*Eight Belles' death prompts debate on horse racing

* UPDATE: 6:18 p.m. Eight Belles' trainer today adamantly defended jockey Gabriel Saez's handling of the horse after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for Saez's suspension. "This kid made every move the right move, and I hate it that they're wanting to jump down his throat," trainer Larry Jones told the AP. "He did not try to abuse that horse to make her run faster. He knew he was second best, that she wasn't going to catch Big Brown."

The death of Eight Belles, the first filly to run in the Kentucky Derby in Louisville since 1999, is generating new debate about the place of horse racing in American culture.

On Saturday, after crossing the finish line 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Big Brown, Eight Belles galloped out and was around the first turn toward the top of the backstretch when she suddenly went down on her front knees. 

The on-call veterinarian for the Triple Crown races said nothing could be done to save the horse, so shortly after the equine ambulance arrived, protective screens were brought out to block the view of Eight Belles being euthanized.

The New York Times' William C. Rhoden offers his questioning perspective on Eight Belles' death:

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 embedded 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?

Now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey, Gabriel Saez, the AP reports:

PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish" and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated.

"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Brian Bohannon/AP

Comments

[Carrie Campe]

I think the death of eight belles will not be in vain, and with pressure from PETA and the media finally the horrific truth about this barbaric money making sport will hit the mainstream public and encourage change in this old tradition.

[sam z]

Our amusement/greed at animals performing for us should come to an end.Planet of the Apes was no picnic for a human,and planet of the humans is no picnic for these captive animals.

[gregg]

this is a tragedy for the owners who loved her and the jockey who rode her. please understand that no people love horses --or or take better care of them--then the people who work with them, ride with them, exercise with them, shelter and feed them. peta and other radical ignorants may rant about so-called cruelty, but until you have ridden a horse and shared the incredible joy horses feel going through their leads in an arena or full-out on a mountain trail, you have no credibility whatsoever. horses live to run, to kick up their hind feet and fart, to dash in front of other horses. It is sad that these magnificent animals have some flaws that the Intelligent Designer passed through his quality control stage. Nonetheless, horses thrive with Man, run with Man and die with Man. My horses are waiting to get their carrots and alfafa tonight. they are making sounds that tell me I am late. I am their beloved servant and their master.

[dwightl]

I grieved over the episode of Barbaro and now this. Why do we as supposedly the top of the line have to enter our dogs and cats and horses in beauty contests and races and fights. I have had and do have now several dogs. They are fed fresh meat and filtered water and they sleep on my bed. When I come home they all meet me at the door and treat me like I am wonderful. Some of my dogs are akc and some are found dogs, who were abandoned. I see people leaving dogs on chains or in small areas with dirty water and no shelter from the heat and cold. I hope that when we get to heaven we are judged by the way we treat our animal friends. You will never meet a human with the love and loyalty of animals. If the deaths or these fine animals appall you then be a friend and rescue an animal and give them a comfortable home, it will enrich your soul.

[Rich]

I am still in shock about the death of Eight Belles. It should have never happened. The horse could have been brought to a safer halt then the way the jockey pulled her back. Race horsces have to given the chance to slow down them selves. aai t is imperative to let the horse slow down in the softer area of the track nearer the rail and not on the outside where the turf is much harder and there is no give. That area the one farther from the rail is like concrete. I agree the jockey should be disqulified to ride until EB's death is resolved.
Thank you
RPB

[Ted]

A good gage to tell whether or not this is anything to be concerned over is that PETA is involved. An excellent rule of thumb is if those nutjobs at PETA say one thing - do the opposite. It was an unfortunate incident. Let the horseracing continue! Or strap a saddle onto that horse-faced head of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, and ride her into victory!

[Julie Ann]

She gave it her all. Who know what she could of been because Big Brown is pretty darn good. The major drama about the jockey is uncalled for. A jockey would not put his or her life in jeopardy or the horses if he felt something amiss. She was also to valuable. My gut feeling tells me - she was tired and stepped wrong and broke her ankle and than stepped wrong again and broke down. I do think people are maybe right about the inbreeding and the durability of the horses because they are bred for speed and are more fragile. Now horse racing has been around for years and the industry is trying to do something to combat this as in installing the new tracks will help and stiffer penalities for abusers which I feel the veterainains need stiffer policies too if they know a horse they are treating could break down or has a major injury. There is the good and bad side to the everyday racing not just the big events. Owners and trainers taking chances with a horse that maybe hurt which I do not like but again stiffer penalities and policies I hope will help the industry. There is no way that in this situation that the trainer/owner that have a great reputation in the industry would of run a valuable horse like this especially for her worth in the breeding shed - if they felt she could compete or had something wrong with her and she definitely proved she could compete and as Rags to Riches(filly) did in the Belmont Stakes againist Curlin. As a owner of throughbreds and a animal lover I disagree with it being animal cruelty. Yes there maybe cases with some trainers and owners but the majority I know truly care what is best for the horse and the human being on the back of the horse. I have learned there are horses that want to run and love it and ones that hate it - I guess you could say like human athletes. I have runners that when they get back to the track they love to be there - getting ridden. Now accidents and breakdown do happen not only at the tracks but at farms as I had a foal running in the fields and ran into another foal and died because of injuries and I spent $12,000 trying to save him even knowing he would never race. Therefore, I do think the industry is aware there is a problem with breakdowns/breeding and I hope it can succeed in lowering the numbers over the years. I send my condolences to the owners, grooms and the trainer of Eight Belles.

[Paul Caillaud]

While I'm not an animal rights "activist", there's something very wrong about pushing an animal to the point of breaking and then kill her when no longer useful...happily collecting the insurance proceeds along the way.

The Derby is, indeed, a spectacle, an American "tradition", but when horses are injured routinely (remember Barbero just last year) in the quest for riches and ever faster race times, it's time for serious consideration.

Eight Belles killing was heartbreaking...particularly when juxtaposed against the celebration of the Derby winner. We all want to congratulate a winner, but a "loser" however gallant her attempt, is just not close enough and so, she is "expendable" after giving the attempt her all. Heartbreaking, disgusting, dispicable, shocking all apply. And these feelings the resuilt of watching the "sport" of kings?

We know racehorses are bred for speed and endurance, but the recent spate of serious and deadly "accidents" is simply unacceptable. You cannot expect a 120 pound decathalon participant to bench press 500 pounds, and we don't ask her to. Why, then, do we ask little more than a "baby" two-year old, 600+ pound thoroughbred to pound her legs into the ground with force sufficient to shatter her forelegs? Again, heartbreaking to watch. It makes me ashamed to be a part of a society that ranks and compensates it's human sports figures as heros, but it's animal athletes, always willing to give more than reasonably able to their trainers, owners, riders, as simply expendable.

I will NEVER watch or enjoy the Derby (or any other horse race) again. I just can't stand the cruelty....

[Marie]

The issue is breeding - the leg bones are not substantial enough to withstand the pressure put on them by racing. PETA is wrong to call for suspension of the jockey.

A few years ago at Del Mar, half a dozen horses were euthanized within the first week or so of racing because of leg bones breaking. The 8 Belles incident is not isolated; the public is simply ignorant of it (the euthanizations are not widely publicized usually).

Someone needs to construct a website which collects information on the euthanizations of every race horse - that might serve to indicate to the public how big of a problem this really is.

Anyone who participates in horse racing in ANY form, including gambling or just attending, is de facto endorsing the kind of breeding which leads to horses suffering.

[Andrea Smith]

I can't imagine how sick the owners and fans of that horse must have felt to see her come in second only to be killed right afterwards. There is something seriously wrong about this so-called sport.

[sparkey]

The death of eight belles reminds me of what our government does to our troops. The injured troops and an injured horse are useless to our government and to the owner. Trying to fix either one would cost money and both can get more troops and another horse. Both are expendible to their owners. Money is God to both and dead horses and dead troops are worthless to horse owners and the U.S. government. To both, there is no difference. They can both get another horse and another troop.

[sidney jack]

its sad that the horse died you did not have to race her she was was was the most beautiful horseive ever seen but you have to go and race her and injur her and then kill.

[Cathy]

Paul Moran posted a blog entry on April 30 asking where the animal activists are when you need them. He said that Eight Belles "will be permanently scarred by the experience." He went on to say that "There is no reason beyond vanity to run Eight Belles in the Derby". The owners, trainers, and jockey knew full well what they were doing and that they were sending Eight Belles in to the "teeth of a buzzsaw" on Saturday.

[Kevin Johnson]

This would effectively all go away if people were prohibited from gambling on horse racing. The only reason that Greyhounds are exploited is for the their gambling purposes. THOUSANDS of Greyhounds are killed every year, once they become unprofitable.

The only reason SeaWorld (owned by Anheuser Busch) exploits animals is for money.

It's no different than Michael Vick (who exploited animals for money). If you gamble on races you are to blame. if you support the industry, you are to blame. Bet on a fricking car race, or a ball game.

[joanna wood]

horse racing should be considered cruelty to animals and punished as such. That greed driven men can whip and ride a young filly to a painful death legally is beyond understanding. Their fatuous insincere statements pretending concern for the poor horse clearly show that they have no compassion or admiration for horses as anything but money makers

[verycold]

Horses are a commodity item. Horses all over the world endure all sorts of bad treatment all in the name of training. Go google "rollkur" and see what the latest training method is for international dressage horses. A normal 3 year old horse is not yet mature and frequently still developing which means the structural system is still fragile. By definition a TB should stand about 15'2, but today we are seeing those competing to be considerably taller, larger and expected to be as nimble as a lighter, smaller horse as was intended. I too have always supported racing based on history, but my allegiance as diminished to the point that I can no longer watch.

[Diane]

It is my understanding that Eight Bells was very young and, of course, a filly competing against stallions. She should not have been put under so much stress at such a young age...we would not condone this in dogs or our own children. We look down our noses at Mexican bullfighting but somehow this kind of cruelty is o.k?

[mike]

Some of you seem deeply confused about the reason the horse was euthanized. Horses are put down after an accident like that not because they are no longer "cost-effective" - on the contrary, if anything could be done so that the horse can survive and breed other horses, that would be the cost-effective thing to do (at least for a horse with good pedigree and race performance, as was the case for Eight Belles). The unfortunate reality is that it is extremely difficult for a horse to recover from breaking their legs, especially from a severe fracture; you can't have them lie on a hospital bed for months and wait for them to get better. They simply can't deal with that. Eight Belles injuries were so severe that it was obvious to all involved that she had zero chance of survival, and so she was put down because it was the humane thing to do, given the circumstances.

You can debate whether it is right to race horses in the first place, but it is ignorant to claim the owners put down that particular horse because of financial considerations.

You can't ask a horse to lie in a hospital bed for months while it recovers,

[Dan MacKenzie]

Thoroughbred horse racing is a beautiful sport with intense highs and lows. Eight Belles died AFTER the race. Maybe this tragedy could have been averted if she ran in the Kentucky Oaks (the owner entered her in both races).

The real problem in this sport is breeding. Read the Wall Street Journal article from May 2

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120968356843561083.html

[Brad in Seattle]

I have gone to the horse races in recent years. When I was younger, I cared for our family horses. I am saddened and believe, now, after seeing 2 race horses euthanized/killed, that there is something very wrong with our 21st Century society that allows this to continue. There is no way that this cannot be considered "inhumane" and "cruel." The horses are bred, drugged, whipped, and involuntarily give their lives for betting world entertainment. The horses have no choice in the matter. It is a sad commentary on our society and times if we do not acknowledge the "cruelty" factor.

[Susan]

There are definitely some steps that can be taken to help prevent these kind of tragedies in horse-racing. The Jockey Club should limit breeding of horses that have broken down in races, to prevent the perpetuation of leg bones too fragile to endure the horses momentum. In addition, I think polytrack should be defacto on all racecourses. Finally monitoring the leg bones of racehorses should be routine. Periodic monitoring of the leg bones by ultrasound may be able to detect the gradual accrual of microcracking that occurs in the bones over a season of racing + training. Fracture Mechanics theory would hold that the bones break when a small crack within them reaches critical crack length. If the microcracks within a horses leg are growing+accruing due to training+racing more quickly than they can heal or repair, the horses leg will eventually break. Similar to osteoporosis, this damage can accrue painlessly+without swelling, until the bone actually breaks, making it very difficult to detect or prevent.
However microcracking does affect the stiffness of the bone, which is directly related to the speed of sound through it. As a result development of an ultrasonic monitoring technique, may well be a viable option to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring in the future...

[Kim Cowal]

The only thing worse than witnessing the tragic death of the beautiful filly Eight Belles would be to know that she died in vain.
The question now is, when will the barbaric practice of exploiting and endangering animals for "sport" and profit end?

[Marilyn]

People, get a grip. Since all you bleeding hearts encouraged Congress to ban slaughter, horses are starving by the hundreds. How is that slow, painful death better? And, yes, Eight Belles was euthanized, but before she was in any major pain. The pain comes from the swelling of the tissue and the vets prevented that. Just because it was on television, people are all up in arms. Go to your shelter and ask how many hundreds of dogs and cats are killed each year. Euthanized simply because someone couldn't be bothered to spay or neuter their animal. How cruel is that? Horses want to run. They need to run. Find another cause. This one is not being ignored. Many brilliant people are working on it.

[name with held]

people need to look at this from a whole different point of view. You cry and complain about how our horses are treated in a sport that you say is cruel. I know plenty of horses that are well cared for and are loved in this sport. Peta says horses should be raced less and make less starts, if you look horses today have fewer starts than horses that ran back in the early 20's and even before then. Alot of horses back then were running in races in as little as 3 days and they held up just fine. If you think alot of these people are in it for the insurance money then you are saddly mistaken, alot of owners can not afford insurance let alone alot of the bills that go into the day to day care of these animals. What happened to 8 belles was a sad accident! It could have happened to any horse in any situation wether it be jumping or trail riding or just running around in a paddock. what happened to a gallant filly was no different than what happened to Ruffian and yet no one blamed her connections for what happened. LEAVE Larry Jones and Rick Porter, and Saez ALONE! They have been through enough and are torn up about the whole thing. I have seen it many times on the backside when a horse breaks down there are tears and people stopping by the barns to give condolences to the owners and the trainer. No one wants to see their horse die. Yes there are some people in it for the money, but we are not all like that! SO QUIT lumping us all together. I have been around racing for many years and I have seen the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. ITs not all about the money. By the way it Barbaro not Barbero

[M Richardson]

What do you think happens to all of the horses that can't make it to this level? Do you think there are horse retirement homes where they spend their senior years in idle comfort? Just like greyhounds, when the horses are no long valuable, they are killed - European meat market or Alpo. I don't know about the horses, but the greyhound racing industry is killing thousands of dogs each year - often with as callous disregard for the dog as Michael Vick displayed. If you support the racing industry, you are supporting the mistreatment of the animals involved.
Race cars, not dogs and horses.

[Julia]

Sad fact is that horses are livestock and treated as such. Is what happened to Eight Belles any worse than what's done every day in the production of Premarin?

Honestly, Eight Belle's fate was probably kinder than the fate of thoroughbreds who don't succeed on the track and are sent to slaughter. 1986 Kentucky Derby Winner Ferdinand was sent to the slaughterhouse in Japan because he wasn't a good enough stallion.

[David P. French]

We would all do well to remember that when we discuss the dangers that horses face while racing that we mention greyhounds in the same breath. Animals face injury and death when racing for human profit and entertainment.

[Judy Willis]

Horse racing is second to cockfighting. I've seen one race and one only. A horse was shot with after breaking a leg on track. It was horrifying and at that time as a kid I knew it was wrong. The "Seabuiscuit" story is just that; a story about the love of MONEY, NOT A HORSE.

[Janet]

This has got to stop!!! This beautiful creature gave her heart, all that she had to please greedy, stupid humans. All this to watch yet another innocent animal do what ever they can to please, perform, give to idiot spectators who are basically only around to watch hoping they'll win the "big one". Everyone and anyone even remotely supporting this stupid sport is guilty of having a hand in destroying another beautiful, loving, soulful gift some obviously do not deserve.
Please, please, please stop destroying beautiful animals!!!

[JD Brewer]

It is like any other barbaric sport. Hunting. Fox Hunting in Great Britian. Cock Fighting. Dog Fighting. Anywhere you have sport like this you have Post Cro-Manon Men.....thus you have blood sports strictly to see something get beaten-bleed and die.

[Raul X. Garcia]

Why is it people are always more concerned about the horse than the jockey?

[louie viramontes]

Wow, I guess there are no more accidents.

[kat]

Eight Belle's death is nothing new in horse racing. The only reason Eight Belle's death is significant is because it happened on national television. Horse racing is a brutal sport that comes at the expense of the marginalized. Although race horses that achieve the level of the Kentucky Derby are the exception, most race horses live a nightmarish existance. They are pushed to the limits by abusive training and drugging. They are raced while sick or injured and when they have lived out thier usefulness they go to the slaughterhouse. Horses are euthanized everyday in the racing business.

A perfect example of high profile horse racing abuse was Barbaro. A stupid and uniformed public applauded Barbaro's owners and trainers' efforts to keep him alive. Most people thought the parties involved were acting in the best interest of the animal. They weren't. They are greedy, ruthless animal abusers who kept Barbaro alive and suffering solely for the purpose of putting him out to stud to the tune of millions of dollars a year. Barbaro's owners and trainers should have been prosecuted instead of being treated like heros. But stupid people who don't understand horses thought Barbaro's owners and trainers were noble. Anyone who knows anything about horses was sickened by Barbaro's treatment at the hands of greedy and exploitive animal abusers looking to make a buck. I hope they got stuck with millions in vet bills but I'm sure they made a good lick on the insurance pay out.

Horse racing is a nasty business whether anyone wants to believe it or not -even at the Kentucky Derby level.

[rob]

General rule of thumb?

If PETA is involved, ignore them.

Anyone who listens to what an admitted domestic terrorist group has to say is a bigger fool than the ones who run PETA.

I've watched PETA people assault and vandalise people the suspected of wearing fur.
It was Faux fur.
That didn't change the fact that they sprayed paint on these people's faces and clothes and called it "retaliation".

PETA is a joke and most Americans realize this and dismiss them.

[ML Chasteen]

Horse racing is animal abuse. They will never stop because of all the money involved, but hopefully we can change the way they are allowed to abuse these great creatures. When the guys in charge retire from horse racing lets send them to the glue factories in Europe!

[Ross]

I'm just an outside observer, with no 'horse' in this, but I have a few points. It's not a sport. I know for some people it's 'sporting', but sorry, sports are people-only activities. I'm sure there's a proper meaning, but I don't think hiding behind the word sport is helpful. Tradition and gambling are the only things left when you take the sport out of it. The welfare of the animals is clearly 'trampled' in meeting those ends. Obviously the horse racing enthusiasts don't realize what they look like to everyone else. All they hear is the shrill 'save every tree' and 'don't step on the ants' PETA-talk and they stick their fingers in the ears and laugh it off. It's not just the politically correct that see racing as barbaric. It may not be like cock-fighting or bull fighting by design, but it's not boxing, racecar driving or even dog agility either. These animals are pushed to the limit and there's nothing beautiful or exciting about it. If someone wants to watch a horse run or bet on something, I'm sure it's easily done, maybe just not at the same time. Let it go. It's 2008.

[Cathy]

Bramlage:

This answer is easy, and well documented by science. The best age to train a horse is to start right at the end of growth and maintain the bone formation mechanism that has been doing the growing, and just shift it to responding to training. So, late yearlings and early two year olds train better, last longer, and make more starts than horses that wait until later to start training.

This why it is just fine to ride and train 2 yr old Thoroughbreds. This is from racing's most repected vet.
Do any of you watch racing every weekend? do you know anything about the TB as an athelete? These horses aren't told to just GO GOGO till you drop. They are trained to conserve their speed until it is called upon. Are you aware how many times a horse is "eased" in the stretch because the jockey knows it's just not his day today? I am a horse racing fan and believe me watching Eight Belles suddenly die was not easy to understand. It still isn't. The ignorance out there is just insane however. What about the jockeys who ride these horses? The two of them make a team. Believe me, the object of the game is to live to fight another day. Neither of them want to go down on the track.
As in all sports, there will be injuries and death. And even while I am still coming to terms with the sudden death and loss of Eight Belles, I realize that this is the risk involved in horse racing. It's not about greed. A dead horse gets you nothing unless you have insurance on it.
One last thing. The heart and courage of the Thoroughbred is a phenomenon that has been bred into them for centuries. Marguerite Henry realized that back in 1951 and I read as a liitle girl how Sammuel Riddle, the owner of Man o War said, " thoroughbreds don't cry". big in heart, high in courage, they go on to finish the race.
It's a time to grieve for Eight Belles, not to point fingers.

[Tre']

Eight Belles needs to be remembered for the greta filly she was. Anyone who judges the sport of hoprse racing needs to deeper indulge themselves into all sports then and question why basketball players drop dead during games or the millions of dollars that are spent betting on football pools and baseball games when many of the men are not natural athletes but pumped up with steroids. These horses are well taken care of by the people who own them and ride them. The jockey did not do anything wrong and her legs would have eventually broken if she had not been at the Derby but possibly in another race. Sometimes I agree with PETA on some issues but this time they have overstepped their bounds.

[Equine Vet]

There are so many inaccuracies in the above that I likely can't address them all. With respect to Barbaro- his connections certainly were not worried about his stallion career. With such a severe injury to a hindleg it is unlikely he would've ever been physically able to breed a mare. They were trying to save him because of what he meant to them and it did likely cost them hundreds of thousands but probably not millions. To suggest otherwise is plainly ignorant.

Alot of you appear to think that people get rich racing horses. Think again- people who own horses at the top level rarely break even. They generally race horses because they love horses. The people most affected by the tragedy of a breakdown are the more immediate connections- the trainer, grooms, excercise riders etc. These are working class people who love the animals they care (seven days a week) for and are truly devestated when one is lost.

The unfortunate reality that most of you won't want to face is that when horses have jobs (racing, showing, rodeo, jumping, etc) they are tremendously well taken care of. In order for the people who take care of them to be successful they have to take immaculate care of their animals. The true tragedy is that there are tens of thousands of horses that are not used for anything and neglected. The number of well taken care of horses that die is a tiny fraction of the number of horses that suffer from neglect. However, it is far easier to sensationalize the tragedy of a breakdown on the track than is is too sensationalize a 16 year old girl with a horse she is no longer interested in that isn't taken care of (shoeing, vet, deworming, proper feed etc). The fact is, a number of horses are owned by people who don't know how to take care of them. This is the real tragedy.

[charlene grant]

Horse racing is a sick sport, right along with dog racing & rodeos. A horse is not fully developed until about 5 yrs. Horse racing is all about money, manipulating their birth and nothing about horses. It's a form of slavery - the horse has no choice. Also, once a race horse's so-called career is over, many are sent to slaughter! Not my opinion, but fact. Folks did the same with greyhounds - hence all the greyhound rescues today.