Last Sunday's column on Rick Dutrow drew some e-mail to the old in-box.
Here are some excerpts:
O.S. wrote: Hello John, "Ok..John. So I’ll give the fact that Rick isn’t the most popular trainer in the world and he does lack some classiness…but we finally have a horse that the racing industry needs and have waited so long for. I’m a small harness horse owner in Alberta, Canada so I’m very familiar with the racing industry. Why do the media like the yourself intend to ruin the excitement of this amazing horse by taking the attention away from Big Brown to give negative publicity to his trainer.
- I did not enjoy reading your column whatsoever and I’m very disappointed as not only a horse owner but just a big fan that really is looking forward and so very excited to see Big Brown win the Triple Crown."
- S.Y. wrote, "Great article, could not agree more. But I am kinda having, Spectacular Bid, De Ja Vue all over again. The whole: obnoxious trainer, druggie jockey and mysterious foot injuries sound sooooo familiar."
- Joan wrote, "Well done! I think you've written what everyone feels. Of all the deserving trainers and owners out there who should be in the position of winning a Triple Crown – these connections are not the worthy ones. Let's hope that quarter crack would have to make him scratch next
week, but Dutrow will have him all 'juiced' and ready. Sad, sad, state of affairs for racing."
- Dean from Princeton University wrote, "This is truly a crossroads for horse racing with changes necessary to preserve any semblance of legitimacy to the sport and here we have a man who for all horse racing has given him second, third, fourth chances…and he refuses to embrace that respect for the game. In the "sport of kings" this man should be an ambassador for the sport. No, he'd rather act as inappropriately as possible and pop his collar. . . . Thank you for stating (though I believe you were more contrite and nice than you necessarily had to be because objectively this guy is ridiculous) just how his actions not only hurt his horse but perhaps the longevity of the sport."
- Kay wrote, "Very appropriate article on Rick Dutrow in today's LH-L. I will be the
first reader to say I hope Mr. Dutrow is right and Big Brown gets it
done in the Belmont. I want to seen Kent Desormeaux win the triple
crown. I have always been a fan of his. . . . Big Brown has been the most impressive winner, in my opinion, in 30
years, but his situation reminds me of 1979, when we heard so much
boasting about Spectacular Bid from Bud Delp. I don't really remember
the particular rhetoric from Delp back then, but the cavalier attitude
does remind me of Dutrow. And we all know how great Bid was, and how
he should have won the Triple Crown that year. In any aspect of the
horse business, it is easier to screw a horse up than make one better. . . . God, where is Lucien Lauren when you need him?"
Everybody knows a guy like this and the story never ends well.