Mark Of A Champ

Rose jumped off Big Brown that day and told Reynolds, "Anytime, anywhere, I'll ride this horse again."

Soon Pompa had arranged to sell a 75% share in Big Brown to IEAH Stables for approximately $2.5 million. But first IEAH co-founder Michael Iavarone wanted to watch the horse train. Reynolds worked him five furlongs around cones on Belmont 's turf course. The time, 58 seconds flat, was so fast that Reynolds accidentally reset his stopwatch, thinking it must have malfunctioned. Christophe Clement, a French trainer who works the New York circuit, descended from a clockers' stand and announced in his regal accent, "Gentlemen, your watches are not broken. The horse, he worked that fast."

A DEAL WAS struck. Reynolds was replaced by IEAH's regular trainer, Rick Dutrow , with Reynolds receiving 10% of IEAH's purchase price as compensation. Dutrow wanted Prado , his first-call rider, on Big Brown, but Iavarone gave the mount to Desormeaux after the jockey rode IEAH filly Sharp Susan to several victories. Dutrow was angry at first. Desormeaux, who had come to New York in 2006 seeking a fresh start after his career hit a wall in California , was thrilled. "In California trainers were walking away from me when I came to their barns in the morning," says Desormeaux. "Oh no, here comes Desormeaux."

No other jockey has been closer to the Triple Crown without winning it. Desormeaux took the first two legs aboard Real Quiet in 1998 but was beaten by a nose in the Belmont by Victory Gallop. "When Kent is on, nobody's better," says trainer Bob Baffert , who saddled Real Quiet. "For a while I thought he wasn't the old Kent . But right now, he's on."

With all the parts in place Big Brown overcame two 45-day stretches out of action with hoof cracks and won an allowance, then the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby , the last by 4 3/4 lengths. As he had in Kentucky , Dutrow talked big in Maryland , where he learned the game from his father, Dick. After dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Baltimore on Friday, he got a ride home from New Yorkers Chris Fierro and Chip Acierno, two of his clients from the late 1990s, when Dutrow was fighting substance abuse and trying to get a start in the game. "He was in a zone, all business," Acierno says of their conversation on Friday night. "But he told us, 'If things go right, we got it, babe.'"

Dutrow had purposely not trained Big Brown hard in the fortnight after the Derby, but he blew him out over a very short distance on the morning of the Preakness , an old-school training tactic designed to sharpen the horse for competition. In a nod to his family's Maryland roots, Dutrow let his trainer-brother Chip walk Big Brown from the barn to the track. The horse was saddled on the Pimlico infield in the slanting sunlight of the late day and walked in patient circles for 20 minutes awaiting the post parade. Said Dutrow later, "He was so calm I thought he was going to fall asleep."

An hour before the Preakness , IEAH had announced an agreement to stand Big Brown as a stallion at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky , a deal that industry sources said could be worth more than $50 million. Racing decisions will be made by IEAH, which will also retain part ownership of Big Brown at stud. It is unlikely he will run after the Belmont , an unfortunate reality in a sport driven by breeding.

In the race there were issues to overcome. Big Brown's back feet slipped out from under him as he broke from the gate. He moved inside to fourth place, and Desormeaux angled him wide on the backstretch, where he was challenged, bumped and forced to check by Riley Tucker, who would ultimately finish last. But Desormeaux easily rallied Big Brown to the lead, several times looking under his arm to assess the race. From a seat in an NBC production trailer, Eight Belles's trainer, Larry Jones , watched and awaited the inevitable. "I could see how much horse Kent had," said Jones . "I was thinking, Boy, when he cuts this sucker loose, he's going to roll."

Big Brown darted to a wide lead as soon as Desormeaux asked. Outside the 1/16-mile pole the jockey wrapped his reins, saving horse for the Belmont . In 2004 Stewart Elliott had urged Smarty Jones to win by 11 1/2 lengths; a year earlier Jose Santos whipped Funny Cide repeatedly with a widening lead that ended up 9 3/4 lengths. Dutrow remembered. "Funny Cide was up by six coming for home, and Jose went to work on the horse," said Dutrow as he walked back to his barn after the Preakness . "How does that help him win the Belmont ? Now, we're sitting in a good place. I've got horse left for the Belmont ."

Around the old track, praise was heaped on Big Brown. "I always say you can't anoint anybody [until they actually win the Triple Crown]," said trainer Nick Zito . "But today he got a tremendous vote from me."