CONFIDENCE

You gotta love Dutrow...

We love Barclay Tagg, but he did not enjoy the media frenzy that accompanied Funny Cide's Triple Crown attempt.

Dutrow is the anti-Barclay.

He loves the media attention and his comfort with the media and his bravado are just what the sport needs right now. While his attitude is a throwback to Joe Namath's famous Super Bowl guarantee, it is also very pop culture as it mirrors common threads found in the NBA and NFL.

Here's the latest from ESPN:

While Casino Drive is being portrayed as a serious threat to keeping Big Brown from winning the elusive Triple Crown with a Belmont Stakes victory.

But Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. isn't buying the hype.

"He's got no chance of beating our horse," Dutrow told reporters Wednesday. "I'll be in the winner's circle when they get to the quarter pole. That's how I feel. I don't see that this horse can beat him."

Why is Casino Drive being talked up so much?

A $950,000 yearling purchase in 2006, Casino Drive is closely related to the last two Belmont winners: Jazil (2006) and the filly Rags to Riches (2007).

Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who guided Big Brown to victory in the Kentucky Derby, also was aboard the Japanese-owned Casino Drive for his first U.S. victory on May 9 in the Peter Pan Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

"He's a phenomenal talent," Desormeaux said. "We've got our hands full with this one. It's going to be ultimately exciting for all the fans. He's got that stride."

If Big Brown does win the Belmont Stakes, there still might be more races in his future.

Dutrow suggested that he is eyeing two more races for Big Brown: the Travers Stakes on Aug. 23 at Saratoga and the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.