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 ...
That sounds like a very good idea, the synthetic surfacing.
Yes, the jockey/driver can be well conditioned but the primary effort is being done by the horse/car.
Horses are amazing athletes - cars are simply mechnaical devices.
LOL.
Could be problems because of excessive breeding to produce the very best horse a factor?
Hair, what a great synopsis. I have a question - do you think the “heart”, the unwillingness to be behind another horse, had a factor in the death of the filly? Breeders would be crazy not to desire that particular trait, but in the case of such an injury, might it lead to the horse literally running itself to death?
The idea that Native Dancer genes are transfer from 5 generation back and having weak ankles is not validated. The entire leg structure is very perfectly aligned. 1000-1200 lbs are poised on just a couple inches at 30 mph. IF a twist occurs , sever breakage is the result.
These horses are worked at a gallop 365 days a year and yet horses do not break legs all that often. Races generate a lot more stress and a filly is stressed even harder competing against colts who are larger and stronger.
Lippanzans do not mature that early and they are started later. The stress on their muscles are often greater than on the bones. TB's do mature early and if you looked at these TB's they had matured but not reached their full growth. Similar to teenagers being lean and fast with great balance and after 20 get larger and more muscular, but they are not as fast.
There are 1000's of races, yet there are only a few of the top races. These races of the Triple Crown and the Breeders Cup are the only races that are televised on network TV.
The Kentucky Derby is a challenge of champions, and it is meant to be. A classic distance of a 1 1/4 mile in early spring of a 3 year old that may have just really turned 3 years old. It is not meant for the lesser TB's. The reason hat fillys do not run in The Derby is that it is that much more difficult to win against colts. Yet if a trainer and owner have an exceptional filly they can compete if they want. The greater is the triumph is with the greater difficulty. There is no meaning to the win if it was easy. Sometimes the difficulty come with heartbreak when the horse is not capable but will still race it heart out. My initial thought is that her heart burst from the race. She beat every colt, but the best who was just that much better. Her form earlier did not indicate that she would be that good.
Part of the beauty and emotional high that a winning owner and trainer is that this pinnacle of achievement is so rare. To get a horse to win all three races is truly a test of champions. The Derby has run 134 years but there have only been 12 Triple Crown winners. But there is no chance to try is you do not run in the Derby first. IT is not meant to be easy, but instead very hard. Trainer's have the challenge of balancing training with getting the peak of performance over 7 weeks yet still qualify from previous stake wins.
Big Brown shown tremendous speed and ability and he has been raced lightly. He was started late November of his 2 year old year and his performances have been brilliant. Yet he has hoof issues. He suffered a 1/4 crack and they decided to not work over January to allow the crack to heal so it would not get worse. Eight Belles has been raced more heavily. The stress and microscopic fractures mave have been there and just enlarged with her tremendous race in the Derby.
On the replay I saw a moment that she threw her head up when trying to catch Big Brown. I am pretty sure that was when she had the minor crack and later the bones moved out of opposition and she collapsed. Her death is the tragedy. That is what makes racing so great is that great success and the comcommitant tragedy can occur.
I think NBC was correct is focusing the coverage on the winner. The winner deserved the acclaim. Yet her loss was felt but does need to be excessively dwelt upon. I have been at hunt races and seen horses break legs and die in the saddling ring. Thankfully in the hunt races that I ran my horse, she never hurt herself. But even if she had she would have died doing what she loved to do, which was to compete and run and jump. I competed one day at combined training and the next in a hunt race and the next week in hunter pairs which I did two heats of 7 miles each.
I did this for pure joy, not for money. I never won any money. There really is nothing like it for pure joy and exhilaration.
My mare finally was put down at 28 since she had arthritis and bute was not helping. But she had many years of competition , training younger horses and just hunting and trail riding.
Other horse have developed muscular, tendon and ligament problems that retired them much earlier and they were not full TB. MY mare was a registered TB, but had a English hurdler as her sire and was tough and durable with speed and agility. More than that she had brains. I once ran her in a hunt race in hail and pouring rain . The puddles turned into lakes and the final turn was on a fairly steep hill. My TB mare decided hell with fast and did a wonderful dressage collected gallop on that turn without any lean. I could have had a child on her and that child would have stayed on. We lost the race but survived. But she was sound and so was I and we went on to other events.
I have seen horsemen compete and ride with broken arms and legs. Their doctors think us riders are crazy. We love it that much. But we think more of our horses than ourselves, because we know our horse will put out for us more than they can really do. That type of heart and response to a rider is beyond explaining.
I once rode a friend's 2 yr old colt that was being trained for the track in a racing saddle and tried to gallop in the position that jockeys ride in. My thigh muscles were screaming within a few seconds, and I have ridden all my life. It is much, much harder than it looks.
Thank you for your indepth thoughts. These horses are glorious animals....standing still or running freely..but to lose one such as the filly yesterday is just too sad indeed.
We’ve never had much to do with the race track scene or jockeys- bought a few horses off the track, and know some race trackers & jockeys- but no real inside type knowledge- but our daughters all barrel raced and the youngest still does- you are right that the horse is the key & the main athlete- but I will argue the point that the jockey doesn’t just sit there- whether going down the track or around three barrels. Successful races are definately a team effort and we have known many great horses that never reached their potential due to the rider. Some riders can ride a horse far beyond what that horse’s expected level is also. I know at least at our house when our daughters are racing- they stay fit themselves to get every advantage; I consider them athletes when they are competing, but I know many don’t.
Absolutely- and a winning horse and rider combo is found when horse and rider complement each other- even emotionally. I have seen jump up and down nutcase horses relax and really work with the right rider who has a calming influence on them or act really brain fried with a rider that is hyper. Lazy horses can be brought to life and perform great with a rider that feeds them energy. There is also a great trust issue with horse and rider- horses trust some riders and will respond to whatever they ask of them. It really is a team effort with any horse competition.
I had read that Arabians are pretty strong for their size (and also pretty durable, with good stamina). I'm a man-sized woman. When I was young, I weighed about your poundage, but now am heavier. I wouldn't attempt to ride an Arabian at my current size; it'd be animal abuse.
They got quite a few horses in there who had to have their knees worked on arthroscopically... usually to repair the cartilage. Most of these horses had started racing as two-year-olds, and that was supposedly one of the main reasons why so many of them had to undergo arthroscopic surgery on their knees. Beautiful animals, though.
Some of the ones who didn't have the stamina for a racing career ended up being used for breeding anyhow.
Even back in Man O'War's day, they were afraid of racing a horse for too long at too much weight. Man O'War beat the tar out of most of the horses he raced against, and by large margins, but his owners, among other things, were afraid that as he matured, he would be asked to carry a lot of weight while racing (I think it was over 130 pounds). They were afraid of him breaking down, so he was retired to stud while still fairly young.
Those who don't have never done it. They are riders, not sitters.
about jockey Bill Shoemaker:
“In fact, Joe Harper was once having dinner with an orthopedic surgeon who worked on many athletes in Southern California including some from the Los Angeles Rams (NFL) and the Lakers. He performed surgery on Shoemaker’s broken leg after a spill at Santa Anita and the doctor told Harper that the jockey was in the best shape out of any athlete he had ever cut into.
“He said it took him longer to cut through the muscles on Bill Shoemaker than it did any other athlete he had worked on,” said Harper. “Here’s a guy who was comparing apples to oranges, you would think. But a leg is a leg and there is Bill coming out on top.”
Also Time magazine did an article on athletes years ago, that listed being a jockey as the #1 most dangerous athletic profession
Those who think horseback riding requires no effort on the human’s part have only been passengers, not pilots. They give way too much credit to the horse in getting to and over the jumps (or down the racetrack or through the dressage test) on their own. And those pros do often make it look easy. That’s their job.
When you ride a horse (most especially at the upper competitive levels in any discipline) you use muscles you dont even know you have. Riding a horse is difficult. Riders must place a 1200 pound animal just right without looking like its a struggle. When you ride, each movement a horse makes is given from a signal the rider gives with his or her position in seat, leg, hand, pressure, etc. A horse relies on the rider to tell them how to move, what way, what pace, and most importantly, relies on the rider for collection. Every step that horse takes, is because of a certain command that the rider has given the horse. It takes an incredible amount of physical body control.
Try standing on a stair dropping your heels down (the way you do stretches). Balance on the rail or wall for a while, then balance without using your hands. Then make do squats (like posting the trot) off that stair. As with riding, they you shouldn’t tip forward or use your hands for balance. It really demonstrates the strength needed in your core muscles, your thighs, and all those tiny stabilizing muscles no one knows exist until you need them. That shows how much strength it takes just to hold the riding position—and you’re not even on a bouncy, misbehaving horse!
Sitting on a quiet horse on a trail ride really isn’t hard. Riding well is very hard. You need to be fit. You need stamina and muscle control. You need enough strength to hold your position and influence your horse. Rider fitness is considered a serious issue by eventing coaches - and frankly, being unfit and tired at the end of a cross-country run can get you or your horse seriously injured.
A Sports Med Dr, who used to be the team Dr for the SC Eq. team.”Riders suffer from the same types of injuries as Football players.”
I know, I have seen bad rider and horse matches. Once trust develops between horse and rider,the horse will do just about anything for that rider like jumping blind or facing scary predators. I saw a blind horse competing at x country. That is why a horse that spooks at the slightest change, will in battle charge into gunfire and cannon fire and continues to move even when shot. On their own, a horse will just run away or give up. I have seen horses lay down and just wait to die. But when forced to get up and then they can be saved.
If there are two horses in a field and one has a rider and both horses run against each other. The horse with the rider will win. Horses run faster when encouraged by the rider.
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