Poised at the starting gate to equine immortality, heavily favored to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, Big Brown also is taking UPS along on one of sports marketing's fantastic, fortunate rides.

And another Atlanta-based company — Hooters — has jumped onboard the Big Brown bandwagon, just this week becoming a secondary sponsor. The chain famous for its wings and its voluptuous waitstaff adds a whole other element to the building commercial carnival around Big Brown.

There was a brief photo session Wednesday with the horse and its jockey, Kent Desormeaux, and a gaggle of Hooters models. Additionally, there will be two models joining the small Hooters corporate presence at Saturday's race, although it is uncertain whether they could take part in the winner's circle celebration should Big Brown win.

"We'll try to get as close as we can," said Mike McNeil, vice president of marketing for Hooters.

They definitely pose an extra distraction, but as McNeil said, "UPS is a giant compared to us. Because of the name of the horse, they are going to get a lot more out of it than we are — they're probably paying a lot more, too. We just want to do what we can and be a part of the team, part of the branding."

Hooters will get a logo placement on Desormeaux during the race and will promote Belmont watching parties at many of its 442 restaurants around the country. Where UPS loses out in sex appeal, it more than makes up in name recognition and its longer-standing relationship with the horse and its ownership.

"If [Big Brown] wins the Triple Crown, he will be one of the most celebrated athletes in 30 years," said Kelly Weitsma, the agent who helped broker the sponsorship deals. "And [UPS] has really been able to ride the train with us."

As Big Brown has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown — the Kentucky Derby and Preakness — Desormeaux has worn the UPS logo.

The story of how the horse got his name, the popular nickname for UPS, has spread through all levels of the national media. His original owner was a grateful trucking exec with whom UPS had just renewed a freight contract.

In monetary terms, Eric Wright of the corporate sponsorship research firm Joyce Julius Associates figures that UPS has received an estimated $4 million worth of media exposure thus far. That number easily would double if Big Brown wins again Saturday, he said.

In human, emotional terms, Big Brown has given the 12,200 UPS employees in Atlanta and 425,000 worldwide a reason to rally around horse racing's most famous trifecta. "Go Big Brown" buttons have become de rigueur from Snellville to Singapore.

"It's a chance to be involved with a potentially historic moment," said Rogowski, who spotted many of those buttons during his trip to Asia last week. "As well as the marketing opportunities, it's an opportunity for the employees to get excited."

"You can bet the farm [on Big Brown]," said Gene Reilly, a UPS print production supervisor who is planning to host a Belmont watching party for friends and co-workers at Marietta's Trilogy. "I really believe he's too big and too powerful to be beaten.

"It's all over the place, in every hallway [at UPS] — 'Go Big Brown, Go Big Brown.' We're going to have a big party to root him in and see him make history. UPS is right there with him."

Such enthusiasm aside, even as Big Brown has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness with an unchallenged closing burst, history is littered with almosts. Since Affirmed became the last Triple Crown winner in 1978, 10 horses have won the first two legs but failed at the Belmont. The campaign wears on the favorite and, indeed, Big Brown's handlers currently are treating a cracked hoof that appeared after the Preakness.

UPS has its share of carefully plotted sports marketing campaigns, from the Olympics to NASCAR sponsorship. Big Brown, however, appeared as if by magic.

Even the slickest marketing exec could not have designed such a scenario. The odds against latching onto a champion thoroughbred are staggering — from an estimated crop of 40,000 yearlings each breeding season arises but one 3-year-old winner of the Kentucky Derby. Also, the thoroughbred registry does not allow blatantly commercial names. Therefore, there are no horses named King of Beers or Coca-Cola Kid on the immediate horizon.

It just so happened that UPS abandoned its federal trademark of the name Big Brown three years ago, before Paul Pompa Jr. decided to pay tribute to his biggest business benefactor. Pompa sold majority interest in the unbeaten horse to IEAH Stables for $3 million after it won its first race as a 2-year-old.

Rogowski said Big Brown was not on any corporate radar until a few weeks before May's Kentucky Derby, when IEAH approached UPS about striking up a relationship. First, the company had to verify both the horse's potential and the story behind the origin of its name.

"Within a few days, we realized this was a phenomenal opportunity," Rogowski said. Technically, the sponsorship deal is with Big Brown's ownership group and his jockey, since a horse has difficulty signing a contract. Terms of the deal, which was renewed after each successful step of the Triple Crown, are carefully guarded. But it clearly is Big Brown that is carrying the freight...