Eight Belles

[on:]

I'm sure you've all heard about Eight Belles by now. Even if you didn't watch the Kentucky Derby, if you keep up with the news at all you will know the controversy behind her death.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Linkage: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/news/story?id=3380100

Here's my opinion:

PETA doesn't know what they're talking about. To blame the jockey?

1. Jockeys are among the people that work more closely with the horses than anyone else. No one knows how a horse runs and reacts better than his or her jockey. Jockeys these days aren't in it for the money because they make pennies compared to owners and trainers. Granted, the Kentucky Derby is a big race and therefore has a larger purse, but still.
2. The jockey didn't feel her ankles break and "still run her". Her ankles broke AFTER the race, AS she collapsed. I think it doesn't really take a total genius to figure out that a 1500-lb animal CANNOT run at 45 mph on two broken ankles. Had it happened during the race, she would have fallen straight onto her face.
3. Excessive use of the whip? If they're going to try to blame Gabriel Saez for that, they'd better try and blame 99.9% of jockeys in the entire sport, because they all do it. And it's not cruel. A horse's hide isn't exactly soft and does anyone ever see cuts or bruises on them after a race? No. It is merely a signal that says "Horse, now is the time to move."

Fillies vs. Colts...

1. Fillies CAN be run against colts. Take Ruffian and Winning Colors for instance, amongst others. This is an uncommon occurence but it happens.
2. Eight Belle's SIZE was a huge factor. At 17 hh, she was enormous for a filly OR for a colt. It's in her breeding and was part of why she was a) Selected for stakes racing and b) even ABLE to compete against colts. Big horses just do better. They have longer legs and bigger muscles, bigger hearts, bigger lungs. Take War Admiral for instance, the almost undefeated colt that stood towering at 18 hh. On the other hand - There ARE small horses that bring home the gold too, although unlikely.
3. If she couldn't race against the boys, she wouldn't be in the Kentucky Derby.
4. She came in second in the Derby. Which consists of the best young racing thoroughbreds in the world! Does this not prove she had it in her?

As for PETA's stand against horse racing,

1. It's a very old sport. Fatalities occur, just as in ANY sport. What about when racecar drivers die? Dale Earnhardt, anyone? Does that mean NASCAR is out? Or what about when a football player is seriously injured, perhaps paralyzed for life. Does the NFL get questioned?
2. Racetracks are making updates ALL the time to ensure as much safety as possible. Implementing new features such as synthetic dirt tracks have reduced 2 deaths per 1,000 starts on regular dirt down to 1.5 deaths per 1,000 starts.
3. You tell me when you look at the places in which these horses live. Race horses live in the best of luxury. They live, eat, exercise, and play better than you or I do. PETA just can't say these creatures are abused. In the history of horse racing, yes it has happened and it's saddening, but these days I can tell you this. People are in it for the rush and the joy and the beauty of Thoroughbred horses. They are magnificent creatures and everyone realizes it. No horse is taken for granted.

Take the story of Barbaro. He was an outstanding racehorse. His owners spent millions upon millions (I don't know the exact number but by the time he was finally euthanized, they had invested more than $25 million in his recovery). In it for the money? I think not.

1. He did not have nearly that much in earnings.
2. It wasn't even certain that he would be able to produce offspring in the future (in the horse racing world artificial insemination is illegal, which means yes, all breeding is done the good ol' fashioned way). With his leg severely broken in so many areas, it was uncertain whether he'd even be able to mount mares. So that most likely crosses out any chance of earnings through offspring.

A great example of the fact that the horses mean more than just winnings.



I'll stop my ramble now. I have been following horse racing since as far back as I can remember and I still find it one of the most captivating, breathtaking sports in the world. I do have a word or two about PETA that I won't mention on the forum. They're biased do-gooders that don't have their priorities straight.

If you ask me, animals can have all the rights they darn well please the very day they start talking, reasoning, solving mysteries, and making new discoveries just as humans do. Not to say they don't deserve ANY rights at all, but definitely not on the levels that PETA is trying to push on. These days there are a select few idiots out there that treat animals like crap and I don't agree with this. BUT, on the other hand... more and more people are accepting animals as part of their very families. I know I do.

I'm extremely saddened by the death of Eight Belles and I think she was an extraordinary mare. RIP Eight Belles, and I know everyone in your life loved you sincerely.

[Reply #1 on:]

I agree for the most part. It isn't the jockey's fault for sure. However, it may have been either the owner's or the trainer's fault. Though she was big and strong, she was probably not far enough along in her training to compete in such a race. A similar thing happened with my horse's mom, Gavy. She's fast, strong, super smart, and she was a race horse for the first two years of her life. She won every single race she was in, so her owner wanted to move her up in class, the trainer said no, she isn't ready yet, but the owner did anyways, and she blew a tendon. The owner almost put her down until Nancy scooped her up and rescued her, and she's turned into a great riding horse, and she even threw a very nice foal. She is a little snappy though, especially when putting on the saddle, because they had always been so rough with her, she is still afraid of getting hurt by whoever is tacking her up.

Now, on to the other point...

If you ask me, animals can have all the rights they darn well please the very day they start talking, reasoning, solving mysteries, and making new discoveries just as humans do.

What the heck?! Just because they do not communicate, think, and act the same way that we do, they are suddenly inferior? Why are we any better than they are? I find it sickeningly similar to the way people thought Jews were inferior in WWII.

Most animals are incredibly intelligent, and the ones that may be a little more hyper or unintelligent is usually because they're bastard breeds that we've created ourselves.

These days there are a select few idiots out there that treat animals like crap

Again, what the heck?! Millions of animals are mistreated every day! Just because it isn't happening in the streets, doesn't mean it doesn't occur at all. Slaughterhouses, puppy mills, sick teenagers with nothing better to do, etc...


I personally hate PETA. They make us real animal rights activists look crazy. However, animals DO deserve rights, whether or not they can speak English or do math or build a freaking skyscraper, they do amazingly intelligent and complicated things every day, but we don't realize it because most of it doesn't revolve around us.

We'd be a whole lot better off if we actually stopped to observe, appreciate, and learn from what is around us.

[Reply #2 on:]

You're absolutely right Paranormal, animals are very intelligent and do deserve credit. I find it hard to explain myself on this topic because I love animals with every fiber of my being. I've had them all my life and I can't imagine not having them around. I agree that I could never cope without the companionship of a dog, or the purr of a cat, or of course the antics of my many sugar gliders.

But I just don't feel like animals should be getting the rights that a lot of crazy animal activists are saying they deserve. I'm talking the way far-fetched stuff that you hear about occasionally on the news, and (usually) the crap you hear from PETA. Their message is a good one with good intentions but it's stretched way far out of proportion.

I do not believe animals are inferior, I never once said this. But the fact is, THEY ARE NOT equal to humans no matter what. This is as far as I'm going to travel into the aspect of religion but they were put on earth to serve humans. Some of them are here for us to eat. Some are here for us to utilize. But mostly, they are here for us to enjoy and love.

And I apologize for the following comment:

These days there are a select few idiots out there that treat animals like crap

It was a severe understatement.

However, back to the subject of Eight Belles. True, she may not have been ready to take on races like this but the fact that she had already been competing at those levels sort of proves that she was indeed ready. I didn't hear if they are going to be performing an autopsy on the filly to see what happened. My understanding is that she suffered respiratory difficulty and broke her ankles as she collapsed, by falling over wrong. What caused the breathing problem that was not present before? I haven't heard much since the article in which PETA was trying to blame the jockey.

[Reply #3 on:]

You're absolutely right Paranormal, animals are very intelligent and do deserve credit. I find it hard to explain myself on this topic because I love animals with every fiber of my being. I've had them all my life and I can't imagine not having them around. I agree that I could never cope without the companionship of a dog, or the purr of a cat, or of course the antics of my many sugar gliders.

I totally understand you there

I do not believe animals are inferior, I never once said this. But the fact is, THEY ARE NOT equal to humans no matter what. This is as far as I'm going to travel into the aspect of religion but they were put on earth to serve humans. Some of them are here for us to eat. Some are here for us to utilize. But mostly, they are here for us to enjoy and love.

I have to disagree with you here, but we obviously have different religious views. I carry more of a Buddhist mindset towards animals. But I won't take it any further; you have yours and I have mine.

However, back to the subject of Eight Belles. True, she may not have been ready to take on races like this but the fact that she had already been competing at those levels sort of proves that she was indeed ready. I didn't hear if they are going to be performing an autopsy on the filly to see what happened. My understanding is that she suffered respiratory difficulty and broke her ankles as she collapsed, by falling over wrong. What caused the breathing problem that was not present before? I haven't heard much since the article in which PETA was trying to blame the jockey.

Ah, that does make sense. My Dad used to work at an exhibition grounds and he said that racing thoroughbreds often have respiratory problems.

PETA will blame whoever they see first.

[Reply #4 on:]

How did your dad come about working there?

[Reply #5 on:]

RIP Eight Belles,what a beauty she was. The Triple Crown,like the Olympics, is something I never miss.I Love horse racing,here in Maine, we have sulky racing,which is just as awesome to watch. I think until they do a autopsy on her, everything is just speculation.I don't think it was the jockey and I really dint think it was the fact she was running with the big boys.She more then proved she could do it. But having said that,on that link I was reading some of the other articles,and one was on pushing the horses too soon,before they had a chance to grow structurally sound.Now, to my way of thinking, that makes perfect sense.
  I believe every living thing was put on this earth for a purpose.Rather it is work,pleasure,food or just the beauty of it.I think animals ,whatever they are or are not used for,deserve the right to dignity,respect,and if domestic to be cared for and loved properly.

[Reply #6 on:]

Horses are structurally sound by the age of 2 years to bare the weight of humans. Some of the characteristics of thoroughbreds are obviously their speed and need to run. Unfortunately the breed is also delicate.

[Reply #7 on:]

How did your dad come about working there?

He picked up the soiled straw and delivered it to this outfit that used it as fertilizer to grow mushrooms.

[Reply #8 on:]

Very interesting!!

Autopsy (or necropsy as it is known in the horse world) results revealed no pre-existing conditions that would have caused Eight Belles to break down.

The trainer believes she tripped over her own feet finishing the race. She was known for having a short, quick stride and not lifting her legs very far off of the ground. Hence the reason she could travel so quickly and compete against the boys. This could very well be the reason she fell. Just a plain accident

In other news, the Preakness Stakes is tomorrow, and I'll be rooting on our boy Big Brown.