by John Scheinman

Greg Bennett, D.V.M., the primary veterinarian for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., examined Big Brown on Monday at Belmont Park and said the dual classic winner, who did not finish the Belmont Stakes (G1) in his quest for the Triple Crown, checked out fine.

“It didn’t seem to be any soundness issues with the horse,” Bennett said. “He did loosen [the right] hind shoe, but I don’t know how much of a factor that was. There will probably be more things to look at, but from my point of view, the horse seemed to come back OK. He wasn’t in any distress.”

Big Brown was attempting to become the first American Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, but he was eased in the stretch by jockey Kent Desormeaux on June 7 at Belmont Park.

Big Brown was rank in the early stages of the Belmont Stakes after “slipping” coming out of the gate. He raced close on the heels of pacesetter and eventual winner Da’ Tara before being fanned out wide next to Tale of Ekati. Desormeaux began easing Big Brown turning for home when it was clear the Boundary colt would not win.

“The horse seemed to be a little rank to me, not into his normal way of running,” Bennett said. “Sometimes things upset horses. When Desormeaux was pulling up the horse, he didn’t complain about him being unsound, but [Big Brown] wasn’t in his usual gear.”

Big Brown had not received steroids since before winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 3, which caused some speculation that missing his monthly injection in May might have caused him to perform poorly. Bennett dismissed the idea.

“I don’t think the steroid issue is of any consequence,” Bennett said. “I think the horse hasn’t gotten it for a while. I think April was the last dose of it. He ran almost without the effect of it anyway.”

Big Brown missed some training between his victory in the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 17 and the Belmont because of a quarter crack. Bennett said that was a more likely contributor to the poor performance than the steroid issue.

Dutrow trains Big Brown for majority owner IEAH Stables Inc. Bennett said he thought the colt would return to Dutrow’s base at Aqueduct on either Monday or Tuesday for continued evaluation. IEAH co-President Michael Iavarone has said that he would like a healthy Big Brown to contest the Travers Stakes (G1) in August at Saratoga Race Course.

John Scheinman is a Maryland-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent