Big Brown. Triple Crown. That sounds right.

So can Big Brown capture the Triple Crown?

I sure hope so.

Big Brown. Triple Crown. It even rhymes.

As a racing fan, I hold my breath in May and June, waiting to see if one spindly legged thoroughbred will rocket its way around the track ahead of its peers to capture the ever elusive Triple Crown.

It’s been 30 years since Affirmed battle Alydar down the stretch to sweep America’s three top races for three-year-old thoroughbreds in 1978.

I wasn’t a racing fan then, but I certainly am now.

I’ve watched with growing elation as horse after horse arrived at the Belmont Race Track with the potential to make a huge mark in history, only to be beaten by a hair, a nose, a neck.

The Belmont is the spoiler race of the Triple Crown challenge because it’s been the undoing of so many potential winners.

Since Affirmed’s Triple Crown win, there have been 10 -- count them again, 10 -- horses that have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown only to have the trophy snatched from their grasp in the final strides of the Belmont.

In 1998, Real Quiet lost by only a nose.
War Emblem tripped up in the starting gate in 2002. Funny Cide was outrun in the mud in 2003. Smarty Jones fell short by a length in 2004 (I think I shed a tear over that one). And in 2005, Afleet Alex didn’t win the Kentucky Derby but came back to sweep the Preakness and the Belmont.

Big Brown seems to have everything he needs to win. He doesn’t fret before his races. He’s got the speed to stay up near the front with the sprinters, and the powerful kick to close, leaving his rivals trailing behind in his dust.

In the Derby, he won with a commanding performance. In the Preakness, he looked like he was out for a morning gallop, toying with the field like a playful puppy waiting for someone to come out and race him.

That’s the one thing that’s been missing in this Triple Crown run. A real head-to-head battle between the winner and a strong running rival. Big Brown has tromped the field when he’s set foot on the race track. This is no Affirmed-Alydar showdown. Just check them out on YouTube and you see the thrill of each of those races. Each Triple Crown race was literally a match race between them. But still, I’ll take any winner at this point.

A New York Times writer wrote recently that even if Big Brown wins the Triple Crown, he’s no Secretariat. So, I surfed onto YouTube to check out Secretariat’s winning style. I was blown away. Now that was a running machine. He pulled ahead easily to win the Derby and Preakness, but his Belmont run is what makes him a legend. He’s not racing anyone but the wind, having left Sham behind before the final turn. And he does it in style. His jockey never has to touch the whip. He’s just along for the ride as Secretariat thunders down the track, setting a track record for the Belmont -- 2:24 -- that has yet to be broken. He also holds the record for winning the Belmont by the widest margin -- a stunning 31 lengths. Check it out for yourself.

I’d love to see Big Brown give us a race that reminds us of Secretariat’s commanding win in 1973, at least winning by a large margin. If Rick Dutrow’s endless boasting is right, Big Brown will sail to an easy victory.

But Secretariat has set the standard by which all top thoroughbreds are measured. Is Big Brown big enough to match Big Red? That’s a tough one to answer. And only Saturday’s race will tell the tale.

Big Brown is battling hoof problems, and on his shoulder rests the pressure of the racing world, which is lusting for a feel-good story to lift it out of the doldrums and lure fans back to the track. And in light of Eight Belles’ demise after the Derby, a good story would welcome -- especially a Triple Crown tale to tell for a long time to come.

I can’t say if Big Brown might put himself in the history books like Secretariat did. Chances are we won’t see a four-year-old racing season for him, since he’ll likely be in the breeding shed and not on the race track after this year, if not after he crosses the finish wire at the Belmont.

We’ll just have to wait and see what Big Brown has in store for us this Saturday. I think this calls for a trip to the local betting parlour, at least for a souvenir betting ticket. That’s worth $2.

Street Sense’s Triple Crown run dashed in last stride

I gotta give it to Street Sense and Calvin Borel, it was a game effort. But Robby Albarado pulled Curlin’s reserve from the bottom of his hooves in the final strides of the race to steal any hope of a Triple Crown this year. Again.

I watched replay after replay of the race online just so I could dissect it stride for stride. I thought Street Sense had it, but Curlin just dug in his heels and chased him down. That takes guts. And heart. Street Sense put on his now signature power surge again at the end but got run down at the wire.

As someone who would love to see a Triple Crown battle in the Belmont every year, I was crushed to see Street Sense get beat. Especially by a nose. With such a strong run down to the wire, I hate to see a good horse lose what seemed rightfully his. If he got outrun by several lengths, it would show he wasn’t a good enough horse to win. But to lose by a nose is heartbreaking. That shows he’s got what it takes, minus a nose. But in this game the first nose to the wire wins it all. To be a nose behind is just that - behind, not first.

I give it to Street Sense for a valiant effort, but too bad Curlin did such a good job.

Green lights for Street Sense?

Is there hope for a Triple Crown winner this year? Is Street Sense ready for his next foray in the battle for the forever-out-of-reach Triple Crown? Will he be twice lucky but thrice shy like so many others before him?

If Street Sense crosses the wire first this weekend in the Preakness Stakes there will be renewed hope in racing fans that a Triple Crown winner isn’t a mirage on the infield.

After watching Barbaro dominate in last year’s Derby, racing fans were psyched that they were watching a true champion. Triple Crown talk gained momentum with Barbaro’s every stride. But hearts and hopes were broken that day his leg shattered in the Preakness just weeks later. This year, I think racing fans fear that even breathing the wish of a Triple Crown chance will place a jinx on the Derby winner.

Does Street Sense have what it takes? Street Sense didn’t win the Derby with the commanding style we saw from Barbaro, but still, it was quite a win with more than 2 lengths to spare in his rail-hugging run. How jockey Calvin Borel kept his cool in that race I’ll never know. Watching it, I couldn’t believe at one point Street Sense was 19th of 20 and Borel was able to weave his way along the rail so they could charge up the backstretch to win. I did my own rerun of the race several times just to see how he did it. I’m no expert but it looked masterful. But what a chance to take: what would have been the end result if one of those horses didn’t get out of the way?

The last time racing fans were graced with a Triple Crown hero was 1978 with Affirmed. I’ve wondered if there will ever be another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I’ve wondered if the outcome might be different if only horses that run in the Derby could run in the two other Triple Crown races. But I guess that the challenge of facing fresh competitors is part of the Triple Crown allure. Street Sense is up against five fresh horses who didn’t have to gallop their guts out in the run for the roses.

It’s been a long, hot dry spell since there was a Triple Crown winner. Whatever horse breaks it will be immortalized in history. Racing fans have seen lots of almost-but-not-quite performances that left us wanting more. Maybe if we don’t think about it too hard, it might just happen this year. My fingers will be crossed that Street Sense hits the wire first this weekend in the Preakness. We can always dream, right?