SCARBOROUGH — One voice from one very animated bettor pierced the stunned silence. "He did it! He did it!"
Da'Tara won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. Big Brown couldn't deliver what was promised or expected and now everyone must wait another year for a Triple Crown winner.
"It's too bad," said Dave Niles of Hinesburg, Vt., sitting in the clubhouse lounge at Scarborough Downs. "I bet on another horse, too, only because there was no money betting Big Brown. But I wanted to see a Triple Crown winner."
If there was ever a sure thing in sports, Big Brown was said to be it. So dominant in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. So special. He looked the part of a Triple Crown champion, even more than Funny Cide and Smarty Jones in 2003 and 2004, who had the wonderful back stories of likable owners and trainers.
Even more, Big Brown seemed to fill a need.
"Our country needs a Triple Crown winner right now," said John Gato of South Portland, who had just finished quizzing Congressional candidate Charlie Summers on everything from Iraq to the price of heating oil.
"We need a little bit of a boost," said Gato. "Everything has been so negative."
That's why so many at Scarborough Downs were primed to cheer a Big Brown coronation. At a time when people feel so powerless, so not in control, Big Brown exuded strength. He had the world of horse racing by its tail.
"I really believe the Triple Crown winner comes when the country needs it most," said Mike Sweeney, a Scarborough Downs spokesman, as he greeted familiar faces in the crowd. "Look down through history. Affirmed when the economy was bad, Secretariat when we're feeling the Vietnam War. You can keep going back."
So what, we can't feel good with the underdog overcoming 38-1 odds? Once Casino Drive was scratched, the smart guys dismissed the rest of the field. Please, someone applaud Da' Tara.
One man did, high-fiving anyone who would raise his hand. He had bet $90, which means he netted more than $3,500 on his investment.
Da' Tara paid back $79 on a $2 bet.
He showed me his winning ticket but I wanted his name. "You're from the Press Herald? Oh no, I'm not giving you my name."
Dave from Portland, said those sitting nearby. A regular at Scarborough Downs. A handicapper with a system that certainly worked Saturday. Was he disappointed there will no Triple Crown champion?
No, he said, wondering how I could ask such a foolish thing. He had picked his winner.
Live harness racing at Scarborough had ended about 90 minutes before. Some in the crowd had left. More stayed.
"You should have been here for the Preakness," said Dr. Stephen Reed of Wiscasset. The big crowd cheered Big Brown that day. They had recognized a champion.
Reed is a regular with an appreciation for the horses, the men and women who train and drive or ride them. He appreciates, too, that horse racing is part of America's fabric. The Triple Crown isn't any different from the World Series or the Westminster Dog Show.
That was one reason Summers showed up. He grew up in rural Illinois. Horse racing was part of his life. But yes, he smiled. He was looking for a few votes, too. Truth be told, so was Steve Meister, a pediatrician and candidate for Congress who hurried to find a seat for himself and his family.
Cheers greeted the announcement that the horses were in the gate. Cries of encouragement followed the horses around the track.
"Big Brown is going to destroy him," yelled one fan. "He's just sitting there, waiting."
Big Brown was the people's choice. A hero. He carried his jockey on his back and so much more.
Big Brown stayed in third. As he slipped back in the field and Da'Tara lengthened his lead, a strange silence filled the room.
Except for one man's shouts.
Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:
ssolloway@pressherald.com
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