The rant that inspired the responses below it:
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Eight Belles' death renews horse racing questions
http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/200...belles-de.html



(Eight Belles is "put down"/AP photo/Brian Bohannon)

For horse racing aficianados, the 4 3/4-length victory by Big Brown at the Kentucky Derby fueled hopes that thoroughbred racing will see its first Triple Crown winner in three decades. But for the millions of casual followers of the Sport of Kings, the wish was likely simpler:

Can we have a big-time race day without seeing a valiant four-legged competitor crippled and condemned to death?

Eight Belles was the lastest high-profile thoroughbred to run itself to death. For a moment, the gallant filly seemed to have earned a place alongside Danica Patrick in what was shaping up as a great year for women in racing.

But then the news spread ear-to-ear that Saturday's Kentucky Derby runnerup had snapped two ankles and was euthanized as she lay in the very Churchill Downs dirt where she had galloped to greatness.

We don't know what Eight Belles means on a horse farm, but in nautical terms "eight bells" marks the end of one's watch shift. And that was the finality Eight Belles met Saturday, although the view of her demise was blocked from the crowd of 150,000-plus by the sanitizing positioning of ambulances.

The Lexington Herald-Leader provides tape of Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones saying his horse "ran the race of here life," and he adds that "she was glad to do it." We'll suggest there's a slight leap of faith there.

Jones told The Louisville Courier-Journal that "It wasn't the race. It wasn't the fact that 19 boys were in there. She ran. She never got bumped. She never did anything. She could have done this race with Shetland ponies. It wasn't in the race where it happened."

Eight Belles' death was not a horse racing fluke. Two years ago Barbaro shattered bones at the Preakness and began the long and futile rehabilitation process that ultimately ended in an early death.

George Washington was given the death needle in the 2007 Breeders Cup.

Go For Wand had a horrific Breeders' Cup death at Belmont in 1990. In all, at the 1990 Breeders Cup at Belmont, three horses were "put down," thoroughbred racing's convenient term for a Kervorkian-like exit from the equine world.

Saturday, for Eight Belles, "There was no reason to wait," said Dr. Larry Bramlage, the American Association vet on call. Bramlage, who has been working at race tracks since 1975, said he had never seen such an injury.

"Sometimes, rarely, you might see a horse suffer something in one leg," Bramlage said. "But I've never seen it happen in both like that."

Friday at Churchill Downs was equally bleak. During the seven-horse Alysheba Stakes, Chelokee suffered a right front condylar fracture that affected the stability in his ankle and threw jockey Ramon Dominguez. The injury was closely compared to Barbaro's.

So, how many other equine deaths are there every year that go unnoticed in a sport that's largely ignored on a day-to-day basis? Let's just take one track, like Del Mar near San Diego: 55 deaths from 2004-06, says the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Bottom line: A direct comparison of Michael Vick to the thoroughbred industry isn't fair. Horse trainers do not pit their racers against each other in a throat-biting battle to the death.

But the death rate of top thouroughbreds does have to make one wonder why this sport seemingly never gets a review from the legal system, given how many of its superstars have gone straight from the finish line to the burial ground. If Vick has to live in a cell at Leavenworth, surely some people in the moneyed world of horse racing need to supply some answers.

Posted at 09:19 PM/ET, May 04, 2008 in Horse Racing | Permalink


Responding to the death of Eight Belles

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/200...ding-to-t.html

Tom Weir's morning rant on the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby elicited a slew of comments from Game On! readers.

Blog8belles Here is a sample of what readers are thinking:

I grew up with horses but will never ride again. Horse culture is full of delusion. Breaking its spirit, enslaving it, mutilating its body, and running it to death before a grotesque display of drunk gamblers. Sad. Some reward for their legendary spirit and loyalty to man. -- Miles West

To the owners of Eight Belles: I am so very, very sorry for such a tragic end to such a beautiful run. My heart goes out to Eight Belles, she ran her big heart out till she dropped. She wanted to give her rider what was asked of her and she did it to the end. What a marvelous horse she must have been. May the Lord comfort all that knew her. God bless. -- Sue Fancher

This article is a load, you talk about 55 horses died in two years at Del Mar but what you don't say is how many horses raced at the track in those two year. I bet the that the number 55 is less than 2% of the number of hrses that raced there in that time period. And these animal rights activists need to give it up and start worrying about our human rights that are being stripped from us everyday. -- stf 11

Make it illegal to gamble on horse racing. People are blind to the impact of gambling on the sport. Every day, you see horses hesitant to go into the starting gate. The horses are stuffed into the gate, for the sole reason that people have bet on that horse and removing the horse from the race would impact the odds. If it is so humane, and we all love these horses so much, why not let them go back to the stall if they don't feel like racing? Barbaro doesn't want to go into the gate, then breaks through the gate early, and they still stuff him back in there. Take the money out and let's see how many of these "enthusiasts" show up to see the horses then. People don't love the horses, they love the adrenaline rush they get during a race they just threw $250 on. Let's call it like it is. -- mrsplitty


I own horses. I have watched racing since I was a girl, but I am done! I said, "No more" after Barbaro, and then relented, but this is really it. Yes, some of these horses are treated like kings (I visited Secretariat before his death, and he was truly loved); yes, horses, especially thoroughbreds, love to run; yes, there is inherent risk. But these animals are exposed to such unnecessary risk. The simple fact is that 2-years-old is way too young to put this kind of stress on bones and joints... My vet previously worked at a NY track and quit because money ruled; not horses. Owners want results, and like sausage, don't see how it's accomplished, and trainers have to give it to them or they don't train the next one. I don't know why they run 2-year-olds, but I'll bet it has to do with money. Pam8

Out of great compassion for Eight Belles and animals everywhere, it's time to stop using all animals for sport. I will no longer go to Kentucky Derby parties. I hope PETA takes up this cause. Human beings around the world need to understand that animals are not here for our amusement and domination. It is barbaric. -- yrreb
Posted at 09:18 PM/ET, May 04, 2008 in Horse Racing | Permalink