Sal Sinatra, PhillyPark's director of racing, made it known to the Big Brown people that the race was there and, with Big Brown's participation, there was a chance of a substantial purse increase from the listed $250,000 for the PTHA President's Cup. On Monday, Big Brown's connections are coming to PhillyPark to walk the grass course to see if it is suitable.

If it is, there is a real chance Big Brown will be at Philadelphia Park on Sept. 13 for the $1 million PTHA President's Cup.

"I told them I would double the purse to $500,000," Sinatra said. "I would add an additional $250,000 for each jewel of the Triple Crown a horse in the race has won."

Which is how they got to $1 million.

"If it rains or falls apart, I'm only in it for a half-million so I only doubled the purse," Sinatra said. "I still might have a decent field. I'm not going right to a million and then the thing falls apart."

New York and New Jersey are preparing to write races on Sept. 13 to attract Big Brown, but for much less money. New York's offer is said to be for a $100,000 race with a bump up to $200,000 if a Grade I winner (read Big Brown) is entered. Monmouth Park's deal is similar.

Big Brown obviously was eligible to run in the Sept. 1 Pennsylvania Derby, also a $1 million race. But trainer Rick Dutrow said that race was too soon after the Haskell. So, Big Brown was not even nominated.

The President's Cup is 1 1/8 miles on grass for 3-year-olds and up. It has been a nice race. With Big Brown, it becomes an event.

The grass course is an issue. It is not pristine. They have not raced on it since July 29. The first races on it since then are scheduled for Saturday during Pennsylvania Day at the Races.

"I know what my turf course is compared to Belmont," Sinatra said. "I'm not going to lie to them."

Sinatra has been working on getting Big Brown for a while, mostly talking to Mike Sellitto, the agent for Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown's rider. On Sunday, Sinatra got a phone call saying the Big Brown people were going to pass on the PhillyPark race. On Monday, Sellitto called Sinatra again and said the Big Brown people wanted to reconsider. And here we are.

If, in fact, Big Brown runs in the race, it would mark the first appearance by a Kentucky Derby winner at the track, as a Derby winner. Smarty Jones' first two races of his career were at PhillyPark, but, even though he trained there after winning the 2004 Derby, he did not race there again. Spectacular Bid, the 1979 Derby winner, made his final start of 1978 in the Heritage Stakes at what was then known as Keystone. *