June 9 - In a stunning turn of events at the highly-anticipated Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York this Saturday, Triple Crown hopeful and crowd favorite, Big Brown, failed to deliver a win and in fact finished dead last in the 9 horse field, securing his worst career performance to date.

Ahead of the Belmont Stakes, the third race in the Triple Crown series, Big Brown, the winner of this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, captured the imagination of American horseracing fans as the first horse in 20 years with an excellent chance of winning the Triple Crown.

But alas it was not to be as race long-shot, Da' Tara with 38 to 1 odds, took the lead from the outset, never relinquishing it, to win the 2008 Belmont Stakes by a convincing 5 1/4 lengths ahead of second place finisher, Denis of Cork. Before the race, Big Brown was the 1 - 4 favorite.

Third place was shared by Ready's Echo and Anak Nakal, followed by Macho Again in fifth, Tale of Ekati in sixth, Guadalcanal in seventh, Icabad Crane in eighth, and Big Brown in ninth place, who was 'eased' through the final stretch by his top-rated jockey, Kent Desormeaux.

The shock result left many of the 94,476-strong Belmont Stakes crowd scratching their heads in amazement at Big Brown's dismal performance. One can only imagine what was going through the head of Big Brown's trainer, Richard Dutrow Jr, as he watched his Triple Crown hopes go up in smoke.

After the race, the visibly shaken Desormeaux said that he had no idea why Big Brown failed to deliver on the day. 'I knew that he wasn't going to come in the money, so I eased off him. Despite the result, Big Brown is still the best horse I have ever ridden and I took care of him.'

What makes the result so astonishing is Big Brown's recent track record. The 3-year-old won his five previous races, including the coveted Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes last month and, despite a recent minor quarter crack in his front left foot, was expected to run well.

After the race Big Brown's foot was examined by the official veterinarian for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Dr. Larry Bramlage, who was quoted as saying that 'Big Brown looked fine after the race, his feet were ok and he did not appear to be lame.'

Dutrow Jr's brooding silence after the race suggests that he too was just as confused and surprised by Big Browns performance as the rest of the horseracing community. Big Brown now joins the infamous list of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners who too failed in their Triple Crown bids at Belmont.

These include Spectacular Bid, Pleasant Colony, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide, and Smarty Jones.