Derby ending saddens racing
5/6/2008 12:35 AM   0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend



Saturday's Kentucky Derby will be remembered as much for the tragic aftermath as for the brilliant race it was.

Big Brown stormed to the win while Eight Belles, a filly, was easily the second best horse in the race, placing in the first round of horse racing's Triple Crown. But in galloping out at the end of the race, Eight Belles broke both ankles in a freak occurrence and had to be euthanized on the track.

The demise of the Aiken trained horse has already been the topic of discussion around the country, and one organization, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, has called for the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey, Gabriel Saez.

The death of Eight Belles is an unfortunate and rare incident. When equine athletes race in such intense competition, the stresses on bones can become great, and although unusual broken bones do occur.

There is no fault, however, for a jockey doing his job to the best of his ability. He is the one most in tune with his mount and the one who can detect something wrong during a race. That Eight Belles finished second out of 20 horses shows she was sound during the race.

The death of Eight Belles should cause the horse racing industry to continue looking into ways to make the sport safer for horses and riders. Some race tracks have gone to softer surfaces to relieve the stress on horses. The bottom line is that no one in the industry and none of the spectators enjoy seeing a horse with such heart come to an untimely end. That is not what horse racing is about, and the industry will do all it can to protect its most important resource - the thoroughbred.

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