not going to be an issue. It’s bad that it happened, but we’re going to be able to fix him up.”

Big Brown suffered foot issues late last year and recovered nicely from those injuries, so both trainer and specialist are confident the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will be in fine form come time to run in the Belmont Stakes.

Don’t count Big Brown out just yet! Let’s hope for a speedy recovery so that he can go on to win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown!

While everyone else is betting on Big Brown, you may find more value in Casino Drive.

Big Brown has thrilled racing fans during the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, and he seems invincible going into the Belmont Stakes. But there’s a lot of talk about a horse out of Japan named Casino Drive beating Big Brown in the final jewel.

Casino Drive has run two races, winning both by wide margins. He will be rested for four weeks going into the Belmont, and his pedigree (a half sibling to two previous Belmont winners, Jazil and Rags to Riches) points to him being stronger at longer distances.

The only thing not going Casino Drive’s way is that he’ll have a new jockey for the Belmont. Kent Desormeaux has been his jockey to date, but he’ll be riding Big Brown for a chance at history. Casino Drive has impressed enough that he is getting Belmont Stakes odds of 9/2 against Big Brown, who’s getting 2/7 at this point.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Big Brown, has arrived at Belmont Park in good time to get in a few good jogs, five or six healthy gallops, and one good breeze before the Belmont Stakes on June 7th. According to trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., he’s just going to take it nice and easy with the Triple Crown contender.

“Very light training,” Dutrow said. “We’re going to keep it cut and dry. Simple. There will be no pressure in the mornings. I just want to glide him into the race. I am feeling pretty confident about things. I can see that he is sharp. Sunday, he was bouncing and yesterday the same thing. He is doing good, and that makes everything so much easier. I don’t have to worry about a lot of things.”

If anybody doubted Big Brown’s strength, speed and stamina Saturday’s relatively easy win should have put those doubts to rest. Dutrow is cautious not to sound over confident in his horse, but when asked if he believed Big Brown could win the Triple Crown — he said yes.

“As long as we can keep him well within himself, we’ll have a chance,” Dutrow said. “Everybody is very excited about him, and how can you not be? It looks like he has a chance at being one of the best ever.”

Watch Big Brown’s big arrival in Belmont. Then get your Belmont Stakes betting here.

There something powerful in the image of three crowns. It appears on several coats of arms, most notably the Tre Kronor of Sweden. So it follows that just about every sport has its Triple Crown of achievements. The rare champions who reach these lofty heights – Ted Williams, Manchester United, Jean-Claude Killy – become legends.

Thoroughbred racing has been waiting since 1978 for a horse to sweep its famous North American version of the Triple Crown. That’s the year Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont with jockey Steve Cauthen at the reins. Parity has taken over since then; for one horse to stand out from the expanding and talented crowd is increasingly difficult.

Only 11 horses have pulled off the Triple Crown since the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875. Seven of those winners came between 1930 and 1948; Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed won the Triple Crown in a five-year span. Those were the days.

The greatest races go hand in hand with some of the greatest horses. Here then is our top 5 greatest races of all time.

1. Quashed and Omaha in the Gold Cup, 1936: To see Quashed and Omaha battle out the finish of the Ascot Gold Cup took years off a man’s life, though it was well worth it.

2. Grundy and Bustino in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes 1975: The hardest, most implacable, most moving Flat race most have ever seen - a judgment widely shared about a contest soon dubbed ‘The Race of the Century.

3. Arkle and Mill House in the Cheltenham Gold Cup 1964: A race so fabled there’s even a song about it - Dominic Behan’s boozy ballad ‘Arkle‘ - that chronicled the famous showdown between two young and apparently unbeatable steeplechasers.

4. Mandarin in the Grand Steeplechase de Paris 1962: Sheer heroism from horse and jockey. Mandarin’s bit broke early in the race, leaving Fred Winter with no brakes or steering around Auteuil’s dizzying four-mile figure-of-eight circuit, but a combination of leg-power and willpower kept the partnership intact

5. Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes 1973: One of the greatest displays of individual equine brilliance in the modern era.

The biggest event on the thoroughbred calendar just got even bigger – again.

After the success of the expanded two-day version of the 2007 Breeder’s Cup at Monmouth Park, the 2008 event at Santa Anita will see three more races added to the lineup: the $1-million Turf Sprint, the $1-million Juvenile Filly Turf, and the $500,000 Dirt Marathon. This trio will be run on Friday, Oct. 24.

The Sprint will be run at Santa Anita’s El Camino Real hillside course, but the Marathon (1-1/2 miles) might prove to be the most interesting addition to the Breeders’ Cup. An advisory panel has recommended to Cup officials that they establish a series of 12-furlong races as a warm-up for the Marathon.

There are a small handful of these longer stakes races in North America – the Belmont being the most famous. No doubt some of these recommended Marathon preps will become part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge. The more, the merrier.

This was Rags to Riches’ year. She became the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes in over a century. But she came up short to Lear’s Princess at last month’s Gazelle Stakes and will miss the Breeders’ Cup with a hairline fracture.

Despite her victory, Lear’s Princess is in the second tier of favorites at 8-1 for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Monmouth Park. The top chalk goes to Ginger Punch at 7-2. You won’t find too many arguments there – Ginger Punch won three straight races before finishing third at last month’s Beldame Stakes. The top two fillies from that event are tied at 9-2: Unbridled Belle and Indian Vale, both trained by Todd Pletcher.

The hottest filly out there, though, might be another member of Pletcher’s army: uddmonte Spinster Stakes Panty Raid. But what Cup race will she run? Panty Raid is currently 10-1 to win the Distaff and 15-1 for the Filly and Mare Turf.

Before next month’s Breeders’ Cup, there’s a key date for horse players at Belmont Park: Sept. 30. The venerable Long Island “Championship Track” will host four Grade I stakes races, headlined by the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup. This year, those races have added importance thanks to their inclusion in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge.

The 1 1/2-mile dirt track, which first opened in 1905, is most famous for the Belmont Stakes. The New York Racing Association has promoted the final leg of the Triple Crown heavily over the past decade, turning the June race into a “Festival” with the requisite parades and food fairs.

Big Sandy, as the track is called, also hosts the prestigious New York Handicap Triple in May. The feature event of the three is the Metropolitan Handicap, also known as the Met Mile. This year’s winner was Corinthian, who picked up a cool $450,000 and upset Lawyer Ron in the process.

With Kentucky Derby champion Street Sense out of the Belmont Stakes, that leaves Preakness winner Curlin and Derby runner-up Hard Spun as the favorites. Curlin defeated Street Sense by a nose in the Preakness taking away any chance of a Triple Crown attempt, but there’s still a chance that bettors could cash in at Belmont Park even if Triple Crown fans have no real reason to watch.

Aside from the two favorites already mentioned, the other known Belmont entrants includes Tiago, Slew’s Tizzy, Imawildandcrazyguy and Digger. Todd Pletcher is expected to enter either Circular Quay or Rags to Riches (or maybe even both), but we won’t know which one until it’s formally announced later this week.

Both Tiago and Imawildandcrazyguy raced in the Derby, and both sat out the Preakness. Tiago was a disappointing seventh in the Derby, but won the Santa Anita Derby earlier this season and is a contender to upset at Belmont Park. Imawildandcrazyguy came in fourth at the Derby, but hasn’t raced since. He should be well-rested and could also be a big upset contender this weekend.

Slew’s Tizzy probably won’t register on most bettors’ radar, but he should. According to reports Slew’s Tizzy has been running some superb workouts lately and they’re being compared to the workouts he was delivering just before he won the Lone Star Derby earlier this year.

The biggest long shot will likely be Digger. The chances of Digger pulling off a huge upset in the Belmont looks highly unlikely, as the last time Digger raced he was the runner-up in the Charles Town allowance.

Was Jazil just another run-of-the-mill Belmont Stakes champion?

You might draw that conclusion, based on the props list for Saturday’s Run for the Carnations. One of the more compelling items on the menu asks if the 2007 winner will post a faster time than Jazil’s 2:27.86 result at the 2006 Belmont. “Yes” and “No” are both pegged at –120.

Jazil, still racing as a 4-year-old, isn’t the fastest horse of the bunch – his career-high Beyer figure is 97. But after a slow pace to open last year’s Belmont, Jazil showed off his preferred closing style, catching and passing Bluegrass Cat to win by 1-1/4 lengths. Jazil’s finishing kick was enough for him to post the fourth-fastest Belmont time over the last 12 races.

There are some much quicker horses on tap for New York. Although Street Sense has opted out, Curlin and Hard Spun are pointed squarely at the Belmont. Hard Spun (107 Beyer) is a very fleet frontrunner, while Curlin (103 Beyer) is one of the most highly touted thoroughbreds to come down the pike in some time. They combined to run the 2007 Preakness in 1:53:46, the fastest finish there since 1996.

Weather will either help or hurt the horses on Saturday. The forecast for New York at press time called for partly cloudy conditions, with highs in the mid-80s Fahrenheit. That should create a fast track, especially with the possibility of some thundershowers the day before.

Five other horses were known to be pointed at Belmont at press time: Imawildandcrazyguy, Slew’s Tizzy, Tiago, Digger and Time Squared. Tiago won the Santa Anita Derby with a 100 Beyer figure; he will be fresh after finishing seventh at the Kentucky Derby and skipping the Preakness. In a field of seven, maybe eight horses, Tiago should keep the Belmont’s “Big Two” honest enough to produce a swift time on Saturday.