Posted on 05/03/2008 9:34:08 PM PDT by red flanker
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A quarter mile past the finish line in the Kentucky Derby, a gallant runner-up effort by the filly Eight Belles was forgotten in an instant.
In a freak accident that one experienced racetrack veterinarian said he had never seen before, the 3-year-old daughter of Unbridled’s Song apparently snapped both of her front ankles simultaneously as she galloped out after the race, sending her crashing hard to the Churchill Downs dirt racetrack. She was euthanized moments later, after vets determined there was no chance to save her.
“She had finished the race and was around the turn at the start of the backstretch and right near one of the outriders as they were watching,” said Dr. Larry Bramlage, on-call veterinarian for the race. “He saw both front ankles just collapse.”
While such an injury on only one leg might have given her a fighting chance to survive, “she didn’t have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized,” Bramlage said.
He said such a double simultaneous break is an extremely rare occurrence.
“In my years in racing, I have never seen this happen,” he said. “... There was no possible way to save her.”
Jockey Gabriel Saez, who was thrown when the filly went down, walked away, apparently uninjured.
Trainer Larry Jones, who a day earlier celebrated winning the Kentucky Oaks with Eight Belles’ stablemate, Proud Spell, went to his barn immediately after the accident and could not be reached for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnky.net ...
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This was just heart-breaking , and I had to turn off the TV as soon as I heard she was down - could not watch the award part.
I couldn’t watch all those people celebrating, knowing that one of the horses had died.
Sad topic, but others may have an answer.
I have never bet on a horse race, but something tells me there is more to this story regarding making political news and exerting political pressure no matter what the consequences to other humans and beasts.
Does anyone know if she had anything to do with the winning jockey getting thrown. I saw him get thrown but I couldn’t figure it out. I thought he was far from her when that happened.
Yes I thought I heard it was a reaction to the events...
No joke, my heart goes out to the animal and those who loved her. Earlier, over here, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010803/posts#46 , I’d read that Hitlery was backing this horse and actually thought, “Well THERE’S the kiss of death!”.
Just damn.
You mean the winner threw his rider becuase the philly fell dion. They did not collide?
They were all beautiful horses.
They def did not collide - I was watching the winning jockey when he got thrown and they actually commented that it was a bit embarrassing, but that was right before they mentioned or realized the filly was down and then I couldn’t stand to watch anymore - but they speculated BigB knew the other horse went down.
All race tracks should be required to install the new synthetic surfacing in place of dirt, it eliminates most of the broken legs that happen to so many horses on dirt tracks. After Polytrack was installed at Turfway Park in Florence KY catastrophic horse injuries dropped from an average of over 20 per racing season to 3 per season. It's expensive, but so are thoroughbred horses and they also feel pain.
Had the filly raced on dirt before? I know they mentioned at least one or more of the horses had only raced on synthetic tracks.
Thanks. I was in a restaurant and the TV was up on the wall behind me. I kept turning to see but they had the sound down.
I watched the rider get thrown.
I thought it odd the way the journalist with the antenna coming off the top of hat was interviewing the guy before he even got to the circle. You’d think they’d let him have some time to himself.
Eight bells is the end of the watch. The poor filly didn’t need Hillary’s support with such an ominous name.
Thoroughbreds are such noble and gallant animals that they deserve the best that we can give them IMHO, but then I'm just a softhearted old horse lover.
I don’t know anything much about horses except that they are gorgeous creatures. I have had opportunity to ride a couple horses so I do appreciate them and it is glorious to see them run.
But I wonder if in the breeding of these special breeds if there is something that is causing the bones to be weak..a sort of genetic thing that until some terrible event like this takes place, it goes unnoticed? Or could the horses be started racing too early in their development? Anyone out there know anything about this?
IT was such a sad event today and like others, I could not watch the rest of the race either.
I totally agree but I guess I don’t write the paychecks - seems the horses will run their hearts out as is their nature, so the least the sport could do is provide the safest surface...look at the amount of $ that exchanged hands today around the world over one race...
Is it possible the filly incurred stress fractures during the race that snapped immediately afterwards?
We had a guy that performed a bad parachute landing who tried to gut out. A couple days later, he was doing a 10 mile run with his company when the fibula in his leg snapped. X-rays showed stress fractures on the bone that were probably due to the bad landing.
I remember watching the wrester Sid Vicious making a move and landing on an odd angle and it looked like his ankle turned into rubber, course its no secret those TV wrestlers are pumped up on steroids, makes a person wonder what these athlete horses diet is.
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