Dutrow is the horse's ass in world of horse racing

Rick Dutrow has more in common with Big Brown than he ever imagined.

Big Brown was once a front-runner. So was Dutrow, who trained him to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. After the Belmont, Big Brown will go down in history as a giant loser. So will Dutrow.

Without directly saying so, Rick Dutrow Jr. has pointed the finger at his jockey. (AP)

Dutrow is a horse's ass.

That about covers it, but I've not even begun to express my anger with Dutrow now that he has blamed his jockey for Big Brown's disappointing performance Saturday at the Belmont, where a win would have given him the first Triple Crown in 30 years but instead the horse finished dead last.

At least the horse didn't finish dead, which is more than I can say for Eight Belles, the filly who died trying to catch 'roided up Big Brown at the Kentucky Derby. And there was a fear -- at least, I had the fear -- that Big Brown could be in mortal danger at the Belmont.

Big Brown was suffering from a cracked hoof, and though Dutrow was quick to assert the condition wouldn't affect the horse's performance, much less put him in mortal risk, who can say what puts a racehorse in mortal risk? Look at Eight Belles. One minute she was gallantly trying to run down the steroid monster in front of her, and in the next moment she was suffering a catastrophic breakdown in both front legs, causing her death right there on the track.

Dutrow was sure the cracked hoof wouldn't jeopardize Big Brown's health at the Belmont, and he was right. Big Brown is alive and well.

But Dutrow is flailing about for a reason for his horse's disastrous showing in the race, and instead of focusing on the hoof or the lack of steroids in the horse's system or the deep grooves of the track or the possibility that, you know, Big Brown simply wasn't that good in the first place, Dutrow is blaming his own jockey.

Dutrow would say otherwise. He'd say that he hasn't come right out and blamed jockey Kent Desormeaux, but Dutrow isn't smart enough to know the distinction. That's one of the conclusions I've reached about Rick Dutrow: He's just not very smart. He can't be. Nobody smart conducts himself as foolishly as Dutrow did in the weeks leading up to the Belmont, and then conducts himself as cowardly as Dutrow did after the race.

Dutrow had the perfect story on his hands, but instead of riding the wave of great publicity for his horse and himself, he turned the great story against Big Brown. By the time Big Brown went off Saturday as a 1-4 favorite, lots of people were rooting against history. And people don't typically root against history. We all want to see something special happen, because it makes us feel good about ourselves and our luck for being alive at the right time to see it. That's why Tiger Woods is so popular; we don't want parity. We want greatness.

And Big Brown was potential greatness. But lots of people didn't want him to cash in on greatness because we were sick of the loudmouthed trainer who was so dumb that he talked trash about opposing horses for God's sake, as if he could get inside the head of a dumb -- but beautiful -- animal.

Dutrow said, "I am trying to be humble." He said, "These horses cannot run with Big Brown." He said the Triple Crown was "a foregone conclusion."