Dutrow first noticed something was amiss when one of his grooms called him over on Friday after a morning gallop.

Big Brown has missed two days of training at Belmont Park, and will miss at least several more while being treated by hoof specialist Ian McKinlay for a five-eighths of an inch long quarter crack on the inside of his left front hoof.

McKinlay has repaired injuries much more severe before big races, allowing Touch Gold to fight off a leg injury from the 1997 Preakness and go on to win the Belmont and spoil Silver Charm’s Triple try in 1997.

“This is a very, very minor crack,” McKinlay assured. “We will put a set of wires in, stitch it up and then patch it.”

Dutrow said Big Brown continues to be taken for walks inside his barn, and is feeling no pain. The hoof was treated with a combination of iodine and alcohol Saturday.

Foot woes are nothing new for Big Brown. When he first arrived at Dutrow’s barn in Aqueduct late last year, he suffered an abscess in the sole of his left front foot, which caused a wall separation and sidelined him for 45 days.

In January, he suffered the same injury to his right front foot and missed another 45 days. Those injuries were called quarter cracks, even by Dutrow. But McKinlay noted there’s a big difference.

Big Brown wears special $750 shoes that supports his hooves with sides designed to add strength in his vulnerable spots.

“A quarter crack is just a split, literally, in the wall and it will start at the hairline and travel down but never reach the sole,” he said. “A wall separating is the exact opposite. It starts from the sole and runs to the top. And it’s very painful.

“As far as this crack goes, it’s very minor.”

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