Kentucky Derby Blues

Does it seem odd to anyone that he managed to run strong across the finish line with severly injured legs? I wonder if they tried to stop the horse too quickly after the race and damaged him then? I realise they are all very experienced and therefore I realise I'm probably silly to even wonder something like that, but I'm just baffled at how the collapse didn't occur until 1/4 mile past the finish line.

Horses are run too young. Simple as that. It's disgusting and why I don't support horse racing in the least.

Poor Hillary.. how many omens, flubs, and statistical odds does she need... course if the horse had Hillary's ankles, they could of held up to the stress...

Hillary's Horse

May 03, 2008 7:05 PM
Tragedy struck the first filly in the Kentucky Derby since 1999, as Eight Belles went down on the track after her second-place finish today, broke two ankles, and was euthanized.
Showing a sisterhood with the female horse, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., during a trip to Louisville this week had said she was going to bet on Eight Belles to win, place, and show.
ABC News' Karen Travers reports that Clinton told supporters in Jeffersonville, Ind., earlier this week, "I hope that everybody will go to the derby on Saturday and place just a little money on the filly for me. I won’t be able to be there this year -- my daughter is going to be there and so she has strict instructions to bet on Eight Belles."
Travers also points out that Eight Belles' trainer, Larry Jones, returned the love. "It looks like it could be the year for the girls," he said. "Eight Belles I’m sure would want to endorse."
The horse Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., picked to show -- Big Brown -- won the Derby.

That is strange, but when an injury occurs it's hard to determine when it happens and even control. As I understand it, 8-Belles was doing rather well and then the other horse seemed to pull and win going away by a good margin of victory. A jockey surely wouldn't want that horse to collapse in the middle of the pack and in 2nd place. There would be a lot of trampling, not to mention how many horses would get injured, perhaps destroyed and effectively end a triple crown on the first race. Maybe the jockey ran the horse thru to the end of the race on bad wheels so to speak ?

What a revolting sight. The horses are bred for maximum speed, apparently ignoring the attributes that would make them able to run without breaking a leg. Then they're forced to run at a grueling speed that fractures their legs. How can these people live with themselves? How can you be entertained by watching animals being mistreated? It's disgusting.

It was just a matter of time too ?

PETA wants Eight Belles jockey suspended - Horse Racing - Yahoo! Sports

This might tend to suggest otherwise regarding the jockey's experience:

"Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Jones."

I'm not anti-gaming however I feel more sorry for the horse than the people who bet and didn't win.

Follow up story on 8 Belles:

Excite - Sports News

The fractures were one injury, the damage from the collapse was pretty bad too.

The horses are bred to run to their death.. so breaking her ankles wouldn't have stopped her.. she gave it her all.. that's all she was trained to do. Tragic but true.