Most of us watched the Kentucky Derby. I have made it an annual tradition. I almost always watch the derby, and if I don’t watch it live, I watch the replay.
I am not a horse racing enthusiast, but I always watch the Triple Crown races. It’s the pomp and pageantry. It’s seeing men in suits and women in hats screaming like members of the DogHouse. It’s two minutes of non-stop, wire-to-wire action. It has been described as the most exciting two minutes in sports, and it is.
Even if you don’t have money on the race, everyone has a favorite horse, usually decided the morning of the race, but it’s still your horse.
This year’s Kentucky Derby was a thriller. Big Brown came from the 20th position to power toward a victory in the run for the roses. Finishing second was Eight Belles, the lone filly in the race. Eight Belles crossed the finish line like normal. Nothing seemed off. The cameras focused on Big Brown, the thrilled owners and trainers.
However, slowly the news began to leak about the horse. Eight Belles had broken both her front ankles and was euthanized on the track, the first in 134 years of the derby. PETA is already blasting the sport and calling for the jockey to be suspended (ridiculous, for the record), but the sports’ lovers are even quicker to its defense.
No one wants to see an animal die, and some think not enough was done to save the horse’s life. Most people are overlooking that it is extremely unlikely – I stress extremely – that anything could have been done to save her. On top of that, this is not just an animal to the owners, trainers and jockey.
You can debate the merits behind breeding all you’d like, but let’s not kid ourselves. That filly was worth millions of dollars. You don’t just kill a multi-million dollar animal for the hell of it; there had to be a good reason. There would have to be something that would have prevented her from recovering and leading a normal life, or heck, even a life. We all remember Barbaro right? The horse that the veterinarians tried their hardest to allow to live a normal life, but in the end Barbaro still died.
Another person being overlooked is the jockey. A jockey’s life is not the easiest, and only a small percentage ever ride in a major money race.
For 20-year-old Gabriel Saez the loss is tough.
“I remain heartbroken over Eight Belles, and I want to let her many fans know that she never gave me the slightest indication before or during the race that there was anything bothering her,” Saez said in a released statement.
Later in the statement, Saez referred to the loss as “personal.” Once again, someone does not kill anyone, an animal or not, unnecessarily when he has such a close connection to the animal. Saez hasn’t been able to look the media in the face he is so heartbroken.
Race horses are pampered animals. They live a life of luxury, yet sometimes that life is cut tragically short. I am sure horse racing commissions across the world are going to take a serious look at the artificial surfaces. But would that prevent a freak accident?
That’s what I chalk this up to: a freak accident. They happen all the time. Washington Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theisman was never the same after his leg was snapped (a clip I still refuse to watch in its entirety). But do we make QB’s wear massive leg pads? No.
Accidents happen. Is it a shame? Yes. Could anything have been done? Is there anyone to blame? No.
Sometimes life is not fair. It’s just something we all have to live with.
– Keith Lavon can be reached
