FW: Kentucky Derby Tragedy

[Guest guest]

Kentucky Derby TragedySat, 3 May 2008 18:37:51 -0400

This is a preliminary report just from watching the Kentucky Derby on TV. However, as I understand Eight Bells a 3 year old filly who either came in second or was running in second place collapsed. The vet who was just with the announcer got off his cell phone and said that she broke both of her front ankles and was euthanized on the track.

 

Barbaro and now Eight Bells, plus all of the hundreds of horses we never hear about injured and euthanized in horse racing.

 

I found it sickening to watch the jubilation of the winning trainer and owner, while in the back ground Eight Bells laid on its side with two broken ankles having its life ended. How obscene to watch the same old wealthy American and Saudi families, and the trophy wives and girlfriends with their fashionable tans, hats and outfits celebrate while this poor 3-year-old filly, who ran her heart out, and was beat to run even harder to the point of breaking both of her front ankles, took her last breath.

 

As soon as I see a written report, I will forward to verify the info in this email.

 

 

EIGHT BELLES WINS THE FANTASYEight Belles continued her quest to become the best 3-year-old filly in the nation, as the daughter of Unbridled's Song overcame a poor start to win by three-quarters of a length in the $250,000 Fantasy Stakes (gr. II) April 6 at Oaklawn Park, her third consecutive stakes triumph. Owned by Fox Hill Farms, the remarkable Eight Belles may have stamped herself as the favorite for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), and also given trainer Larry Jones continued thoughts on taking on the boys in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). Eight Belles was Triple Crown-nominated March 29.

Out of the Dixieland band mare Away, Eight Belles entered the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy off three straight scores, all in convincing fashion. Her last victory came in the March 16 Honeybee (gr. III) at Oaklawn, when she won under wraps while defeating Pure Clan.

Pure Clan was supposed to have improved off her second-place performance in the Honeybee, since she entered that contest having been idle for three and a half months. But it was not Pure Clan that Eight Belles had to worry about in the Fantasy. Instead, the biggest challenge came from pacesetter Alina.

With Ramon Dominguez aboard, Eight Belles hopped at the start and fell back to last after a quarter-mile in the four-horse field. She began to regain her form as she entered the early part of the far turn, advancing three-wide.

The Steve Asmussen-trained Alina had the lead from the start, posting modest opening fractions of :24.36 and :48.12 under Luis Quinonez. Pure Clan, with Julien Leparoux aboard, was closest to the leader through the backstretch, while French Kiss was never in contention.

Eight Belles nearly drew even at the three-quarters pole, but Alina responded emphatically and took a two-length advantage as she hit the top of the stretch. Unchallenged in her last three efforts, Eight Belles had a dogfight in the final furlong, but was finally able to pry the lead away from Alina in late stretch and was all out for the victory.

Eight Belles hit the wire in 1:43.06 on a fast main track. Pure Clan was another half-length back in third.

Going off as the 1-2 favorite, Eight Belles paid $3 and $2.20. The exacta (3-4) was worth $10.20. There was no show or trifecta wagering.

Eight Belles won for the fifth time in nine starts and increased her earnings to $308,650. She was bred in Kentucky by Robert N. Clay and Serengeti Stables.

[Guest guest]

Race Illustrates Brutal Side of Sport

By WILLIAM C. RHODEN

Published: May 4, 2008

 

Louisville, Ky.

 

 

Why do we keep giving thoroughbred horse racing a pass? Is it the tradition? The millions upon millions invested in the betting?

Why isn’t there more pressure to put the sport of kings under the umbrella of animal cruelty?

The sport is at least as inhumane as greyhound racing and only a couple of steps removed from animal fighting.

Is it the fact that horse racing is imbedded in the American fabric? And the Triple Crown is a nationally televised spectacle? Or is it the fact that death on the track is rarely seen by a mainstream television audience?

The sentiment was summed up by Dr. Larry Bramlage on Saturday when, asked about fillies racing against colts, he said, “One death is not an epidemic.”

But this isn’t about one death. This is about the nature of a sport that routinely grinds up young horses.

A national audience was exposed to the bittersweet experience of a tremendous victory by Big Brown and — moments later — the stunning news that Eight Belles had been euthanized. As we watched Big Brown’s owner celebrate the unmitigated joy of winning the Derby, we watched Bramlage describe the details of Eight Belles’s horrible death: She had completed the race, finishing a heroic second to Big Brown. She was around the turn at the start of the backstretch when her front ankles collapsed.

Bramlage described the sickening image of what had happened: a condylar fracture on the left side and the left front that opened the skin, went through it and was contaminated.

“She didn’t have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized,” Bramlage said.

And that was that.

After the race, Larry Jones, Eight Belles’s trainer, choked back tears as he answered questions about the filly’s death. But even through the grief, Jones instinctively toed the industry line about racing. He discounted the notion — and veiled criticism — that the dirt surface might have contributed to her death. He also refused to concede the point that horse racing is an extremely dangerous sport, saying that these types of injuries occur in any sport.

Within the racing industry, Eight Belles was a tragic but glorious casualty. The industry is in denial: racing grinds up horses, and we dress up the sport with large hats, mint juleps and string bands.

Why do we refuse to put the brutal game of racing in the realm of mistreatment of animals? At what point do we at least raise the question about the efficacy of thousand-pound horses racing at full throttle on spindly legs?

This is bullfighting.

Eight Belles was another victim of a brutal sport that is carried, literally, on the backs of horses. Horsemen like to talk about their thoroughbreds and how they were born to run and live to run. The reality is that they are made to run, forced to run for profits they never see.

On Saturday, it was Eight Belles in Louisville. Two years ago, it was Barbaro in Baltimore, with a misstep at the Preakness. And who knows how many horses die anonymous deaths? Eight Belles, we’ll write, was merely the casualty of a brutal game.

But one death is too many. The miracle of the sport of kings is that there aren’t more. But how many more do we need?

Before Saturday’s race, I walked over to the stable where Michael Matz was preparing Visionaire for the Derby. Matz was the trainer of Barbaro, the superhorse who won here in 2006 and took that fatal misstep two weeks later at the Preakness. On Friday, one of Matz’s horses, Chelokee, sustained a condylar fracture of the cannon bone in his right front leg during the running of the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The initial report was that the injury was of the same nature as Barbaro’s, and that Chelokee had a fractured ankle. The reports were inaccurate, but I wondered what thoughts had gone through Matz’s mind.

“I just ran out there to see how he was doing,” he said. Barbaro hadn’t crossed his mind, he said, just this horse at this time. That was all. Matz talked briefly about Barbaro, about why the image remains so fresh in our minds. Then he excused himself. “I have to get my horse ready for this race,” he said.

John Stephens broke in Barbaro and Visionaire when they were yearlings. Stephens was in Baltimore when Barbaro took the misstep. That experience, he said, has tempered, if not changed, his perspective on horse racing.

“I want my horse to win — I’m not going to kid you,” he said. “But not at all costs. I don’t want any horse to get injured. I want everyone to have a good trip. I want everybody to come back home.”

The words haunted me as I left the stable and echoed as I saw Eight Belles in a heap. Thoroughbred racing is a brutal sport. Why do we keep giving it a pass?

 

E-mail: wcr

- Louis G

undisclosed-recipients:

Monday, May 05, 2008 6:13 PM

FW: Kentucky Derby Tragedy

 

 

 

Kentucky Derby TragedySat, 3 May 2008 18:37:51 -0400

This is a preliminary report just from watching the Kentucky Derby on TV. However, as I understand Eight Bells a 3 year old filly who either came in second or was running in second place collapsed. The vet who was just with the announcer got off his cell phone and said that she broke both of her front ankles and was euthanized on the track.

 

Barbaro and now Eight Bells, plus all of the hundreds of horses we never hear about injured and euthanized in horse racing.

 

I found it sickening to watch the jubilation of the winning trainer and owner, while in the back ground Eight Bells laid on its side with two broken ankles having its life ended. How obscene to watch the same old wealthy American and Saudi families, and the trophy wives and girlfriends with their fashionable tans, hats and outfits celebrate while this poor 3-year-old filly, who ran her heart out, and was beat to run even harder to the point of breaking both of her front ankles, took her last breath.

 

As soon as I see a written report, I will forward to verify the info in this email.

 

EIGHT BELLES WINS THE FANTASYEight Belles continued her quest to become the best 3-year-old filly in the nation, as the daughter of Unbridled's Song overcame a poor start to win by three-quarters of a length in the $250,000 Fantasy Stakes (gr. II) April 6 at Oaklawn Park, her third consecutive stakes triumph. Owned by Fox Hill Farms, the remarkable Eight Belles may have stamped herself as the favorite for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), and also given trainer Larry Jones continued thoughts on taking on the boys in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). Eight Belles was Triple Crown-nominated March 29.Out of the Dixieland band mare Away, Eight Belles entered the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy off three straight scores, all in convincing fashion. Her last victory came in the March 16 Honeybee (gr. III) at Oaklawn, when she won under wraps while defeating Pure Clan.Pure Clan was supposed to have improved off her second-place performance in the Honeybee, since she entered that contest having been idle for three and a half months. But it was not Pure Clan that Eight Belles had to worry about in the Fantasy. Instead, the biggest challenge came from pacesetter Alina.With Ramon Dominguez aboard, Eight Belles hopped at the start and fell back to last after a quarter-mile in the four-horse field. She began to regain her form as she entered the early part of the far turn, advancing three-wide.The Steve Asmussen-trained Alina had the lead from the start, posting modest opening fractions of :24.36 and :48.12 under Luis Quinonez. Pure Clan, with Julien Leparoux aboard, was closest to the leader through the backstretch, while French Kiss was never in contention.Eight Belles nearly drew even at the three-quarters pole, but Alina responded emphatically and took a two-length advantage as she hit the top of the stretch. Unchallenged in her last three efforts, Eight Belles had a dogfight in the final furlong, but was finally able to pry the lead away from Alina in late stretch and was all out for the victory.Eight Belles hit the wire in 1:43.06 on a fast main track. Pure Clan was another half-length back in third.Going off as the 1-2 favorite, Eight Belles paid $3 and $2.20. The exacta (3-4) was worth $10.20. There was no show or trifecta wagering.Eight Belles won for the fifth time in nine starts and increased her earnings to $308,650. She was bred in Kentucky by Robert N. Clay and Serengeti Stables.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,I am new here,My husband is a horseman and has trained horses

most of his life ,(that was before we even met) & then sold Sulkys ,

anyway, he has been around this stuff most all his life, and well he

watched the Kentucky Derby,and usually does,usually i leave whenever

he watches whatever im not interested in,however this time i

stayed,was just sitting there really, and he was all absorbed talking

to the TV etc. when the horse (the only female in the race,as my

husband told me before the race started) went down,i couldnt believe

my eyes as to all that happened afterward...I was astounded,i could

not believe how...the show went on as if nothing at all had

happened,after she went down, except really as a side note to add to

the excitement...then when they said they killed her basicly.I was

shocked,i started asking my husband questions, and he just acted like

it was run of the mill ,like it was " the usuall " / " happens alot what

can you do " type answers...i could not believe whaty i was hearing!!!

That poor horse...and really after prying it out of my husband...one

question at a time,and for which he made it clear i was being a pain

in the *ss,they could have saved her,but " they would have had to get

her in the truck,(ambulance) take her to the vet,shes a big heavy

animal, and it would basicly> be too much trouble,then on top of that

IF the horse did indeed break both ankles,it couldnt stand to

recover " ,(the horse cannot just lay down to recover it must stand he

says)so I asked well they must have something to keep the horses

standing, a brace ,or something where the horse can stand without

pressure on its legs...he said yes theres like a sling type thing

they can use, but all and all it would just be " more trouble than

what its worth to any of the people who could do anything about

it " ,and after all shed be useless as a race horse in the future, etc

etc etc " His attitude was(as is i suspect many of the people involved

in this whole horse race arena .) he barely blinked an eye over it,he

was just waiting to see more about the winner of the race,who cares

about the horse who died,it happens in this sport! I told him it was

cruelty to animals,we had a long discussion which is too much to go

into here,but bottom line is the people involved in this sort of

thing dont care (maybe about the money side of it thats it,if that -

people in this sport generally have money to throw away-or to be able

to deem a horses life throw-away at their whim apparently) I never

really thought much about horse racing before this,i knew it was

wrong ,but never thought beyond that...now i am filled with sadness

over the entire thing...and of course this one will be hard for

animal lovers to fight because the people in this " sport " have money

and plenty of it...that counts with the world as we all know.

 

Sorry so long ,and i am new, and not sure of the correct termonology

and all, just wanted to say something here as i am so saddened by

this.thanks for listening. God Bless!

 

, Louis G <Louis_Gambogi

wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

> Kentucky Derby TragedySat, 3 May 2008 18:37:51 -0400

>

>

>

> This is a preliminary report just from watching the Kentucky Derby

on TV. However, as I understand Eight Bells a 3 year old filly who

either came in second or was running in second place collapsed. The

vet who was just with the announcer got off his cell phone and said

that she broke both of her front ankles and was euthanized on the

track.

>

> Barbaro and now Eight Bells, plus all of the hundreds of horses we

never hear about injured and euthanized in horse racing.

>

> I found it sickening to watch the jubilation of the winning trainer

and owner, while in the back ground Eight Bells laid on its side with

two broken ankles having its life ended. How obscene to watch the

same old wealthy American and Saudi families, and the trophy wives

and girlfriends with their fashionable tans, hats and outfits

celebrate while this poor 3-year-old filly, who ran her heart out,

and was beat to run even harder to the point of breaking both of her

front ankles, took her last breath.

>

> As soon as I see a written report, I will forward to verify the

info in this email.

>

>

> EIGHT BELLES WINS THE FANTASYEight Belles continued her quest to

become the best 3-year-old filly in the nation, as the daughter of

Unbridled's Song overcame a poor start to win by three-quarters of a

length in the $250,000 Fantasy Stakes (gr. II) April 6 at Oaklawn

Park, her third consecutive stakes triumph. Owned by Fox Hill Farms,

the remarkable Eight Belles may have stamped herself as the favorite

for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), and also given trainer Larry

Jones continued thoughts on taking on the boys in the May 3 Kentucky

Derby (gr. I). Eight Belles was Triple Crown-nominated March 29.

> Out of the Dixieland band mare Away, Eight Belles entered the 1

1/16-mile Fantasy off three straight scores, all in convincing

fashion. Her last victory came in the March 16 Honeybee (gr. III) at

Oaklawn, when she won under wraps while defeating Pure Clan.

> Pure Clan was supposed to have improved off her second-place

performance in the Honeybee, since she entered that contest having

been idle for three and a half months. But it was not Pure Clan that

Eight Belles had to worry about in the Fantasy. Instead, the biggest

challenge came from pacesetter Alina.

> With Ramon Dominguez aboard, Eight Belles hopped at the start and

fell back to last after a quarter-mile in the four-horse field. She

began to regain her form as she entered the early part of the far

turn, advancing three-wide.

> The Steve Asmussen-trained Alina had the lead from the start,

posting modest opening fractions of :24.36 and :48.12 under Luis

Quinonez. Pure Clan, with Julien Leparoux aboard, was closest to the

leader through the backstretch, while French Kiss was never in

contention.

> Eight Belles nearly drew even at the three-quarters pole, but Alina

responded emphatically and took a two-length advantage as she hit the

top of the stretch. Unchallenged in her last three efforts, Eight

Belles had a dogfight in the final furlong, but was finally able to

pry the lead away from Alina in late stretch and was all out for the

victory.

> Eight Belles hit the wire in 1:43.06 on a fast main track. Pure

Clan was another half-length back in third.

> Going off as the 1-2 favorite, Eight Belles paid $3 and $2.20. The

exacta (3-4) was worth $10.20. There was no show or trifecta wagering.

> Eight Belles won for the fifth time in nine starts and increased

her earnings to $308,650. She was bred in Kentucky by Robert N. Clay

and Serengeti Stables.

>