Deep Surface/ Toe Grabs/ Questionable Shoeing

The Belmont surface was deep, which is good for fracture prevention. Notice how deep into the surface D'Tara's front left strikes. You notice the depth of the cups from the hoof prints in other photos. Per Desormeaux's comments it was a deep track.
Now, you combine the post on top of this one were I indicated the BB front long toes, add that those fronts lack toe grabs, a stupidity(Edit 6/11: subsequent photos show clearly that BB's front shoes have a short toe grab, so this part of the post is incorrect.) that I dealt with on the blog in my section on shoeing in Spring 2007(different style shoes fronts/hinds), and you have a horse that was as the jock noted, slipping and sliding and failing to get a hold of the surface combined with an inefficient stride cause by his long front toes. Good grief!

Questionable shoeing practice, questionable training and attention to detail. Big Brown had clodhoppers for front hoofs for the Belmont. The ideal time to shoe is a few days out from the race. You plan your toes for perfect length at race time. Why they'd choose to go without front grabs on a lose deep surface is beyond me. Guarantee that D'tara was wearing grabs all the way around.