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Big Brown

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Domination is a strong word, but when applied to the way Big Brown handled the field in the 134th Kentucky Derby it’s a perfect fit.     His swooping move on the turn for home and his separation from the field as he rumbled down the stretch was nothing short of domination.     The word “awesome” is thrown around willy-nilly these days, but that one fits, also. Just how well it fits is evidenced by the lack of Derby runners to return to challenge the son of Boundary in the Preakness.     Is he the next Triple Crown winner, as many have predicted? He has to get past all the new shooters in the Preakness to reach that threshold that has defeated so many Triple Crown hopefuls in the 30 years since Affirmed wore the crown in 1978.

TRAINER -Richard (Rick) Dutrow, Jr. is originally from Hagerstown, Maryland and now resides in Long Beach, N.Y. Triple Crown victories: Kentucky Derby – Big Brown (2008), Breeders’ Cup victories: Classic – Saint Liam (2005); Sprint – Silver Train (2005); Mile – Kip Deville (2007).     The newest Kentucky Derby-winning trainer grew up in the business the son of well-known East Coast trainer Dick Dutrow, who died in 2000. In 1975, the father led the nation with a then-record 352 training victories, mostly in Maryland. He trained such outstanding runners as Lite the Fuse and King’s Swan.     The Maryland-born Dutrow began his career as an assistant to his father at age 16 and went out on his own in the late 1990s when his father decided to move back to the Maryland circuit from New York.     The younger Dutrow’s stable consisted of one horse, Churkin, who he had claimed for $16,000. He became a successful claiming trainer and in recent years has upgraded his stock immeasurably, posting several Grade I victories over the past couple of years. Included in those victories were the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Saint Liam, 2005 Breeders’ Cup Sprint with Silver Train and 2007 Breeders’ Cup Mile with Kip Deville.     And now he holds the gold trophy that signifies winning the 134th Kentucky Derby. A return to his Maryland roots and a victory in the 133\rd Preakness Stakes will put him at the doorway to Triple Crown immortality if his Big Brown then can capture the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes on June 7.     Under his care, Saint Liam was named Horse of the Year for 2005 and Eclipse Award winner as older horse. During that year, the horse also won the Donn Handicap and the Woodward, both Grade I events. He was retired to stud after his Classic win with earnings of $4.4 million. Saint Liam sustain a fractured hind leg in a freak accident while being led to his paddock in August of 2006 and had to be euthanized.     Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion Silver Train came back in 2006 to win the Grade I Metropolitan Handicap and the Grade II Tom Fool Handicap, both at Belmont Park. The trainer posted another Grade I win at that meeting when Wonder Lady Anne L. captured the Coaching Club American Oaks.     Dutrow, whose brother Anthony is a trainer operating out of Philadelphia Park and Delaware Park, has won several training titles at New York’s Aqueduct and Belmont Park.     Other major runners for the trainer: Carson Hollow, Sis City, Cyber Secret, Well Fancied, Willy o’ the Valley, Offlee Wild, Thunder Blitz, Stalwart Member and Classic Endeavor.

JOCKEY - Kent Desormeaux was born on Feb. 27, 1970 in Maurice, Louisiana and now resides in Garden City, N.Y.     He won his third Kentucky Derby by booting home Big Brown this year; now looks ahead to the prospect of winning his second Preakness Stakes. His Kentucky Derby victory ties him with other triple winners Isaac Murphy, Earle Sande, Angel Cordero Jr. and Gary Stevens, and just one behind the legendary Bill Shoemaker; Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack captured five Derbys. His other Derby winners: Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000; his lone Preakness win came with Real Quiet, who was then beaten by a nose for Triple Crown immortality by Victory Gallop in the Belmont Stakes.     Desormeaux was elected to racing’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and shortly after induction, won the Arlington Million on Kicken Kris through disqualification. Other major winners that year: American Oaks and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup with Ticker Tape; John Mabee Handicap and Oak Tree Breeders’ Cup Mile with Musical Chimes and the Strub with Domestic Dispute. For the year, purse earnings totaled $8,729,543, putting him 15th on the national earnings list for jockeys.     In 2005, had earnings of $4,644,416, nearly doubling that to $8,520,558 in 2006, when he ranked 17th in North America after moving his tack to a New York base from his longtime Southern California venue. For 2007, purse earnings totaled $11,922,428, good for 11th among North American riders. He topped off his year with a victory by Corinthian in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, one of three new B.C. championship races.     Other major stakes winners on the year: Silver Tree, Sharp Susan, Jade’s Revenge and Drilling for Oil. He stands third in career earnings among active riders with $201,632,304 million through February 2008; eighth overall for all-time earnings. He won his 4,000th race early in the 2001 Santa Anita winter-spring meeting; at 30, the third-youngest to reach that plateau behind Bill Shoemaker and Chris McCarron, both 29.     For several years after leaving his early home base of Maryland, record setting Cajun-country native was one of the premier riders in Southern California, traditionally one of the toughest riding venues in the country. In 1995, became youngest rider, at 25, to win 3,000 races. Previously, Bill Shoemaker, Sandy Hawley and Chris McCarron were the youngest at 27. Went over the $100-million mark in earnings during 1997, making him the youngest to reach that mark. In 1992, earnings total of $14.1 million topped the national list; also captured third Eclipse Award.     Desormeaux won the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1993. he began riding rather inauspiciously at Evangeline Downs, where he won his first race on July 13, 1986, but moved from Louisiana to Maryland the next year. He lost his apprentice rating after racking up 297 victories in fewer than eight months and became the fifth Maryland based jockey to win the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding apprentice. Not only did he lead the nation's apprentices in victories, but his 450 wins led all riders and was 59 more than runner up Pat Day. Horses earned $5.1 million, and 20 stakes victories surpassed the record of another phenom apprentice, Steve Cauthen.     As if that wasn't enough, in 1989 he blitzed the record for victories in a single year by riding to the winner's circle 598 times, breaking McCarron's 1974 mark of 546, accomplished mostly in Maryland, also. Feat gained him Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding jockey. In addition, record year also meant he led the nation's jockeys in victories three years in a row, joining Pat Day and Bill Hartack as the only ones to do that at that time. Sandwiched between his 450 winners in 1987 and the 598 in 1989 were 474 in 1988, giving him 1,522 wins in three full years of riding. Was regular rider for '93 Horse of the Year Kotashaan, on which he won the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf to post his first Breeders' Cup championship race victory. He rode the courageous Free House to second place in the 1997 Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes.     Aside from riding Real Quiet to an Eclipse Award in 1998, also was regular rider for the fine filly Fiji, who was voted the Eclipse as the nation’s outstanding female grass runner. Among other major stakes won: Pacific Classic, Santa Anita Handicap twice, Santa Anita Derby, Yellow Ribbon three times, Hollywood Oaks twice, Santa Anita Oaks four times, Oaklawn Handicap twice, Super Derby, Del Mar Derby. Among other best horses ridden: Best Pal, Soul of the Matter, Afternoon Deelites, Larry the Legend, Possibly Perfect, Lakeway, Marquetry, Mizzen Mast, Excellent Meeting, Milwaukee Brew, Astra, War Chant, Toussaud, Worldly Manner, Golden Missile and Keeper Hill.                                 KENTUCKY DERBY MOUNTS Year            Horse/ Fin.                                      Owner                        Trainer 1988        Purdue King 16th                          Bob R. Starnes                  Barry Wexler 1990        Pleasant Tap 3rd                           Buckland Farm                  Chris Speckert 1993        Diazo 5th                                      Allen Paulson                    Bill Shoemaker 1994        Soul of the Matter 5th                    Burt Bacharach                  Richard Mandella 1995        Afternoon Deelites 8th                   Burt Bacharach                  Richard Mandella 1996        Diligence 9th                                Kinsman Stable                  Nick Zito 1998        REAL QUIET WON                       Mike Pegram                     Bob Baffert 1999        Excellent Meeting 5th                   Golden Eagle Farm             Bob Baffert 2000        FUSAICHI PEGASUS WON          Fusao Sekiguchi                Neil Drysdale 2003        Outta Here 7th                             William Currin/Al Eisman    William Currin 2004        Imperialism 3rd                             Steve Taub                        Kristin Mulhall 2005        Greeley’s Galaxy 11th                   B. Wayne Hughes             Warren Stute 2006        Sweetnorthernsaint 7th                  Joseph J. Balsamo &         Michael Trombetta                                                                                  Ted Theos                 2007        Stormello 19th                              William Currin &                 William Currin                                                                                Al Eisman 2008        BIG BROWN WON                       IEAH Stable &                   Richard Dutrow Jr.                                                                     Paul Pompa Jr.                                   PREAKNESS STAKES MOUNTS Year              Horse/Fin.                                       Owner                            Trainer 1988        Finder's Choice 9th                        Locust Hill Farm             Charles H. Hadry 1990        Kentucky Jazz 7th                         L.R. French Jr.               D. Wayne Lukas 1995        Our Gatsby 7th                             Charles F. Heider            Donnie K. Von Hemel 1997        Free House 2nd                            Trudy McCaffery/             Juan (Paco) Gonzalez                                                                   John Toffan 1998        REAL QUIET WON                       Mike Pegram                   Bob Baffert 1999        Excellent Meeting Pulled up          Golden Eagle Farm           Bob Baffert 2000        Fusaichi Pegasus 2nd                  Fusao Sekiguchi               Neil Drysdale 2002        U.S.S. Tinosa 6th                         Peter Abruzzo,                 Jerry Hollendorfer                                                                   Barry Thiriot 2004        Imperialism 5th                             Steve Taub                      Kristin Mulhall 2006        Sweetnorthernsaint 2nd                 Joseph J. Balsamo &       Michael Trombetta                                                                   Ted Theos                                 BELMONT STAKES MOUNTS Year        Horse/Fin.                                    Owner                                Trainer 1993        Arinthod Eased                            Sidney Craig                        Ron McAnally 1997        Free House 3rd                           Trudy McCaffery/                   Juan (Paco) Gonzalez                                                                 John Toffan 1998        Real Quiet 2nd                            Mike Pegram                        Bob Baffert 1999        Patience Game 6th                     The Thoroughbred Corp.         Alex Hassinger 2002        Medaglia d’Oro 2nd                     Edmund Gann                       Robert Frankel

CO-OWNERS - IEAH Stable and Paul Pompa, Jr.     IEAH Stable made it to the top of Thoroughbred racing at hyper-speed on the super speedy feet of Big Brown, the undefeated 3-year-old colt that dominated a field of 19 other runners to win the 134th Kentucky Derby and head toward the second jewel in racing’s Triple Crown, the 133 rd running of the Preakness Stakes. The stable is owned by Michael Iavarone and Richard J. Schiavo.     Iavarone was born July 25, 1970 in Bethpage, N.Y. and lives in Holbrook, N.Y. His family includes his wife Christine and daughters Kayla and Emily.     Schiavo was born Dec. 13, 1949 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and lives in Woodbury, N.Y. His family consists of his wife Dee and sons Mark, Craig and Zack.     Iavarone is a graduate of St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, N.Y., and Schiavo has a managerial accounting degree from Pace University. Iavarone worked as a Wall Street investment banker before forming IEAH. Schiavo previously worked in the financial services industry and was a chief administrative officer for Smith Barney.     The two are Co-President and Co-CEO of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings (IEAH) Inc. Schiavo joined IEAH as an investor in 2003 and became a member of the management team in early 2004. IEAH Stables is the racing subsidiary of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Inc.     Another company, IEAH Corporation, was formed to develop businesses that service the equine athlete, and the company’s first project, the $15 million Ruffian Equine Center at Belmont Park, is scheduled to open in 2008.     IEAH was formed in 2003 as a racing company that buys and breeds Thoroughbreds and then organizes and manages partnerships in those horses. The company owns about 70 horses, including 50 in training. The company retains a share of each horse it races.     The stable’s primary trainer is Richard Dutrow Jr., but IEAH also has horses with John Terranova and Dominick Schettino, also on the East Coast, and some horses in the West with another Dutrow string and Donald Chatlos.      The stable’s big horse for 2007 was Kip Deville, a multiple graded stakes winner who topped off his efforts on the year with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Monmouth Park. The stable’s Shaggy Mane finished seventh in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and Benny the Bull was fourth in the B.C. Sprint.     Other IEAH stakes winners over the years include Wonder Lady Anne L, who won the 2006 Coaching Club American Oaks; Subtle Aly, winner of the 2007 Schuylerville; Rebel Rebel, 2006 Poker Handicap winner; Kazoo, winner of the 2006 Toboggan Handicap, and Willy o’ the Valley, winner of the 2005 Maryland Breeders’ Cup Handicap.

BREEDER - Monticule Farm is located in Lexington, Ky., and owned and operated by Dr. Gary B. Knapp, who was born in Fergus Falls, Minn., and has homes in Austin, Texas; Lexington, and Palm Beach, Fla.     He earned a bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University (Ky.) in 1965, a master’s in business administration and marketing from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 1967, and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Kentucky in 1977.     He joined the faculty of the University of Houston in 1977 as a professor of marketing and in the interim has taught at various other universities.     While a tenured professor at the University of Houston, Knapp began a consulting business, Knapp Securities Inc., which specialized in mortgage-backed securities and ran the company from 1981 to 1995. In the latter year, he co-founded Park Acquisitions Inc., acquired Park Communications Inc., a diversified media and communications company with television, radio and newspaper interests. He was the company’s chairman until it was sold in 1997.     In 2003, Dr. Knapp acquired equity ownership of Equix, a business which assesses the athletic potential of Thoroughbreds by using biomechanics. He also is associated with Case The Race, which applies biomechanical data in handicapping. The system comes up with a CASE (coordination, aerobic efficiency, stride and endurance) number, which goes into rating the horse’s athletic ability.     Dr. Knapp says his love of horses goes back to his childhood when he rode his first pony. He played polo as a youth and said he became captivate by the Thoroughbred industry while a graduate student at the University of Kentucky. In 1989, he bought the first 200-acre piece of land that eventually became Monticule Farm. He didn’t devote full attention to the farm until 1997 when he began buying mares and started the breeding operation.     In the meantime, the farm has grown to 630 acres and is home to 20 broodmares and a number of yearlings. The youngsters are considered both racing and sales prospects. Among the farm’s racing prospects, Vino Tinto was eighth in the 2003 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Prussian lead much of the way in 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf before fading to 10th.