The mystery of Big Brown's stunning failure in the Belmont -- when the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness fell so far out of contention after the final turn that jockey Kent Desormeaux eased him to the finish line -- took another strange turn over the weekend.
Two photos reportedly taken by freelance photographer Russ Milton were sent to one of Big Brown's owners, Michael Iavarone. They show the shoe on the colt's rear left hoof loose at least momentarily during the race. The hoof with the crack, which had been of concern leading up to the race, was the left front.
Deepening the mystery was that while there had been a report of a loose shoe after the race, the owner called that a miscommunication and an examination of Big Brown showed no signs of damage from a loose-shoe event.
