Trainer Larry Jones leading EIGHT BELLES into the paddock area.
We were about 8 feet away from her, and my God what a beautiful animal she was. She was also the biggest filly I have ever seen. Normally fillies are visibally smaller than colts, but she was as big as if not bigger than most of the boys. Unlike most women on Craigslist claiming it, she was really and truly a BBW.
Jockey Gabriel Saez leads EIGHT BELLES out to the track
I'm a bit of a lefty, but I want to take a minute to say what a stupid bunch of ignorant glory hunting douchebags the folks over at PETA are for coming out and demanding that Gabriel Saez be suspended for "killing" EIGHT BELLES. I guess I missed the part where he pulled out his machete and slit her throat after crossing the wire. The fact that they would seek the spotlight without as much as taking the time to ask anyone who knows anything at all about horse racing before saying such ignorant shit as she was "doubtlessly injured before the finish" among other complete ignorant things. They have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and are just using a tragic accident to seek the spotlight and glamorize themselves, and as someone who is pretty into horse racing, it pisses me off. So eat a dick, PETA.
I also want to say that it was very classy and thoughtful for NBC track reporter Donna Brothers to pick Saez up on the track and give him a ride back around the track and through the paddock to the jockey's room. Brothers was right there on the scene and is visibly shaken up, as was Saez, but he was still gracious enough to toss one of his pairs of goggles to a fan as they went past us.
As we left the track it felt eerie looking over at the stall in the paddock where she saddled up, which was now completely empty, in more ways than one.
What an empty feeling
I don't want to write a book about all the ethical questions floating around right now, but this was an accident and it happens in horse racing all the time, albeit 99% of the time not when millions of people are watching but rather a few hundred. FYI the statistics available show that there are between 1.5 and 2 fatalities per 1000 starts in thoroughbred horse racing in the United States. I would be interested to see how that compared to boxing, wrestling, or the newly popular mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting.
At the end of the day, no one "killed" EIGHT BELLES, she misstepped and broke down, and as cold as it is to say it, it is a part of racing. You are talking about 1600 pound animals who run 35 miles per hour and whose ankles are the same size as yours and mine. Think about that for a minute and let that sink in.
The problem lies not in what most people are talking about, the problem lies in the breeding of thoroughbreds. Years ago they were bred for strength, stamina and speed, but the last few decades they have been bred purely for speed and speed only, and as a result the entire breed has become even more fragile. Why? Because with syndication in the 70s there is now so many hundreds of millions of dollars in the breeding industry, that they want speed, speed, speed. The breed has been inbred too much to accomplish this, and the result is the we inevitably will see more fatal breakdowns because the breed just keeps getting less strong and more fragile with each passing generation. The introduction of synthetic racing surfaces seems to be cutting way down on fatal breakdowns, and I truly believe that we will see the Kentucky Derby run on a synthetic track in our lifetimes. But the only way to really address the situation is through breeding, and like with so many other things in this world there seems to be so much money at stake that those who control it will likely never change, as they are making too many millions of dollars doing what they are doing and are unlikely to fundamentally change and make less money in order to do the right thing for the breed as a whole.
It's tragic and I know alot of non-horse racing people like to poke fun at it, just like they did in backlash to the Barbaro media circus, but people in racing get very emotionally attached to these animals and it is heartbreaking to see them suffer and even die. Hell we're just racing fans and 3 different dudes in our group had tears in our eyes, myself included, when the word swept through CD on Saturday- I cannot even imagine the emotions felt by those really close to the animal- the people who bred her, who raised her, who broke her, who worked with her every day, who trained her, and who owned her, and that they all went from total & complete euphoria for the animal to utter and complete sadness & loss in the span of about 2 minutes. Imagine your dog dying when you were a kid and then multiply that by a 1000 or so. And no I don't want to see zoomed in still images or shots from the blimp cam and get all Joe Theisman with it; there's no point- it's just another instance of unnecessary injury porn.
And people snark about the owners being millionaires and making money off the horses. Look, most people in the racing game are already millionaires, and each and every one of them would rather that any of their horses would never win a dollar and be healthy than sacrifice their lives to win them a bunch of money.
After the Barbaro thing, as well as some other breakdowns in the last few years, including George Washington in last year's Breeders Cup Classic, I have changed my prerace thought pattern from "man I hope my horse wins" to "I just hope that they all get around safely and get out of the race healthy".
R.I.P. EIGHT BELLES, a beautiful champion filly who lost her life doing what she loved, and doing it well.
2 comments:
“Concern for environmental values does not require a stripping away of the perspective afforded by civilization; to value the wild, one does not have to "become wild" oneself (whatever that may mean). Rather, it is the material comforts of civilization that make possible a serious concern for both aesthetic and environmental values. These are concerns that can become pressing in developed nations in part because the populations of those countries now enjoy a certain substantial level of prosperity. It would be the height of condescension to expect a nation experiencing hunger and chronic disease to be inordinately concerned with the autonomous value of ecosystems or with creating and preserving works of art. Such values are not frivolous, but they can become important to us only after certain fundamental human needs are satisfied.”
I apologize for contributing prose attributed to cock-nose philosophical academia, however if you substitute animals [or animal protection (or horse’s rights, more directly speaking)] for all synonyms or alternates of description for the environment, I think this may aptly sum things up. There is nothing wrong with expressions of sympathy for an animal while people suffer. As long as there is an implementation of aid to developing countries (and the organizations aiming to satisfy or burgeon the budgets of those trying to solve these development crises) to coincide with the understanding that people deserve more empathy than animals, this compassion can coexist. And to those who disagree that human suffering deserves more pause than animal suffering, I don’t want to be involved in the argument or any repercussion (fast track to the rape stand).
The quoted portion should be attributed to Elliot Sober, by the way. The supplemental interpretation should be credited to someone else if you disagree. I feel guilty for skirting other obligations as it is.
Anonymous
Just a thought, I don't think people feel that an animal's suffering deserves more pause than a human's. I think it goes a little like this:
The Derby is viewed by more people that any other horse race mainly because people want to see these beautiful animals run and to cheer on their champions!
Eight Belles was a magnificent athelete that raced like few other fillies did, or colts for that matter. Eight Belles tried to accomplish what only 3 fillies in history have done, win the Kentucky Derby. She showed the world that she could "run with the boys" the first Saturday in May and she was spectacular, coming in second with a 3 1/2 length lead proving she was a valliant champion who had heart.
When people are in the presence of greatness such as this filly, whether live or watching from home, it is unthinkable that such a fate could befall her. When a horrible thing like this happens people are saddened beyond belief because they have lost a hero.
Everyone knows that people are suffering and I don't think they are trying to make Eight Belles' tragedy more important than human suffering.
Rest easy girl...
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