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| | Post-Derby Thoughts, Part One
I'll tell you, I'd much rather hold forth on Big Brown and his Triple Crown chances, on the other horses in the field and their performances, but obviously, that just can't be done. I sit here and watch The Blood-Horse try to sweep the death of a terrifically talented filly under the rug with just two articles (as they are doing), and it leaves an even more intensely bad taste in my mouth than when they did the same over the loss of the tremendous George Washington last fall. Everyone was trumpeting Curlin as the greatest while fans around the world sat stunned, tears fresh on our faces, wondering how it was the powers that be in horse racing could ignore the fact that feisty George Washington, affectionately called "Gorgeous George" by his fans, was being euthanized in the mud. Curlin's win was rightly soured.
Unsurprisingly, the sad death of filly Eight Belles in Saturday's Derby has riveted the attention of the world on horse racing. I've also seen a massive influx of comments, so will address the issue off the cuff. It can't be ignored, in my opinion. The Blood-Horse may be raking in the bucks, but I'm more in love with the horses, so...let's talk horses.
Many are saying the filly should never have run against the boys, but clearly this is a foolish thing to say. Eight Belles beat everyone in the field save the winner, and was breezing out nicely...then the unthinkable, the horrifying happened.
I've spent my entire life watching horse racing and horses, and have never seen anything like what happened to Eight Belles. Time and again I've closely watched the video of her galloping out after the race, nice and easy, ears pricked, clearly enjoying herself...then she inexplicably collapses onto the track. There was no warning, no sign. Her jockey heard a pop and tried to pull her up. The filly — who regularly worked a mile and a half with trainer Larry Jones aboard, refusing to stop running despite his urgings and commands — broke down instead. Even longtime on-track vet Larry Bramlage tells us he had never seen anything like it; so do dozens across the country. If you want a freak accident, this was it. Yet that doesn't make it any less shocking.
Before a race, horses are very thoroughly vetted and blood-tested for illegal performance-enhancing drugs. If a horse doesn't pass, it doesn't run. Moreover, trainers and owners keep a close eye on their animals. These horses are not only worth a lot of money, they aren't just "cash cows"; it's extremely expensive to breed, purchase, own, and care for any horse. As my father says, "The horse is the cheap part", and that's as true for a $4,200 claimer as it is for the $16-million dollar prospect like The Green Monkey (who never won a race). There's food, board, veterinary bills, medications, supplements, the farrier...that doesn't include training, paying the groomer and exercise rider, race entry fees, tack prices, and God forbid the animal become ill or injure itself.
 Even more importantly, despite what many "concerned citizens" who actually hate horse racing and hate the idea of others having fun would tell you, many of these animals are more like pampered pets than slaves. Owners, trainers, jocks, and others who work regularly with any horse will be hard-pressed not to have affection for these beautiful creatures. I've seen horses pulled from a race because the animal was just clearly not in the mood to run; why put them out there at the risk of injury if it's not their day? Owners and trainers especially often consider their racehorse a part of the family, as much so as their dogs and cats. It's just a more expensive pet that can't curl up beside the couch (in most cases). I still recall the aftermath in 2006; the owners of Pine Island, who'd been fatally injured in a Breeder's Cup race, were beyond distraught. Watching them was heart-wrenching. The mare had been considered a pet by not only her connections, but everyone at the racetrack. It wasn't the loss of purse money or the loss of sales brought by foals; it was the loss of a companion and friend.
One problem I have in common with others throughout the sport is the current emphasis on speed, and early speed, as opposed to durability and strength. The market only encourages this (I'll touch on it more later) by having speed exhibitions at the major auctions: Keeneland, Tattersalls, Fasig-Tipton, et cetera. Where once upon a time we looked at conformation, breeding, attitude, and movement, many buyers are looking for a horse that can clock a fast furlong under tack at two. Worse, horses with known problems — say, foot issues — are bred despite what is possibly a genetic defect.
Take Big Brown; his foot issues are very well-known. The special (and expensive) shoes he wears seem to help, but what are the chances of his passing that on to his progeny? But I can sadly assure you of this: he'll likely be bred regardless, possibly disseminating bad feet to thousands of foals. My lifelong interest in racing has meant long study of bloodlines and genetics, and I'll tell you right now the industry is in many cases exacerbating the problems by not breeding more selectively (though this by no means applies to all breeding outfits, many of whom are extremely careful).
We have a collie puppy. Collies are well-known for having eye problems, something the breed foundation picked up on decades ago. My facts may be incorrect here, but I believe they're close; after 50 years of selective breeding, which means winnowing out collies with the bad eye genes, 50% of collies still carry the gene. This is a vast improvement over the 90% when the problem was pinpointed, but you can see how long it takes to get rid of bad genes even with great vigilance.
Unfortunately, for some reason (hmmm...), even horses with known health and stability issues are bred, passing bad traits down to the next generation. No matter how terrific a racehorse is, if he or she carries a gene that makes the breed as a whole less healthy...well, there you go. This is clearly, clearly something The Jockey Club needs to get a handle on.
I do agree that horses are pushed too hard, too early. One thing that irks me greatly is reading the sales reports. It's not the idea of the sales that bugs me, but the idea of pushing an 2-year-old horse to its very limits for a few furlongs to put on a show for the buyers. We have young animals turning in incredible numbers, but I'm not sure how relevant it is when the circumstances are so odd and the horses so green.
Certainly the animals can begin training at such an age; keep in mind that animals mature much more quickly than humans and don't live nearly as long. At 2, a horse or dog is usually ready for breeding. Don't look so shocked; it's life. Cats can bear young at an even earlier age. The point is, it's silly to compare a 2-year-old, 1000-pound Thoroughbred with a 2-year-old human. The differences in maturity are vast.
Furthermore, we have to consider their skeletal development; by training carefully at 2, we're actually maintaining and strengthening the bone if done properly. Just like people, horses create and maintain healthy bone density by putting pressure on themselves, by using their bodies as they were meant to be used. Research has borne this out; it's similar to our lifting weights or otherwise strengthening our body by stressing it when we go for a walk or jog.
Keep in mind, too, the horses of years past who ran dozens of races a year without a problem. Look at records of the greats and even not-so-greats, and you'll see a difference in the number of races run. Again, I think this is a breeding problem, of sacrificing strength and durability for speed.
Eight Belles was not too young, though she had a few more races as a two-year-old than I like to see. Nor was she pushed, at least not in the Derby; she ran a terrific race, as she'd almost unfailingly done her entire career. Indeed, I daresay Eight Belles was just as good as Big Brown on paper, other than the fact she was a filly. Fillies tend to be smaller, but...not this one. Her size floored me and required an immediate re-estimation of her abilities. Eight Belles was hardly outclassed in Saturday's race, though quite a few of the boys she beat were gigantically outclassed by her.
I am also quite fully aware of the drug problems within horse racing. It's something we've been attempting to rout for years, but similarly to human sports, the bad guys produce their wares faster and more efficiently than we can come up with the tests to detect them. Worse, the penalties for drugging are clearly not prohibitive enough.
Last year, trainer Patrick Biancone was suspended after cobra venom" was found in his barns at Keeneland Racetrack. This seemed outrageous to me; the man was giving a pretty strong painkiller to animals, and if he needed a painkiller that powerful...why were they running at all? The suspension caused even more of an uproar in the racing community than the finding of the drugs, because many believe Biancone should have permanently lost his license and been banned from the sport. The man can no longer run horses in France for a reason; why shouldn't we kick his foul tail out of the business in the States as well? A few people actually did leave the sport over the Biancone kerfluffle.
Personally, I'm kind of hoping that at the end of his suspension, he can't find an owner willing to work with him and he'll be forced out.
Giving a horse painkillers is one thing. Giving a horse painkillers then running the animal in a race is just plain stupid and cruel. You'll find that the majority of horsemen tend to agree with this.
As usual, it's the bad guys who get all the attention and give the sport a bad name.
We're hearing a lot about the new synthetic surfaces, too, something PETA is demanding. However, it behooves us to keep in mind that the surfaces are brand-new, scientifically speaking. Many major tracks, including Keeneland, have replaced their dirt tracks with synthetic, but it is far from an across-the-board change. This past winter and spring saw several tracks having tremendous problems as far as the consistency of the synthetic tracks went, problems that could have endangered horses and jockeys. Furthermore, while dirt tracks tended to cause a lot of front-end injuries, we're beginning to see a lot of rear-end injuries with the synthetic tracks, as well as soft-tissue and back problems. Many trainers and owners refuse to run on synthetic tracks, no matter the race, because of this. Have we gone from the frying pan into the fire? It's possible.
While there have been several heartbreaking, high-profile breakdowns in the past few years — and I spent a lot of time crying over Barbaro and gorgeous George Washington, and now can't watch the Preakness promos without seeing Eight Belles behind Big Brown and bursting into tears — overall, such things are still rare in the sport. Many horses fall, but rise again; perhaps never to race again, but many do survive to go into breeding or perhaps become a riding horse. Not every injury results in death.
As far as accidents overall, though, the numbers haven't changed much, not that I can see, over the past 100 years. We do have advanced veterinary medicine on our side though; even the end seen by Eight Belles and George Washington was far more humane and peaceful than the type suffered by an injured horse for whom the only humane escape from pain was a gun to its head, the troubled and heartbroken emotions of the rider surely readable to the animal.
Something else one needs to keep in mind is that not only are these animals bred to run, they love to run. I've stood and watched 20-year-old horses tear around their paddock, having a grand time. When visiting Old Friends last summer, the guide shared with us the story of Wallenda's arrival at the farm, during which a trumpeter played the call to the post as the retired racehorse and stud was led into the center. Every single horse there pricked up its ears and stood at attention, and many then took off in circles around their paddocks, though many have not set hoof on a racetrack for 20 years or more.
The horse is an animal that loves to run. Surely they look and seem like an accident waiting to happen, with those slender legs supporting gigantic, muscular bodies, but they love to run. It is in their hearts and their souls. Before man saddled the horse, it tore over wilderness, desert, field, crag, and hillside of its own volition, for the sheer joy of eating the ground with its feet and hearing the wind whistle in its ears.
Of course, many of these animals broke or fractured limbs after taking a misstep (as Barbaro did), setting their hoof down into a burrow, or slipping off a rock or bad footing. Still...they ran.
When man domesticated the horse, it was a crowning achievement for both man and beast, something I'm sure the Almighty was glad to see we'd finally figured out. Each gained skills, a friend, a protector, and a helper...and while I'm certain horses have affection for their owners and riders, I've no doubt and no lack of personal experience regarding the love, deep affection, and respect the vast majority of humans have for the horses they work with. This includes those who own, train, and ride racehorses.
The Thoroughbred, one must keep in mind, is even more of a runner than your average horse (though there is no such thing). I often say that of all the animals on earth, Thoroughbreds are perhaps the closest in spirit to mankind: determined, tenacious, fragile yet powerful. They will give their all, then continue to give when they have nothing left. It is not man's hand pushing them to do so; it is how they were created, it is in their very being. We've merely harnessed that love, power, and ability not only to assist us in daily life and from a companionship perspective, but for the plain enjoyment of watching them move, observing them do what it is they do best.
Do we bid butterflies not fly due to the fragility of their wings? Do we ask our dogs not to protect us because they may be injured or killed in the process? Do we require frogs not to jump because they may jump into the mouth of a predator or into a spot so far from the water they may dehydrate and die? Do we bid the deer not jump over canyons or up mountainsides lest they break a fragile leg or slip upon the rock? In Christian theology, we are reminded that in our weakness, Jesus Christ is strong. He pushes us out of our comfort zones, to do things we're not good at or may even be harmed in the doing; ultimately, it is all for our good and that of the world. Very few things worth doing come without their own specific dangers. Often it is the very thing we're created to do that could bring our doom upon us.
I love this sport; few things in this world are more breathtakingly beautiful or exciting than a Thoroughbred in full stride, fiercely charging down the stretch, eyes on the finish and heart full of the will to win, knowing he's ahead of the field. But at the same time events like Saturday's, freak accidents though they usually are, break my heart, make me cry and deeply wound my spirit. When a hockey or football player is injured, they usually live. When a Thoroughbred is injured, because of the nature of the animal, their life sometimes hangs by a thread, a thread bolstered up in any way possible by mankind (which is only appropriate).
The dominating win by Big Brown on Saturday afternoon and his Triple Crown chances are not, I assure you, the foremost thing on the minds of most horsemen. Instead, we can only see, over and over again, that very game gunmetal grey filly determinedly hanging on behind the winner, dominating the field in her own way, giving no quarter to the others...and then the memory of her demise. It sickens us.
Those of us who have long been involved with the sport of horse racing are far more heartbroken and sickened by the death of Eight Belles than the casual fan, than the news-watchers taken aback by this terrible death on Derby Day, even than the animal-rights folks circling for blood. It is not merely because we've lost a genuinely talented competitor, though that is understandably a part of it; it isn't just because it makes our sport look bad, though that of course is a part of it as well.
No, we are heartbroken and in mourning because our love and passion for these animals is what brought us to the sport in the first place. It is because the sight of such a beautiful creature running its heart out and enjoying every step of it thrills our hearts, because we see not only the physical beauty but sense the happiness and fulfillment it brings to the mind of the animal providing the vision. It is because at the end of the day, no matter where our horse happens to finish in the race, we still love them for what they are and for their personalities. For every horse that doesn't win a big race or even finish on the board, there is a heart loving that animal merely because the horse exists and tries its best.
When Eight Belles fell, never to rise again, our hearts felt the pain more than those not involved will ever know. And the pain lasts longer, too, for it is fueled not by envy, anger, frustration, or self-righteous indignation, but by love, affection, and compassion. We loved her merely because she was, and now she is gone.
Rest in peace, Eight Belles. My condolences to the entire Eight Belles team.
~ ~ ~
For those interested in creating a better life for Thoroughbreds after their racing careers are over, I encourage you to check out and support fine organizations like Old Friends, CANTER, and The Exceller Fund.
For those who would like to donate funds to research into horses and their health, particularly racehorses, please look into The New Bolton Center and Thoroughbred Charities of America.
It seems only fitting that after gaining so much enjoyment from these animals, we do what we can to provide for their health and welfare, and the industry is working to improve this (many have suggested a percentage of purse money or the purchase price of a horse at auction be donated to these groups and those like them). Furthermore, you'll find many companies (mine own included), particularly small privately-owned ones, donate a portion of their profits to such charities.
Banning horse racing is not the way to go, but encouraging those whose livelihood it is to make it safer and provide for the animals once their racing days are over will go a long way to making it a better thing for all involved. Instead of ending something which brings joy and happiness not only to the people but to the animals who serve as its  living, breathing centerpiece, find a way to encourage and bring about changes in the sport. Due to the nature of racing, there will, unfortunately, always be injury and even death threatening the horses and jockeys. But, as we saw with Barbaro and are now seeing with Chelokee, thoughtful research and actions can lead to hope and life even for those who would have once been given up for dead.
Additionally, the Blood-Horse has put up a virtual memory wall for Eight Belles where you can read and share your thoughts about the loss of the filly.
By the way, I've noticed a lot of new voices in the comments. Thank you for stopping by. The rules are: keep it clean, keep it kind, and no name-calling. A gentle sense of humor goes a long way. Things have been thoughtfully, reasonably debated here in the past year or two, even hot issues, and we would all very much like to keep it that way. Comments that break the rules will be deleted.
Update, 3:15PM NTRA CEO has posted remarks regarding Eight Belles' loss on the NTRA blog:
Today, we as an industry find ourselves at another important crossroads. The easy path might be to hunker down and let these issues dissipate over time. My personal view, at least as of today, is that the industry needs to take drastic action to reverse a very disturbing trend toward open criticism of horse racing for our perceived cruelty to our equine athletes. At the same time, we need to collectively take a deep breath and resist the temptation to rush to judgment or reach hasty conclusions until the facts are better known. We might never know what caused Eight Belle’s injury, but I believe that the facts will eventually conclude that this was a tragic accident and one different from any I’ve ever seen before.
One thing is for sure: we owe it to the horse to make sure we are taking every reasonable precaution to assure their welfare and safety. Time is of the essence. We cannot afford to take a wait-and-see approach. Action is needed by industry leaders in a position to make a difference.
...I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on what you believe racing should do in the wake of Eight Belles’ death. Thanks.
Comments are being taken at the blog now, and already there are nearly 100.
| | | Posted 5/6/2008 2:54 PM - 7 comments
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