Just had to give this a thread of its own. The owner of Cali Chrome sounded like a whining

[bklyncowgirl]

47. What Steve Coburn didn't know at the time was that his horse was injured at the start of the race.

California Chrome grabbed a quarter coming out of the starting gate. That means he ran the 1 1/2 mile race with part of his heel torn off.

http://www.drf.com/news/california-chrome-grabbed-quarter-during-Belmont

It clearly hurt him. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/videos/13300/california-chrome-returns-to-barn

Espinosa felt there was something wrong but thought it was because he was between and behind horses and the horse didn't like getting dirt kicked in his face. He swung wide coming into the turn to get his horse out of there. That move probably cost him the race.

I was standing by the rail about halfway down the stretch and California Chrome was still running hard and gaining on the outside. If Espinosa hadn't swung wide he might have made it home bleeding foot and all.

As for the owner's comments, they were completely inappropriate. I think he just lost it. He's an ordinary guy--an ex rodeo cowboy turned factory worker who happened to catch the fabled lighting in a jar not a hedge fund manager or blue blood skilled in public relations. He's also an emotional person who dearly loves his horse and sees California Chrome as a gift from God. I was sitting next to a guy who happened to be on line with Coburn and his wife coming into the track and was struck by what a nice, normal people they appeared to be. They talked for a while and Coburn and his wife posed for pictures. I later thought I recognized him walking alone through the crowd back by the paddock but I couldn't catch a look at his credentials as he went by to be sure.

We'll never know if an uninjured California Chrome would have beaten Tonalist and the other fresh horses. Spectacular Bid was on anyone's list of great horses but he lost the triple crown to a safety pin and a lousy jockey ride. Is Steve Coburn's little Junior a great horse who had bad luck on the biggest day of his life like Spectacular Bid, a very good horse who got lucky for two thirds of the Triple Crown like Funny Cide or a possibly great but fragile horse like Big Brown or Smarty Jones.

I hope he'll get a chance to prove it later this year and hopefully next year. I also hope that Steve Coburn learns a lesson from this. Never, never talk to the media when you're upset. You can't take it back.