LIKE IT IS : Brutal side of racing blindsides casual fans

WALLY HALL

Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/224921/

More than likely there will be some fallout after the tragic death of Eight Belles on national television.

The runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, winner of three races at Oaklawn, and the only filly to test the colts, snapped both her front ankles after the race and had to be euthanized on the track.

In the truest sense, what happened was Eight Belles gave her greatest effort in a sport she was trained to be a champion in, and it cost the grand lady her life.

It was not the track. It was not the jockey.

It was her spirit to win that propelled her to run the best she could, and she ran a great race.

Yes, it was very sad to see her go down, and even sadder when the second veterinarian truck pulled up, because it was there for one reason, to block the view of what was about to happen.

Had to happen to save her from the excruciating pain.

Critics of thoroughbred racing will point to Barbaro two years ago and now Eight Belles, and they will demand change.

Some of the groups know absolutely nothing about horse racing.

One group’s name will not even be mentioned here because it has no business using this tragedy as a publicity stunt, which is what it is doing.

It wants jockey Gabriel Saez suspended.

All he did was try to pull the horse up when he heard the pop that was the first break, and he was beyond the finish line slowing her down when it happened.

That same group wants whipping horses down the stretch investigated as cruel and unusual punishment to an animal.

You didn’t hear from this group when jockey Billy Patin was given a five-year ban for possessing an electrical device while prodding Valhol to victory in the 1999 Arkansas Derby, and you know why, because as prestigious as the Arkansas Derby has become, it is not the focus of thoroughbred racing.

That is the Kentucky Derby.

Sometimes jockeys just show a whip to a horse and then make clicking sounds into the horse’s ear to make it think it is being whipped.

Sometimes a jockey changes hands with the whip and uses it to keep a horse running straight so it won’t injure itself.

Sometimes, though, they whip a horse to propel it to the finish line and hopefully the winner’s circle.

Saturday, with more than 100 yards to go Saez stopped whipping Eight Belles. Saez, a 20-year-old Panamanian with four years of racing experience, knew he was not going to catch Big Brown, the best horse in an average year for 3-year-olds.

The awful end for Eight Belles was not any person’s fault.

Thoroughbreds are big animals with thin ankles, and only a few have ever had anything close to a quality life after breaking an ankle.

Owner Rick Porter and trainer Larry Jones, two of the good guys in a sport that still has an element that lacks grace and dignity, were heartbroken at what happened to their horse. But they would have hurt almost as deeply if it had been someone else’s horse.

Now, will come cries to ban the whip, change to artificial surfaces and shorten the races.

The truth is horse racing can be a very tough sport. Almost daily one of the equine athletes breaks down somewhere in the world.

The difference was this time it was in the most-watched race in the world and some want to gain publicity for their organization out of this horrible tragedy.

Saturday was a sad, sad day. The parade was rained on hard because a champion filly lost her life, but she did it doing what she loved to do, racing.

Eight Belles was the best 3-year-old filly this year. She could have won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, but the truth is, she had one last race in her.

Her owners didn’t like her outside post draw in the Oaks so they went to the Kentucky Derby when they were able to select the 5 hole.

Eight Belles proved she was better than all the colts but one Saturday, and it cost the beautiful filly her life, but she went out after her most glorious effort and should forever be remembered as a champion.