Hoof Injury May Scratch Casino Drive

ELMONT, N.Y., June 6 -- Casino Drive, the Japanese import considered the primary rival to Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes, might not run after suffering what was described as a possible "stone bruise" in his left rear hoof.

"This morning, we're not 100 percent happy with the hind legs, how he moves," said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. "We didn't go to the track with him. There's a slight possibility of a stone bruise, and we're just cooling him down now. It's not lame, just something different with the way he walks. We expect him to run."

The week has not gone smoothly for Casino Drive, whose siblings, Jazil and Rags to Riches, have won the past two Belmonts. On Wednesday morning, the colt went to the track for a workout, which was quickly aborted when the rider pulled up. Tada blamed a muddy track.

Casino Drive has not had a published workout since winning the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont in his second career start on May 10.

Big Brown's trainer, Richard Dutrow Jr., said he was told Thursday night that Casino Drive might be scratched, but Tada said the problem was discovered at 5 a.m. on Friday.

With morning-line odds of 7-2, Casino Drive figured to go off as the second betting choice. Big Brown's jockey, Kent Desormeaux, rode Casino Drive in the Peter Pan and afterward said the colt was the only one who could match strides with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner.

"It's disappointing because it really adds some intrigue to the race, and they've got to be given credit for giving it a shot," said H. Graham Motion, who trains Icabad Crane.

Casino Drive's connections have until 45 minutes before the Belmont to scratch the horse, according to New York Racing Association rules.

Tada said some heat had been found in the hoof, but it dissipated after ice was applied. Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa normally does not send his horses to the track the morning of a race, Tada said, but "if he's too fresh, he might have a canter" on Saturday.

Outside the Belmont barn of trainer John Hertler, where Casino Drive has been stabled in preparation for the race, Tada was asked if he believed the colt could still win the Belmont despite the setback.

"I've never said we can win the Belmont Stakes," he said. "We're trying to win."

Patch Applied to Big Brown

Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay removed and replaced the stainless steel wires in the quarter crack on Big Brown's left front hoof Friday afternoon and applied a fiberglass and methacrylic patch that will remain on during the race.

"The patch we put on today will be very routine," McKinlay said. "And that's probably the last time I'll look at the hoof, and I don't mean till tomorrow; I mean two or three months."

The five-eighths-of-an-inch crack was discovered May 24 and caused Big Brown to miss several days of galloping at the track.

Big Brown galloped 1 1/2 miles on the main track Friday morning with rubber boots on his front hoofs and received the patch later in the day.

"If the patch comes off in that race, I might as well quit what I'm doing," McKinlay said.