Big Brown: Out to Stud

Big brown is a retired champion racehorse. It is a winner of the 2008 Preakness Stakes and 2008 Kentucky Derby. The thoroughbred is a popular horse breed often used in horse racing, although the term can sometimes refer to any kind of purebred horses. Thoroughbreds are advanced and known as “hot-blooded” horses, recommended for their agility, spirit, and speed.

The breeds we know today were developed between the 17th and 18th century in England. At the time, the native breeds were crossbred with other imported Oriental stallions from Barb, Arabian, and Turcoman breeding grounds. Between the 18th and 19th century, thoroughbred breeds spread out around the world, including North America, South America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Today, there are thousands of thoroughbreds but that is not that many compared to the number of horses overall.

Uses

Although thoroughbreds are bred primarily for racing, they are also used for combined training and show jumping because of their athleticism. Many or the retrained or retired race horses make fine family riding horses, youth show horses and dressage horses. Many of the larger breeds are sought for famous race, dressage competitions, fox hunting and jumper competitions, whereas the smaller breeds are sought as polo ponies. Thoroughbreds such as Big Brown are often crossbred in order to create new and improved breeds of existing ones. As a result, they have been useful in the introduction of various warm blood, Anglo-Arabian, standard bred, and quarter horse breeds.

Breed Features

A typical thoroughbred racehorse is 62-68 inches high. They are often dark bay/brown, bay, gray or chestnut black. Some of the less common colors in the U.S. include palomino and roan, while white is rare although it is recognized separate from gray. The coat patterns that feature several colors, such as Appaloosa or Pinto, have not been recognized by the mainstream registries. The lower legs and face may be marked with white, although white does not appear generally on the body. Marvelous thoroughbreds feature a well-chiseled head supported by a long neck. In addition, they have a short back, a deep chest, a lean body, long legs, high withers, and perfect depth of their hindquarters.

Value

The prices of thoroughbred horses vary significantly, depending on age, conformation and pedigree, in addition to other market factors. A single horse can sell at an average of $89,259 in the U.S., while an average weanling sells for about $44,407 and average yearling sells for about $55,300. In Australia, a weanling can sell for an average of $25,635 and yearlings for an average of $75,853. The prices at auctions are often high although they do not reflect the future success of the animal.

Some thoroughbreds are injured early in their careers, limiting their racing lifespan to just a few starts before they are retired. Others end up being sold as horsemeat for several hundred dollars. Big Brown was originally bought for $190,000 and then sold 75% of the horse to I.E.A.H for about $3 million. This brilliant horse was able to win 7 of 8 races, in addition to dominating his generation. Today, he has produced very nice foals that horsemen and trainers are impressed with.