Posted on 05/03/2008 7:44:26 PM PDT by kingattax
The camera cut away from her, but it should have stayed on her. Eight Belles had run herself half to death yesterday, and now the vets were finishing the job as she lay on her side, her beautiful figure a black hump on the track. Horses don't just fall down like that, you thought, as NBC flitted away, cowardlike, from the sickening picture to the more appealing image of the Kentucky Derby victor, Big Brown.
There is no turning away from this fact: Eight Belles killed herself finishing second. She ran with the heart of a locomotive, on champagne-glass ankles, trying to please her jockey, trainer, owners and all the people in the crowd, the sheiks, oilmen, entrepreneurs, old money from the thousand-acre farms, the handicappers, men in bad sport coats with crumpled sheets full of betting hieroglyphics, the julep-swillers and the ladies in hats the size of boats, and the rest of the people who make up thoroughbred racing. There was no mistaking this fact, too, as she made her stretch run, and the apologists will use it to defend the sport in the coming days: She ran to please herself.
But thoroughbred racing is in a moral crisis, and everyone now knows it. Twice since 2006, magnificent animals have suffered catastrophic injuries on live television in Triple Crown races, and there is no explaining that away. Horses are being over-bred and over-raced, until their bodies cannot support their own ambitions, or those of the humans who race them. Barbaro and Eight Belles merely are the most famous horses who have fatally injured themselves. On Friday, a colt named Chelokee, trained by Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz, dislocated an ankle during an undercard for the Kentucky Oaks and was given a 50 percent chance of survival.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
True, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the breeding has pushed speed beyond structural soundness. Particularly with fillies, it seems they are being pushed beyond their ability to compete.
I was thinking of the horse in Animal Farm singing The Internationale.
The real tragedy is that several hundred pounds of perfectly good horse meat weren't sold after this horse met its maker.
L
I just can’t find it in me to justify abusing animals for profit.
Horse racing has a tainted history.
Regardless of the fact that they are bred for racing, pushing any animal to the point of injuring itself like that is abuse.
Thanks. And the other point she was making was that there is a trend that is making this more common now...I don’t think that’s true either.
Big Brown got a perfect ride...and he is quite colt.
Yeah, he looked pretty darn good. Did you find somewhere to bet?
Time for bed. Sad day, but it’s over. Lots of racing tomorrow.
Americans don’t eat horse meat, and both plants in the US that processed horse meat for export were shut down by environmentalists. So the horses get bought up cheap, especially in Texas, and sent to Mexico to be slaughtered less humanely.
So a lot fewer horses are being sold for meat, and a lot more of them are being left to starve on back lots.
Here at Santa Anita, the turf course crosses over the main track at the west end. There was a guilding I liked and had won a few bucks on, Delegante, guy had big lungs. At the close of the racing season here the have a race, San Juan Capistrano Stakes, a mile and 3/4’s. Any way, Delegante had the lead by 5 lengths with about 1/4 mile to go. He broke down crossing that strip of grass and had to be put down.
They can’t call it “improving the breed” any more, because the breed hit a peak, unlikely to be excelled in my lifetime, in 1973.
For any who don’t remember, this was the amazing scene at Belmont Park:
http://www.championsgallery.com/Secretariat%20The%20Photo.jpg
Losing a championship horse on the track is very sad, and also very expensive. I’m sure that when the veterinary medicine profession can come up with better early warnings to prevent such tragedies, they will do so. But the purpose of horse racing is not to abuse horses, but rather to glorify them.
Secretiatiat made a FORTUNE for his owners in stud fees. When he died they did an autopsy on him and found his heart was twice the size of a regular thoroughbred. The Big Red Bay was one beautiful race horse.
Like I said....
L
Poor horsies. Why don’t their legs heal?
Oh please. These horses would inevitably end up as glue, dog food, or Chinese/European food regardless if they were racing or not.
And remember the nick name for Secretariat? 'Big Red'. Big Brown, Big Red. Looks like this one also has a solid change at the Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes, at a mile an a half, is most often won by horses with early speed. And BB has a TON of speed of early speed. Yet he still manages to finish powerfully like a closer! In short, this Big Brown is a MONSTER!
what a heartbreak. Glad I was working and didn’t see it live. Although it hurts just the same.
what a heartbreak. Glad I was working and didn’t see it live. Although it hurts just the same.
The bar we watched it in got real quiet real fast, and no one stayed long after.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
