Eight Belles Ran For Her Life...And Died

May 8, 2008

5/7/08: Eight Belles Ran For Her Life...And Died FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE / PLEASE READ: We ordinarily write all SAMPLE LETTERS. However in the recent death of young Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby -- we cannot out-write the magnificent letter PETA's Ingrid Newkirk sent to presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton. Ms. Newkirk's letter is presented as a sample letter below: 1. CHANGE AS MANY WORDS AS POSSIBLE, TO MAKE THE LETTER YOUR OWN.

Include a DISCLAIMER as shown (BELOW). Remember: You are NOT Ingrid Newkirk. 2. KINSHIP CIRCLE BELIEVES HORSE RACING, LIKE DOGFIGHTING AND COCKFIGHTING, SHOULD BE OUTLAWED. However, if you'd like to participate in a campaign that calls upon "the racing industry to suspend the jockey and trainer, bar the owner from racing at the track, and... stop using young horses susceptible to horrific injuries..." PETA provides a web letter here: http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/eight_belles/iiwn8g8227xnmxix Kentucky Horse Racing Authority 4063 Ironworks Pkwy, Building B; Lexington, KY 40511 ph: 859-246-2040; fax: 859-246-2039 email: lisa.underwood, jim.gallagher LEFT PHOTO: Track personnel try to hold down Eight Belles after the 134th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Eight Belles was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon) http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=4784855 RIGHT: Eight Belles and trainer Larry Jones walk before the Derby. http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/horse_racing/view.bg?articleid=1091901 =========================================================== TO HILLARY CLINTON: INGRID NEWKIRK'S LETTER =========================================================== Hillary Clinton (D) Hillary Clinton for President 4420 North Fairfax Drive; Arlington, VA 22203 ph: 703-469-2008; fax: 703-962-8600 web mail: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/help/contact/ Dear Senator Clinton: Animal cruelty is not a partisan issue. In light of Eight Belles' tragic death in the Kentucky Derby, I ask you to condemn horse races. I support sentiments expressed in the letter below and urge you to denounce brutal spectacles such as horseracing. Horses forced to run so fast their legs can't support their weight never "win." Dogfighting, cockfighting, and horseracing measure an animal's worth in dollars. When their glory

fades, racehorses are neglected and abused. Some wind up on kill floors. Animal protection issues matter to myself and many other voters. Please be more aware of this untapped constituency and take a stand against cruelty. "As a high profile political figure with the esteem of many women, I regret to say that your public support of horseracing -- and specifically betting on Eight Belles -- makes you culpable in her destruction. I ask you now to publicly condemn races like the Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles ran for her life and was fiercely whipped as she came down that final stretch when she was no doubt in a great deal of pain. We cannot call ourselves a civilized nation if we allow any living being to endure such abuse. "Races like this are the equivalent of child sweatshops. These are not even seasoned horses: They are young fillies and colts whose joints are not formed enough to endure

such a grueling race. Despite this, they are pushed beyond their limits. The Triple Crown and other major horse races have become the graveyards of too many horses who were called champions. "For example, Go For Wand, who went down in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Distaff and then stumbled up and tried to keep running with her broken leg dangling; Union City, who fractured a leg in the 1993 Preakness and was destroyed; Prairie Bayou, who that same year suffered a compound fracture in the Belmont Stakes and had to be destroyed; George Washington, who was euthanized after breaking his leg while running the Preakness last year; and of course Barbaro, the 'poster horse' of the racing industry's failures and excesses, who despite efforts could not be saved from the injuries sustained during the 2006 Preakness. "Barbaro's injuries were terrible -- fractures of his canon bone, sesamoids, and long pastern as well as

the dislocation of the fetlock joint. These are just a few of the horses we hear about -- they are the winners, the horses who run the big races. Hundreds of horses meet the same painful, deadly fate every year in the horseracing industry. " A racetrack is not a place for a fun day out. Attending the Derby is as despicable as attending a dogfight. Most horses you see will not end up out to pasture on a beautiful ranch but will be sent overseas to be slaughtered for someone's dinner plate. At some point, all horses stop winning. "We call on you to publicly reject betting on such hideous spectacles of domination over wonderful animals who deserve more than pain and death for human profit and amusement. "Very truly yours, Ingrid E. Newkirk, President, PETA" ### **Please do NOT send Kinship Circle your signed letters. They will get deleted. Kinship Circle conducts

research and provides you with all available contact information. We DO NOT send your comments for you. To be effective, your letters must be sent from YOUR ADDRESS, not ours. =========================================================== TO BARACK OBAMA & JOHN MCCAIN: NEWKIRK'S LETTER MODIFIED =========================================================== Barack Obama (D) Obama for America; P.O. Box 8102; Chicago, IL 60680 ph: 1-866-675-2008 web mail: barackobama.com/page/s/contact2 John McCain ® John McCain 2008; P.O. Box 16118; Arlington, VA 22215 ph: 703-418-2008 web mail: http://www.johnmccain.com/Contact/ Dear Senators Obama and McCain: Animal cruelty is not a partisan issue. In light of Eight Belles'

tragic death in the Kentucky Derby, I ask you to condemn horse races. I support sentiments expressed in the letter below and urge you to denounce brutal spectacles such as horseracing. Horses forced to run so fast their legs can't support their weight never "win." Dogfighting, cockfighting, and horseracing measure an animal's worth in dollars. When their glory fades, racehorses are neglected and abused. Some wind up on kill floors. Animal protection issues matter to myself and many other voters. Please be more aware of this untapped constituency and take a stand against cruelty. "Eight Belles ran for her life and was fiercely whipped as she came down that final stretch. She was no doubt in a great deal of pain. We cannot call ourselves a civilized nation if we allow living beings to endure such abuse. "Races like this are the equivalent of child sweatshops. These are not even seasoned

horses: They are young fillies and colts whose joints are not formed enough to endure such a grueling race. Despite this, they are pushed beyond their limits. The Triple Crown and other major horse races have become the graveyards of too many horses who were called champions. "For example, Go For Wand, who went down in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Distaff and then stumbled up and tried to keep running with her broken leg dangling; Union City, who fractured a leg in the 1993 Preakness and was destroyed; Prairie Bayou, who that same year suffered a compound fracture in the Belmont Stakes and had to be destroyed; George Washington, who was euthanized after breaking his leg while running the Preakness last year; and of course Barbaro, the 'poster horse' of the racing industry's failures and excesses, who despite efforts could not be saved from the injuries sustained during the 2006 Preakness. "Barbaro's

injuries were terrible -- fractures of his canon bone, sesamoids, and long pastern as well as the dislocation of the fetlock joint. These are just a few of the horses we hear about -- they are the winners, the horses who run the big races. Hundreds of horses meet the same painful, deadly fate every year in the horseracing industry. "A racetrack is not a place for a fun day out. Attending the Derby is as despicable as attending a dogfight. Most horses you see will not end up out to pasture on a beautiful ranch but will be sent overseas to be slaughtered for someone's dinner plate. At some point, all horses stop winning. "We call on you to publicly reject betting on such hideous spectacles of domination over wonderful animals who deserve more than pain and death for human profit and amusement. "Very truly yours, Ingrid E. Newkirk, President, PETA" ### **Please do

NOT send Kinship Circle your signed letters. We DO NOT send your comments for you. To be effective, your letters must be sent from YOUR ADDRESS, not ours. =========================================================== SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS =========================================================== PETA Writes to Clinton About Eight Belles http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/peta-writes-to.html Tragedy overshadows unbeaten Big Brown's Kentucky Derby win http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=4784855 Eight Belles' trainer defends jockey http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/horse_racing/view.bg?articleid=1091901 Another Horse-Racing Horror http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/opinion/06tue4.html?th & emc=th Race's Aftermath Shows Sport's Brutal Side http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/sports/othersports/04rhoden.html VIDEOS & MORE COVERAGE / Death at the Derby http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=Eight%20Belles & from=10 & to=19 & type=feature Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking info or kinshipcircle http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/ PLEASE DONATE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE (It’s tax-deductible): http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/ SUBSCRIBE: Kinship Circle Primary: Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal

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