Tragedy struck the Kentucky Derby when Eight Belles, the only filly (young female horse) in the race, had to be euthanized after taking second place in the race. She crossed the finish line four and three-fourth lengths behind Big Brown, the race’s first place winner. With the crowd still cheering, she collapsed, two shattered ankles falling out from under her.
The enormity of what was happening washed slowly over the crowd at Churchill Downs.
This wasn’t just any horse down – this was the first filly to run in the Kentucky Derby since 1999.
Dr. Dean Richardson, the veterinary surgeon who spent eight months trying to save Barbaro, discussed on CBS’ The Early Show just how rare it is for a racehorse to break down the way Eight Belles did. It is said that the filly suffered fractures to both of her front ankles, the fracture in her left foot being so critical that it ripped through the skin.
“A horse can get around on three legs temporarily. It’s impossible for a horse to get around on just its hind legs,” Richardson said in defense to putting the horse down immediately on the tracks.
Consequently, for all of her heart and valor, Eight Belles’ injuries were too catastrophic. Fans watched with heavy hearts as the on-call veterinarian for the Triple Crown Races stated that nothing could be done for her. Protective screens were placed to shield her euthanization from the crowd.
Now, with the memory of Barbaro’s death and Eight Belles’ tragic breakdown still fresh in all of our minds, the focus on this sport, which is already in the spotlight for its controversial nature, has increased immensely. The deaths have raised a multitude of concerns about the entire business of racing, including the safety of the tracks, if fillies should run against their male counterparts, and whether horses are bred too much for speed and not for soundness.
Horses legs are thinner than humans and are not equipped to carry the muscle mass and weight at such force against the hard dirt tracks. There has been success in replacing traditional dirt tracks with synthetic surfaces. These participating tracks include Keeneland, Santa Anita, Arlington Park, Hollywood Park, Golden Gate Fields, Del Mar, Turfway and Presque Isle.
According to the Associated Press, reports by veterinarians at 34 tracks across the country between June 2007 and early this year showed synthetic tracks averaged 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared with 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for horses that ran on dirt.
But not everyone agrees that this is the solution. In regards to replacing dirt tracks with polytracks, two-time Derby winning trainer Nick Zito doesn’t believe there’s enough supporting data yet to convert all tracks to this new synthetic substance.
“This is a very big issue and needs to be discussed,” said Nick Zito in an interview with Associated Press. “You’re changing the whole game.” However, this is not meant to illustrate that Zito and other professionals in the business aren’t interested in having safer racetracks.”If you told me, `Look, we have a device that these horses can run on pillows and never get hurt the rest of lives,’ I’d say, `Where do I sign?”‘ Zito went on in the same interview, “There’s injuries on the Polytrack, too.”
Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky is intently trying to strengthen horseracing guidelines. Congressman Whitfield told CBS News correspondent Chip Reid, “Breakdowns are far more common than people think. These horses really are expendable commodities.” Whitfield continued, “You want to get the most out of them for a short period of time.”
But to horse racing’s devout fans, it’s just not all that simple.
One of the many other complaints against Eight Belles’ jockey was that perhaps the filly had no business racing against the adult male horses. However, Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones, disputes any suggestion that this horse had “no business running with the boys,” on Espn.com. With tearful eyes, he suggested that if Eight Belles had shown arduous effort reaching the finish line and had fallen farther behind Big Brown in the closing strides, then he felt as though they would have second-guessed their decision severely and “kicked ourselves in the pants.”
There is no doubt that Eight Belles has touched many people, especially in the wake of her sudden death. But even prior to that, she stood for many things as a young filly running and coming in second to the many mature male horses racing. May her legacy live on and may she continue to be the picture of courage, tenacity and grace that she exuded up to the very second of her death.
And while questions linger, accusations circulate, and debates spark, one thing is for sure – the race will go on.
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