http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_belmont_big_brown;_ylt=AgFE40uoAgnMpi4uN5KPFG6s0NUE

If You read this whole thing, you will see they don't really care about the horse. Just the money.

Patching of Big Brown's hoof to wait a few days 

NEW YORK - Big Brown's cracked left front hoof won't be patched until Friday, the day before he races in the Belmont Stakes for a shot at Triple Crown history.

 
Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay planned to apply the acrylic and fiberglass patch Monday, but decided to wait a few days so the crack could heal naturally.

"This is just a slight, slight crack," McKinlay said, standing outside Big Brown's barn. "As the clock ticks, it's gotten better and better. We're being extra cautious because he's heading toward the Triple Crown."

Before applying the patch, McKinlay will remove the sutures, clean the area, redrill holes and put in new sutures. If necessary, he will insert a drain.

http://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2008/05/triple-crown-crackdown-update-from-ian.html

"Ian will check Big Brown again on Wednesday and decide what the next step will be in, in terms of replacing or relocating sutures, covering the crack with hoof wall adhesive, etc. The horse would then have nine days to train up to the mile-and-a-half Belmont."

Then, as they said in the Yahoo article, after another couple of races, he goes to Three Chimneys Farm to pass on his genes, then who knows after that...

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/114-hoofcracks.shtml

This is what I could find just on a quick search.  Yeah, if they cared for this horse, he wouldn't be in the race. 

Gotta wonder if the hoof injury played a part in his race, even though THEY say it didn't. Glad he arrived safely at the finish line, in any case.
catmom5

Trudy, I had hoped they would retire him! Sounds like greed is winning over the health of Big Brown.

Katie

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-dutrow-suspension&prov=ap&type=lgns


Dutrow faces ban for horse’s positive test
—Rick Dutrow is in trouble again.

The outspoken trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown is facing a 15-day suspension by Kentucky racing officials after another horse he trains exceeded the allowable limit for a drug that enables horses to breathe easier while exercising.

Two separate drug tests on 8-year-old gelding Salute the Count revealed the horse had twice the allowable limit of Clenbuterol in his system after finishing second in the Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on May 2, said John Veitch, chief state steward of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.