Grass Proves Greener for Brown

Special to espn.com

Chad Brown may be the most unusual trainer the sport has ever seen. Fair or not, his reputation is that he is a jack of one trade, but a very good one. He is widely considered the best turf trainer in America and his success on the grass is remarkable. He pre-entered 13 horses in the Breeders' Cup, more than any other trainer, and 12 of them were meant for grass races. He's been so dominant in top level turf races this year that his stable has made $15.9 million, second behind only Todd Pletcher's $21.7 million.

It's been a successful formula. When European owners want to send their grass horses to race on the east coast of the U.S. they almost always think of Brown first. When U.S. owners have a well-bred horse with a turf pedigree, Brown usually tops their list. He'll come into the Breeders' Cup with 26 graded stakes wins on the year, 23 of them on the turf. His turf runners have made $12.3 million this year and no other trainer comes remotely close. By way of comparison, Pletcher's turf runners have made $5.2 million.

“My clients send me horses meant to run on turf and we get the most out of them and we're proud of that, not disappointed in that in any regard,” Brown said. “We have won lots of big races on turf, particularly this year, and that has put us second in the country in money earned with over $15 million and the money you earn on turf versus dirt is no different.”

He'll have two starters in the Juvenile Turf, two in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, one in the Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, three in the Filly & Mare Turf and three in the Turf. He's won five Breeders' Cup races, all of them on the turf.

Brown's only dirt starter this year is Wavell Avenue in the Filly & Mare Sprint.

He could easily come away with three or four wins, but even that would be a mixed blessing. Brown has developed a reputation as someone who excels on the grass and he can count on getting dozens of top grass horses to train each year, the type of horses that will put $15 million or more in his stable's bank account. But he's also been typecast and owners are obviously reluctant to send him dirt horses.

That's holding Brown back from ascending to the next level. When people think of the sport's top trainers they start with Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert and Brown might come in fifth or sixth. That's because others win with dirt horses, particularly high-class 3-year-old males who travel the Triple Crown trail. Those are the horses that bring you the most acclaim, not winners of the Sheepshead Bay Handicap or the Ballston Spa.

It's also not fair to Brown.

There are likely owners out there who believe Brown can't win on the dirt, the only reason they would send him their good grass and send someone else their top dirt runners. Throughout his career, which only goes back to 2007, the former assistant to Bobby Frankel has won with 26 percent of his grass starters and 25 percent of his dirt runners. His in-the-money percentage on the dirt is 43 percent, actually a bit higher than the 41 rate he's achieved on turf.

“Thank you,” Brown said, when those numbers were read back to him, a sign that he's appreciative at least one person realizes he's not incapable of winning with dirt horses.

“Not really,” he said when asked if it bothered him that he didn't get more opportunities with dirt horses. “We know, my staff and I, what our abilities are with dirt horses. Like you pointed out, our win percentages and in-the-money percentages are almost identical on the two surfaces, so it's proof that it comes down to horses you are sent.”

The problem is, most of his dirt horses, while winners, haven't broken through in top level stakes. He's had just one Kentucky Derby starter, Normandy Invasion, who finished fourth in 2013.

“We would like to participate in the Triple Crown every year; that's definitely a goal of ours,” he said. “I think we have a really good group currently and I see some possible candidates for next year. Every year you hope your horses develop and you get there and I am very confident we will. Normandy Invasion gave us a pretty good run in the Derby, and for a moment it looked like he could win. Something like that drives you to get back there. Time will tell.”

As well as Brown is doing he figures to do all that much better if he can ever shake the stereotype that he is a turf only trainer. Add seven or eight top dirt horses to his barn and his career will explode; he could easily eclipse Pletcher as the sport's top trainer. He's that talented.

That brings us back to Wavell Avenue, his starter in the Filly & Mare Sprint. She doesn't look that good on paper as she's never so much as won a stakes race. But a victory by her could be a watershed moment in the career of Chad Brown. She gives him an opportunity to make a statement, that he's a lot more than a one-trick pony.

This story was originally printed on espn.com and is republished here with their permission. For more stories on horse racing by Bill Finley and others, visit http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/