Contact: Diana M. Orban Brown

Director of Communications

Rutgers Equine Science Center

732-932-9419

orban@njaes.rutgers.edu

 

EQUINE SCIENCE CENTER FEATURED ON ‘GOOD MORNING AMERICA'

 

            NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (June 6, 2008) – What gives a racehorse that “extra something” or burst of energy when it gets into the homestretch?

 

            That was the question posed today by “Good Morning America,” the popular ABC network television show, just before the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. The show did a feature on Big Brown, the three-year-old Thoroughbred that was the favorite to win the race and clinch the Triple Crown.

 

            The answer was provided by Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. In an interview at Rutgers, she told reporter Ryan Owens that the physical reason relates to the action of the horse’s spleen releasing extra red blood cells during a race and increasing the amount of oxygen the horse taps into.

 

            However, she added, winning is in the horse’s head. “It’s the will and determination to just want to win,” she said. When Owens showed her on a monitor one of Big Brown’s earlier wins and asked her to comment, she pointed out how the horse was “in the zone” when he got into the lead, and there was no stopping him. “It’s bye bye, baby,” she said.

 

Click here to watch the clip of Dr. Malinowski’s appearance, which is archived on the “Good Morning America” website.