The Triple Crown trail is littered with colts whose feet failed them along the way. Less than 24 hours before the biggest horse race in three decades, favorite Big Brown and his Japanese challenger, Casino Drive, took steps in opposite directions.

The cracked hoof that stood between trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.’s big bay colt and the sport’s first Triple Crown since 1978 was covered with an acrylic patch Friday, ending a weeklong drama.

No sooner had the glue dried on Big Brown when Casino Drive turned up with a suspect foot that could knock the early second choice out of the Belmont Stakes. (Editor’s note: Casino Drive was declared from the race on Saturday morning, June 7).

If he’s scratched from Saturday’s punishing 1 1/2-mile race, it would eliminate Big Brown’s chief rival, the only other undefeated colt in the field and send Dutrow’s brimming confidence over the top