The horse racing world is holding its collective breath. Big Brown has a slight crack in his left front foot – nothing serious, but enough to raise tensions in a week that also saw Panty Raid retired due to injury and Nashoba’s Key (above photo) euthanized. One wrong step at the Belmont Stakes, and the sport’s profile may never recover.

In this supercharged environment, Big Brown is still the heavy favorite to win the Belmont and complete the Triple Crown. But he’s lost a little steam at 1-3 after opening at 2-9. Casino Drive has moved from 9-2 to 7-2 as the second favorite. The Japanese-trained horse won the Peter Pan Stakes earlier this month and may still have some value as a relative unknown.

Edgar Prado will be in the saddle for Casino Drive on June 7. Kent Desormeaux, who rode Casino Drive to victory at the Peter Pan, remains on Big Brown.

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