Big Brown is no Secretariat

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Before everyone gets too caught up in all the horse-racing hype and people start losing their minds over Big Brown and his run at the Triple Crown, let's try to keep things in perspective.This isn't the second coming of Secretariat.Not even close.Yes, Big Brown is a terrific race horse, the best thoroughbred of this year's bunch, as he proved with his convincing victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. And, maybe, he's got the goods needed to go all the way, to go that final mile-and-a-half and win the Belmont Stakes.If so, he'll become only the 11th horse to claim the sport's Triple Crown, the first since Affirmed in 1978. He also would join 1977 winner Seattle Slew as the only undefeated Triple Crown champions.That's special.But it's not Secretariat special.As unbeatable as Big Brown has been thus far -- he has won all five races he has entered by a total of 39 lengths -- he's still chasing a chestnut ghost he can't catch.Big Brown is not the next "Big Red.""If he wins his next race, he's going to be up there with any horse that has ever run," Rick Dutrow, Big Brown's trainer, said after Saturday's Preakness triumph. "He'd be in the same breath as Secretariat, Affirmed and all those good ones."The same breath, perhaps, but not the same class.Not with Secretariat.Not in 1973.Contrary to a pop-culture belief that everything today is superior to anything made or done yesterday, newer isn't necessarily better. The latest isn't always the best -- especially in an America in decline, in a nation where standards of excellence keep getting lowered, just to make sure people don't need to do anything extraordinary to feel good about themselves.Secretariat, though, was truly extraordinary. He was the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, accomplishing a feat many believed was no longer possible. He was the best I've ever seen, probably the best anyone will ever see.His mesmerizing, 31-length victory in the Belmont, where he ran away from the field and into history, is as much a part of our sports lore as DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak and Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors and the 1980 U.S. hockey team's "Miracle on Ice."But his greatness went far beyond one unforgettable race.Secretariat won all three Triple Crown races in record time, although a controversial timing dispute robbed him of his Preakness record being official. And to this day, 35 years later, his Derby and Belmont records still stand.There's more:-- In covering the Derby's 1-1/4 miles in 1:59 2/5, Secretariat ran each quarter-mile at a faster pace -- 25 1/5, 24, 23 4/5, 23 2/5 and 23 seconds -- and was still accelerating on the final leg.-- Though not officially recognized, Sham, who finished 2-1/2 lengths behind Secretariat, actually ran the second-fastest Derby ever (1:59 4/5).-- Not until Monarchos' 1:59 4/5 in 2001 did another Derby winner finish in under 2 minutes.Likewise, no horse has come close to Secretariat's record time of 2:24 in the Belmont, where he broke the race record by more than two seconds and ran the fastest 1 1/2 miles on dirt in history.Finally, Secretariat raced against strong competition. In addition to Sham, winner of the Santa Anita Derby and runner-up in the Wood Memorial, he beat three-time "Horse of the Year" Forego in the Derby as well as 1972 Derby and Belmont winner Riva Ridge in the first Marlboro Cup.Big Brown? By most accounts -- and all the oddsmakers -- he has beaten nothing but nags. That's not his fault, of course, but it raises questions.Great horse? Or great hype? Either way, he's no "Big Red."Not even close.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)