Eight Belles' Death Sparks Controversy

Demise Of Filly In Kentucky Derby Prompts Debate Over Image And Safety Of Horse Racing

(CBS/AP)  Two days after Big Brown blazed across the finish line, the snapshot of Eight Belles down on the dirt set off a raging debate that extended far beyond the Kentucky Derby: Is horse racing now facing an image crisis?

With the memory of Barbaro still fresh, Eight Belles' catastrophic breakdown Saturday put increasing focus on a sport already trying to overcome a decline in popularity.

Her death has raised thorny issues about the whole thoroughbred industry, including track safety, whether fillies should be allowed to run against colts, and whether horses are bred too much for speed and not for soundness.

Congressman Ed Whitield of Kentucky, who is trying to toughen regulation of horseracing, told CBS News correspondent Chip Reid that breakdowns are far more common than people think, and are on the rise. Whitfield said that one reason for the rise is that the big money is not in racing horses anymore, it's in breeding them.

"These horses really are expendable commodities," Whitfield said. "You want to get the most out of them for a short period of time, and hopefully they are good enough to go into breeding."

A prominent animal rights group got involved Sunday, too, criticizing Eight Belles' jockey for whipping the horse and saying the second-place prize should be revoked.

But to horse people, it wasn't all that simple.

"To make it safer, don't race the horses, don't train them, then they'll live good lives out on the farm," Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said.

"But you have to train them for races, you have to run them and that's where the problems start to set in. They have to be asked to run and sometimes in a particular minute, they're asked to run when they're not ready to give it and then it hurts."

While Big Brown's bid to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years will certainly gain momentum in the next couple of weeks, Eight Belles and the sight of fans crying in the stands remained a focal point Sunday.

"Filly's Death Casts Shadow over Kentucky Derby," read The New York Times.

"Tragedy mars Kentucky Derby as the only filly dies after race," the Los Angeles Times' Web site said.

Churchill Downs officials were unsure whether there had been a fatality in the Kentucky Derby. Superintendent Butch Lehr said there hadn't been one in his 41 years at the track.

The death of Eight Belles may have been rare because it occurred well after the finish line, but it's just the latest trauma to happen at a major race on national television.

Two years ago, Derby winner Barbaro shattered his fight rear leg at the start of the Preakness, with more than 100,000 people gasping at the site of the undefeated colt in distress as he was led into an equine ambulance. Barbaro was euthanized eight months later after developing laminitis as a result of the injuries.

Dr. Dean Richardson, the veterinary surgeon who tried valiantly to save Barbaro, told CBS' The Early Show that Eight Belles' injuries were very different from Barbaro's.

"It is extraordinarily for a racehorse to break down the way Eight Belles did after the race is finished," Richardson said.

Eight Belles suffered fractures of both feet. In the left foot, the fracture was so severe it tore through the skin.

"A horse can get around on three legs temporarily. It's impossible for a horse to get around on just its hind legs," Richardson said.

Now, there are more questions about track safety.

Barbaro's demise helped push forward the installation of synthetic surfaces to replace traditional dirt tracks at several tracks, including Keeneland, Santa Anita, Arlington Park, Hollywood Park, Golden Gate Fields, Del Mar, Turfway and Presque Isle. A new on-track injury reporting program seems to indicate the surface is having the desired effect.

Reports by veterinarians at 34 tracks across the country between June 2007 and early this year showed synthetic tracks averaged 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared with 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for horses that ran on dirt.

But not everyone is convinced.

"This is a very big issue and needs to be discussed," two-time Derby winning trainer Nick Zito said. "You're changing the whole game. Big Brown ran on dirt yesterday, he's going for history. You can't tell me the Polytrack is history. It's not yet, there isn't enough data yet."

That's not saying Zito and other horsemen are not interested in making racetracks safer for both horses and jockeys.

"If you told me, `Look, we have a device that these horses can run on pillows and never get hurt the rest of lives,' I'd say, `Where do I sign?"' Zito said. "There's injuries on the Polytrack, too. Now you see why I'm saying it's a big issue."

While breakdowns always have been a part of racing, there has been more of an outcry lately calling for drastic action.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement Sunday calling for the suspension of Eight Belles jockey Gabriel Saez. The group also asked for the "revocation of the second place prize."

Saez was riding in his first Kentucky Derby when Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line.

"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."

A call to the jockeys' room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.

The Kentucky state racing stewards make decisions on suspensions, but there is no racing at Churchill Downs until Wednesday. At that time, the stewards could review a tape of the race if a formal request is made.

Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones disputed any suggestion that his horse had no business taking on the boys.

"It wasn't that, it wasn't the distance, it wasn't a big bumping match for her, she never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."

On Sunday morning, Jones stood next to his Kentucky Oaks-winning filly, Proud Spell, receiving condolences from friends and fellow trainers.

"Got here at 5 a.m.," Jones said. "Got to go on. It's hard, but it's what we do."

Just then, Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz drove past Jones' barn stopped his car and rolled down the window. On Friday, Matz watched another one of his horses, Chelokee, suffer a life-threatening injury in the Alysheba Stakes. He had just returned from Lexington, where the horse was set for surgery Monday to fuse his injured ankle.

"Sorry, Larry," Matz said.

"I know you know what it's like, thank you," Jones said. "How's yours doin'?"

"Doing good, they're going to operate tomorrow," Matz said.

Dutrow was still basking in Big Brown's victory, well aware that an injury can strike at any time.

"No matter what happens, you're always going to see horses break down on the track," he said. "That is part of this game. It's a very sad part of the game, but you have to go through it.

"For people coming out to the track and seeing that, it's got to make them think, `Man, why would I want to go out there and see that happen to a horse?"' he said. "It's got to be very disappointing to anyone who loves horses."

[rodeoangel20]

It may not be my place to say, but it ticks me off beyoned belief that this horse was put down, I realize that both the ankles on this horse broke and alothough it would of been painful for the horse, theres medications out there to help ease the pain, with out euthanizing it on the track.Had that trainer found an compassionate experienced equestrian like myself, that would have gladly taken the time (no matter how much or what it took) to eventually get this horse back on its feet.Difficult, yes but after healing, that horse could of easily been living out the rest of its life in a green pasture, maybe with some little girl running up to it, giving it kisses but unfortunately this horses life was taken before given that chance.Its pathetic that these trainers spend all their money on these horses, but yet when something goes wrong that they dont feel like dealing with, they%u2019re quick to make the decision to euthanize.It disgusts me and this story gives me one more reason to start my own horse rescue agency!
-Samantha

[track2trail]

As the owner of two Off the Track Thoroughbreds, I can tell you that racing is a cruel, merciless sport. Despite impeccable breeding, my gelding has a blown out knee because he was put on the track and worked too hard at just over a year old. He walks with a bit of limp and can''t do what a "normal" horse can, but I love him anyway. Had he not been taken in by a horse rescue in Ocala, he surely would have been horsemeat. In fact, there are countless stories of horses that get transported from their last race on a slaughter-bound truck.

What the breeders and trainers conveniently leave out is how they prod them with electric zappers to jump out of the gate faster and hit them with crops that have electric zappers in them (only in training, of course). Do you really believe that Eight Belles and Barbaro didn''t exhibit any signs of breakdown?

America, wake up and quit supporting this cruel sport!

[louisiana818]

the requests that peta are making should not even be considered on any level. they want to wipe out horse racing. it is a sport just like baseball,basketball,soccer, and football. people get hurt in sports and in animal sports it is the same; you cannot expect a different outcome in animal sports. people get hurt and animals get hurt. the injuries to eight belles were in no way caused by the jockey mistreating the horse during the race. peta is full of $hit, and if anything should be completey done away with it should be peta.

[csantovena]

Go to alexbrownracing.com

This is the top site to talk about all things equine.

[nothappyatall]

Posted by newster1

so youre happy paying $6-9 a pound for beef from unhealthy, abused animals? i''''m not. at those prices, i want a nice tender steak from a healthy fit animal. if peta makes these dishonest slaughterhouses clean up their act, then im all in favor of peta.

Posted by cpaide

First of all, I dont eat meat, far as I''m concerned raising and brutally slaughtering animals for the bar-b-cue grill and McDonalds burgers- a significant portion of which are THROWN OUT if not consumed by customers within a short time is a barbaric and inherently cruel as well as needless activity, people do not NEED meat it is a luxury and delicacy that comes at the expense of a DEAD animal.

[nothappyatall]

PETA quite often goes to the extreme. I don''''t agree with a lot of their tactics, but how many cases of cruelty would rise to public awareness if they did not persist in animal rights? Not too many, I suspect. Since the animals cannot speak for themselves, someone has to speak for them.

Posted by msay3

Oh come now, you cant think people are THAT stupid they need a radical terrorist bailing group like this to show animal abuse! To peta just owning a dog or cat is abuse and SLAVERY.

There are thousands of humane groups, shelters, rescue groups and more out there, by claiming peta does it all you are discrediting and discounting the hard work of tens of thousands of people who go far and beyond the nuts at Peta every day, and they do it with out subverting animal owners rights.

see www.petakillsanimals.com

[csantovena]

End horse slaughter. Many former race horses, pregnant mares, yearlings and ponies go to slaughter where they are stabbed in the spine, skinned and hanging by their necks with their hearts still beating. Canada and El Paso, Texas and Juarez are the biggest culprits and exporters in the world of horse meat. These are American horses being sent to Canada and Mexico. Please end horse slaughter.

[cpaide]

Posted by newster1

so you''re happy paying $6-9 a pound for beef from unhealthy, abused animals? i''m not. at those prices, i want a nice tender steak from a healthy fit animal. if peta makes these dishonest slaughterhouses clean up their act, then i''m all in favor of peta.

as for horses, i don''t eat them, so i have no comment about that.

[treebr]

"This has gotten so blown out of proportion, 1.6 horses per 1000 races, breakdown"

That''s interesting--I''ve noticed the media throwing out "numbers per starts" stats. . . nobody''s talking about the very regular occurance of catastrophic breakdowns during morning workouts . . . but I guess what the public doesn''t see isn''t the issue . . . I remember 20 yrs ago I worked on a farm where a horse died of colic and the rendering service truck that came to collect the body already had two dead horses unceremoniously piled in . . . "Yep," said the truck driver, "These two broke broke down on the track this morning" . . . Many never make it to the race. Although it''s "just a percentage", I''m sure the "couple or so" extra horses whose injuries could have been prevented by training and racing on poly-track would appreciate not being counted among the "catastrophic". Turfway installed it and claimed "catastrophic breakdowns" dropped from 24 the previous meet to 3 with poly.

[missybelle-2009]

Wow. Seems a lot of people have gotten "off track" so to speak. PETA is out of control, horse racing is not an evil sport, and some of ya''ll still need to get a life and not cry yourselves to sleep every night over some of this ***. Conspiracy theories abound...

[msay3]

PETA quite often goes to the extreme. I don''t agree with a lot of their tactics, but how many cases of cruelty would rise to public awareness if they did not persist in animal rights? Not too many, I suspect. Since the animals cannot speak for themselves, someone has to speak for them.

[nothappyatall]

6) PETA runs campaigns seemingly calculated to offend religious believers. One entire PETA website is devoted to the claim-despite ample evidence to the contrary-that Jesus Christ was a vegetarian. PETA holds protests at houses of worship, even suing one church that tried to protect its members from Sunday-morning harassment. Its billboards taunt Christians with the message that hogs %u201Cdied for their sins.%u201D PETA insists, contrary to centuries of rabbinical teaching, that the Jewish ritual of kosher slaughter shouldn''t be allowed. And its infamous %u201CHolocaust on Your Plate%u201D campaign crassly compares the Jewish victims of Nazi genocide with farm animals.

7) PETA has repeatedly attacked research foundations like the March of Dimes, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, because they support animal-based research that might uncover cures for birth defects and life-threatening diseases. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk has said that %u201Ceven if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we would be against it.%u201D

[nothappyatall]

In his sentencing recommendation, a federal prosecutor implicated PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in that crime. And PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich told an animal rights convention in 2001 that %u201Cblowing stuff up and smashing windows%u201D is %u201Ca great way to bring about animal liberation.

4) PETA activists regularly target children as young as six years old with anti-meat and anti-milk propaganda, often waiting outside their schools to intercept them as they walk to and from class-without notifying parents. One piece of kid-targeted PETA literature tells small children: %u201CYour Mommy Kills Animals!%u201D PETA brags that its messages reach over 2 million children every year, including thousands reached by e-mail without the permission of their parents. One PETA vice president told the Fox News Channel%u2019s audience: %u201COur campaigns are always geared towards children, and they always will be.%u201D

5) PETA has used a related organization, the PETA Foundation, to fund the misnamed Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a deceptive animal rights group that promotes itself as an unbiased source of medical and nutritional information. PCRM''s president also serves as president of the PETA Foundation.

[nothappyatall]

7 things you didnt know about PeTA

) PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group%u2019s overall goal as %u201Ctotal animal liberation.%u201D This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, and no pets (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals.
2) Despite its constant moralizing about the %u201Cunethical%u201D treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, PETA has killed over 14,400 dogs and cats at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. During 2005, PETA put to death over 90 percent of the animals it collected from members of the public.

3) PETA has given tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals. This includes a 2001 donation of $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an FBI-certified %u201Cdomestic terrorist%u201D group responsible for dozens of firebombs and death threats. During the 1990s, PETA paid $70,200 to an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activist convicted of burning down a Michigan State University research laboratory.

[nothappyatall]

PETA claims to be dedicated to protecting animals and treating them "ethically"%u2014it%u2019s right there in the group%u2019s name. But killing animals that could otherwise be placed in adoptive homes isn%u2019t terribly ethical, especially for a group whose $30 million annual income is more than enough to do the right thing instead.

In comparison, the Virginia Beach SPCA, right down the road from PETA%u2019s Norfolk headquarters, managed to adopt out almost 70% of the animals in its care last year. And it did it on a relative shoestring budget.

www.petakillsanimals.com

[nothappyatall]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a group that complains bitterly when animals die accidentally in horse races or intentionally in slaughterhouses, killed more than 90 percent of the adoptable animals in its care during 2007.

Last year, PETA wrangled with the Virginia government for nine months before its 2006 records were finally made public. In a cynical bid to hide the outrageous percentage of animals that wind up in their giant walk-in freezer, PETA''s leaders tried to lump the pets they spayed or neutered in with those they took in for more than an hour. That squabbling continues, but this year we decided not to wait for the dust to settle.

Instead, with the help of Virginia''s public records law, we did a little digging. Responding to our formal legal request, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has released PETA''s 2007 "Animal Record" report. Although VDACS itself has still not relased this report, we''re making it available to the general public.

[nothappyatall]

" dont agree with all of PETAs methods but
Posted by onlythereal"

Peta should be SHUT DOWN and have their non-profit status yanked- how fast you forget the case where their own employees Hinkley and another one were arrested and charged after obtaining dogs under FALSE pretenses and then killing them in the official peta van without a required veterinary license or approval for all the DRUGS and syringes they had. Then they dumped the bodies in a mall''s dumpster and that was how they were CAUGHT.
They are sick warped with a mindset that to save dogs we should KILL them.
They have also posted bail money for convicted arsonists who burned down public university facilities.

see www.petakillsanimals.com and others

[mmaza]

Everything to the rich is a toy,whether it''s a horse or a football player. Living dolls. Just stop supporting it.

[csantovena]

End horse slaughter. Many former race horses, pregnant mares, yearlings and ponies go to slaughter where they are stabbed in the spine, skinned and hanging by their necks with their hearts still beating. Canada and El Paso, Texas and Juarez are the biggest culprits and exporters in the world of horse meat. These are American horses being sent to Canada and Mexico. Please end horse slaughter.

[grammawhamma]

As a horse owner I agree that two and three year olds are too young to be raced. I see many posting that they race 5 year olds in Europe...does any one have statistics on European race horse injuries in comparison?

Horses love to run (at least mine do). They are also competitive in nature and hate for another horse to get ahead of them when just running them down a dirt path for fun. Therefore, I would like to know why jockey''s need the use of whips. There are many other cues a horse can be trained to respond to to open up when racing rather than a whip. Any trainers out there care to explain the need for whips?