One of Big Brown’s main rivals at the Belmont Stakes will not run. Casino Drive has been pulled from the small list of entrants. Casino Drive has a reported stone bruise on the hind left hoof:

“…”This morning, he was feeling well, so we took him to the track for a canter,” Nobutaka Tada, spokesperson for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, told reporters.

“He came back well to the stable, but later he started favoring his left-hind again.”

link: Casino Drive scratched from Belmont Stakes

This increases the chances of Big Brown’s possible Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes, however, is a long race and it is a race that has thwarted other Triple Crown hopefuls. Nevertheless, this could be a historic moment for Big Brown. His hoof problem has been resolved and he has a great chance of claiming this third jewel in the crown.

Catherine