Big Brown wins Kentucky Derby; filly Eight Belles euthanized
Big Brown wins Kentucky Derby; filly Eight Belles euthanized
May 04, 2008 6:46 AM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Big Brown was pulling away from the field, accelerating with every powerful stride toward the finish line in the Kentucky Derby. The crowd of 157,770 was on its feet and cheering as the big, unbeaten, muscular bay crossed the line first, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of the filly Eight Belles.
Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was still celebrating, along with thousands of happy bettors, as Big Brown and the 19 other horses in Saturday's race galloped out around the first turn at Churchill Downs.
It took a few minutes to sink in, but anyone watching those horses soon realized that one of them had fallen to the track.
"It's the filly," someone whispered. She went down about a quarter mile past the finish line.
In just a few minutes, the joy of the Derby and the promise of a new Triple Crown season were upended when Eight Belles was euthanized by injection on the track.
She had broken both front ankles and could not be saved.
"This horse showed you his heart," winning jockey Kent Desormeaux said, "and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today. I'm deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss."
Big Brown did everything his owner said he would do. An explosive finishing kick put away his rivals for his fourth consecutive victory.
Eight Belles, meantime, was attempting to become the fourth filly to win the Derby. Her owners chose to keep her out of Friday's Kentucky Oaks so she could run with the boys in the Derby. And run she did.
Big Brown's start from the outside post did little to hamper his charge when the field turned for home. Under the urging of Desormeaux, the 2-1 favorite cruised to an easy victory to become the seventh undefeated Derby winner. The last one was Barbaro in 2006.
That wasn't the only reason thoughts of Barbaro were hard to ignore on this Derby Day.
The breakdown brought back memories of the 2006 Preakness, where Barbaro shattered his right rear leg just after the start. The colt was euthanized months later, after developing laminitis from the catastrophic injuries.
In two weeks, Big Brown will race in the Preakness as the only 3-year-old with a chance to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978.
"We're ready to roll," Dutrow said.
All week, Dutrow told the world he had the best horse in the field - and the big bay colt justified every accolade tossed his way.
"I can't describe the feeling that all of us have right now," he said.
The colt became the first Derby winner since Regret in 1915 to have raced only three times previously. He is only the third in 60 years to win after racing in just two Derby preps - Sunny's Halo in 1983 and Street Sense last year were the others.
In addition, Big Brown became the second winner to start from the No. 20 post. The gelding Clyde Van Dusen did it in 1929.
Big Brown covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.82 in front of the second-largest crowd in Derby history. He paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80.
Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40, and Denis of Cork, at odds of 27-1, returned $11.60.
Dr. Larry Bramlage, the Derby's on-call veterinarian, said the filly's injuries were too severe to even attempt to move her off the track.
"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was euthanized," Bramlage said.
Trainer Larry Jones paid tribute to his fallen filly saying, "She ran the race of her life."
And he defended having her run against 19 colts in the Derby.
"It wasn't that. It wasn't the distance. It wasn't a big bumping match for her. She never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."
Tale of Ekati was fourth, followed by Recapturetheglory, Colonel John, Anak Nakal, Pyro, Cowboy Cal, Z Fortune, Smooth Air, Visionaire, Court Vision, Z Humor, Cool Coal Man, Bob Black Jack, Gayego, Big Truck, Adriano and Monba.
The colt earned $1,451,800 for the win and boosted his earnings to $2,114,500 for owners IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr. Pompa, who named Big Brown in honor of United Parcel Service, a client of his trucking business, sold a 75 percent interest in the colt to IEAH for about $3 million after his first race.
Desormeaux won the Derby for the third time, having won aboard Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Only three other riders have won more - Eddie Arcaro, Bill Hartack and Bill Shoemaker.
"It was smooth sailing all the way," Desormeaux said. "The horse was very comfortable."
Big Brown was the third favorite to win in the past five years. Smarty Jones won in 2004 and Street Sense won last year.
All eyes were on Big Brown at the start. Dutrow called his colt the fastest of all and he proved it when Desormeaux gunned him close the lead on the mad dash to the first turn. Desormeaux did a masterful job of keeping Big Brown free and clear of any traffic issues.
As the field headed into the backstretch, Big Brown was in sixth place and waiting for Desormeaux's signal to make his move. It came around the far turn, and Big Brown took the lead at the top of the stretch and was never challenged to the wire.
"I don't even know what we just did," Dutrow said. "I can't express my feelings, only that it was one of the most incredible feelings I ever had, and I can't wait to feel it again."
Tragedy overshadows unbeaten Big Brown's Kentucky Derby win
May 04, 2008 6:22 PM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A day after Big Brown blazed across the finish line, the snapshot of Eight Belles down on the dirt set off a raging debate that extended far beyond the Kentucky Derby: Is horse racing now facing an image crisis?
With the memory of Barbaro still fresh, Eight Belles' catastrophic breakdown Saturday put increasing focus on a sport already trying to overcome a decline in popularity.
Her death has raised thorny issues about the whole thoroughbred industry, including track safety, whether fillies should be allowed to run against colts, and whether horses are bred too much for speed and not for soundness.
A prominent animal rights group got involved Sunday, too, criticizing Eight Belles' jockey for whipping the horse and saying the second-place prize should be revoked.
But to horse people, it wasn't all that simple.
"To make it safer, don't race the horses, don't train them, then they'll live good lives out on the farm," Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said.
"But you have to train them for races, you have to run them and that's where the problems start to set in. They have to be asked to run and sometimes in a particular minute, they're asked to run when they're not ready to give it and then it hurts."
While Big Brown's bid to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years will certainly gain momentum in the next couple of weeks, Eight Belles and the sight of fans crying in the stands remained a focal point Sunday.
"Filly's Death Casts Shadow over Kentucky Derby," read The New York Times.
"Tragedy mars Kentucky Derby as the only filly dies after race," the Los Angeles Times' Web site said.
Churchill Downs officials were unsure whether there had been a fatality in the Kentucky Derby. Superintendent Butch Lehr said there hadn't been one in his 41 years at the track.
The death of Eight Belles may have been rare because it occurred well after the finish line, but it's just the latest trauma to happen at a major race on national television.
Two years ago, Derby winner Barbaro shattered his fight rear leg at the start of the Preakness, with more than 100,000 people gasping at the site of the undefeated colt in distress as he was led into an equine ambulance. Barbaro was euthanized eight months later after developing laminitis as a result of the injuries.
"It's difficult to accept, and we don't have all the answers," Scott Palmer, a veterinarian who helped attend to Barbaro on the track at Pimlico, said Sunday. "It's shocking to see something like that."
Now, there are more questions about track safety.
Barbaro's demise helped push forward the installation of synthetic surfaces to replace traditional dirt tracks at several tracks, including Keeneland, Santa Anita, Arlington Park, Hollywood Park, Golden Gate Fields, Del Mar, Turfway and Presque Isle. A new on-track injury reporting program seems to indicate the surface is having the desired effect.
Reports by veterinarians at 34 tracks across the country between June 2007 and early this year showed synthetic tracks averaged 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared with 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for horses that ran on dirt.
But not everyone is convinced.
"This is a very big issue and needs to be discussed," two-time Derby winning trainer Nick Zito said. "You're changing the whole game. Big Brown ran on dirt yesterday, he's going for history. You can't tell me the Polytrack is history. It's not yet, there isn't enough data yet."
That's not saying Zito and other horsemen are not interested in making racetracks safer for both horses and jockeys.
"If you told me, `Look, we have a device that these horses can run on pillows and never get hurt the rest of lives,' I'd say, `Where do I sign?'" Zito said. "There's injuries on the Polytrack, too. Now you see why I'm saying it's a big issue."
While breakdowns always have been a part of racing, there has been more of an outcry lately calling for drastic action.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement Sunday calling for the suspension of Eight Belles jockey Gabriel Saez. The group also asked for the "revocation of the second place prize."
Saez was riding in his first Kentucky Derby when Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line.
"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."
A call to the jockeys' room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.
The Kentucky state racing stewards make decisions on suspensions, but there is no racing at Churchill Downs until Wednesday. At that time, the stewards could review a tape of the race if a formal request is made.
Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones disputed any suggestion that his horse had no business taking on the boys.
"It wasn't that, it wasn't the distance, it wasn't a big bumping match for her, she never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."
On Sunday morning, Jones stood next to his Kentucky Oaks-winning filly, Proud Spell, receiving condolences from friends and fellow trainers.
"Got here at 5 a.m.," Jones said. "Got to go on. It's hard, but it's what we do."
Just then, Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz drove past Jones' barn stopped his car and rolled down the window. On Friday, Matz watched another one of his horses, Chelokee, suffer a life-threatening injury in the Alysheba Stakes. He had just returned from Lexington, where the horse was set for surgery Monday to fuse his injured ankle.
"Sorry, Larry," Matz said.
"I know you know what it's like, thank you," Jones said. "How's yours doin'?"
"Doing good, they're going to operate tomorrow," Matz said.
Dutrow was still basking in Big Brown's victory, well aware that an injury can strike at any time.
"No matter what happens, you're always going to see horses break down on the track," he said. "That is part of this game. It's a very sad part of the game, but you have to go through it.
"For people coming out to the track and seeing that, it's got to make them think, `Man, why would I want to go out there and see that happen to a horse?'" he said. "It's got to be very disappointing to anyone who loves horses."
I cried and cried It hasn't stopped on the news! It is so tragic the past 3 years with horses! now they are saying the horse was injured before she entered the race ugh! I just lost a baby horse the day before i left for florida now i have another one due. It is just so tragic I would have loved to go to the derby bt it always breaks my heart if something happens!
I cried and cried It hasn't stopped on the news! It is so tragic the past 3 years with horses! now they are saying the horse was injured before she entered the race ugh! I just lost a baby horse the day before i left for florida now i have another one due. It is just so tragic I would have loved to go to the derby bt it always breaks my heart if something happens!
I'm also a horse lover and rode a lot when I was younger (one of these days I want to get back in the saddle; Florida's horse country in Ocala is only 1 1/2 hours away from Orlando).
After what happened to Barbaro not that long ago in the Preakness one would think that his injury would have been a wake-up call to horse racing to pay attention to the health of these animals before they get on the track and not let injured horses compete. Maybe now after what happened to Eight Belles they'll realize they have no other choice.
AP Interview: Eight Belles' trainer defends conduct of jockey in Derby
May 05, 2008 1:09 PM EDT
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - The trainer of euthanized filly Eight Belles adamantly defended the way jockey Gabriel Saez handled the Kentucky Derby runner-up.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Larry Jones said Saez applied the whip only to prevent Eight Belles from crashing into the rail.
"This filly in every race has tried to drift toward the rail," Jones said. "It's her comfort zone, and Gabriel knows this. This kid made every move the right move, and I hate it that they're wanting to jump down his throat. He did not try to abuse that horse to make her run faster. He knew he was second best, that she wasn't going to catch Big Brown."
Jones spoke while traveling from Churchill Downs to Delaware with his other prized filly, Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell. Jones is scheduled to have a news conference Tuesday at Delaware Park.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for Saez to be suspended, contending he should have noticed an injury and pulled the horse up rather than applied the whip. Calls Monday to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority were not immediately returned.
Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line and was euthanized on the track.
Jones said he has watched the race from various angles and found that not only did Saez do nothing wrong, but everything right.
"We're putting him on multimillion-dollar horses, and I think this kid represented our business as professionally as could be run," he said. "If I were to run in the Derby tomorrow, I'd put him right back on my horse."
Jones acknowledged changes could made to make the sport safer, although he doubts any would have saved his filly from what he called a freak injury.
Stewards could, for example, mandate lighter whips or riding crops, Jones said. However, he said his training program takes great care to make sure no horse is abused, even in a rush for the finish.
"My horses don't come back from races with welts on their body," Jones said. "Very seldom do we find a mark on these horses. I don't think we need to make (the whips) out of foam rubber, but you could get to a happy medium where you know it's not going to hurt them and the horse would still know what you want them to do."
Jones said some of his horses don't respond to the whip at all. In fact, this year Jones petitioned officials at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas to let him send out a jockey without one. Jones' petition was accepted despite initial concern the jockey wouldn't be able to control the horse.
As for the prospect of changing dirt tracks to synthetic ones, Jones said he supports continued research on how that will improve safety. He insisted, however, the track at Churchill Downs was not to blame for the loss of Eight Belles.
"Churchill's track was as close to perfect on Saturday as it could be," he said. "The moisture in it was wonderful."
Jones said he hadn't yet decided where Proud Spell would run next but acknowledged the loss of Eight Belles has taken a toll on his team.
"I'm sure the way this affects us mentally, we'll probably bounce too far to the conservative line for a little while, being probably too safe on our horses," he said. "We're having a hard time getting this in perspective and behind us. These horses are very dear to us. I never got to say goodbye to her."
They have having a huge protest here today I am not too sure what is going on but it has been nonstop on the news you just never know with this stuff. They kept showing her on the news this morning. It makes me want to cry. I kept checking on my horse to make sure she didn't have her baby! I tell you it tugs at your heart each time you see this stuff. I own 4 horses Azzie, but my baby is Shiloh and she is just a doll she doesn't like men go figure lol
Owner: Test results on filly Eight Belles 2 weeks away
May 09, 2008 5:02 PM EDT
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It will be at least two weeks before additional information is known about what caused Eight Belles to break down in the Kentucky Derby, the filly's owner said Friday.
A lab at the University of Kentucky has begun to examine the body of the horse that was euthanized following her runner-up finish in the Derby. Owner Rick Porter said researchers haven't shared any information except that both front ankles were completely broken.
Porter says they've submitted blood and tissue samples for further examination, but it will take at least two weeks to get back full results of the necropsy - or animal autopsy. Trainer Larry Jones has insisted those tests will prove the filly was not on steroids.
"They're going to check her like they did not check any of the other 19 horses in the Derby," Jones said. "What we're being accused of is all legal in the racing industry, but it attacks me personally because I don't do the things they're saying we've done."
Aside from exonerating the horse's handlers from suspicions about illegal drugs, Porter said he hopes the necropsy will get to the bottom of what caused the breakdown. The horse seemed to be healthy when crossing the finish line, but then collapsed about a quarter-mile later.
Among the possibilities, Porter said, is that her legs may have somehow crossed, or that she took a bad step or had an aneurysm.
"I think I could swallow it a little more if I knew she had an aneurism and just collapsed," he said.
Also Friday, the racing industry was continuing to adjust following the firestorm of attention generated by the death of Eight Belles. The board of directors for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association held a teleconference to discuss policies on safety and begin to generate improvements.
"It is clear that the status quo is not an option and we need to bring a renewed sense of urgency to these initiatives," NTRA president Alex Waldrop said. "Our fans and industry stakeholders expect nothing less."
All the women were practically in tears at the neighbors party last Saturday when this happened...BTW, I've been to Ocala! I think it's the only place I found in the entire state of Florida that has hills...nice town!
We have a ton of ranches up here about 20 minutes away from me in a historical town entitled Wayne, IL.
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Eight Belles had no diseases, bone abnormalities
May 15, 2008 5:34 PM EDT
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eight Belles had no diseases or pre-existing bone abnormalities that caused the filly to break down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.
Autopsy results reviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday confirm compound fractures of both front legs at the fetlock joints. They also describe lacerated skin on both legs, an absence of joint fluid in the damaged areas and congested lungs.
The filly also experienced a bruised head and hemorrhaging in the left thyroid gland, which the report blamed on her fall after the initial injuries.
"No pathology was found to indicate the occurrence of any other catastrophic event beside the fractured legs," wrote Kentucky chief veterinarian Lafe Nichols, who performed the tests at the University of Kentucky's Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center.
Eight Belles was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs after collapsing while jogging about a quarter-mile past the finish line. Stewards found no evidence she was injured during the race.
There also will be routine post-race drug-testing and further medication tests requested by Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones. Jones has said he wants the extra scrutiny to prove the large, muscular filly wasn't on steroids at the time.
A lab at Iowa State University is conducting the drug examination on behalf of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, with results not expected for at least several days. The necropsy - as the autopsy is known in horse racing circles - said no toxicology test had been requested but the samples were being saved in case one is.
Jones said in a phone interview Thursday he believes the horse just tripped over her own feet.
"She's bad about stumbling while pulling up," Jones said. "She's doesn't pick her feet up very high. It's one reason she could run very fast and far. She had the perfect motion for being effective and efficient. However, those horses who do that have a tendency to want to stumble."
Also Thursday, the racing industry was proceeding with plans to ramp up horse safety following the deaths of Eight Belles and 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, among others.
Lisa Underwood, executive director of Kentucky's racing authority, said the organization will meet Monday and establish a group to study health and safety issues.
"Nothing is more important to the racing industry than the safety of the competitors," Underwood said.
The Jockey Club has formed a panel to examine the issues, and its members participated in a conference call Wednesday. Stuart Janney, a thoroughbred owner and breeder who will chair the committee, said breeding practices, track surfaces and medication are among the subjects to be discussed.
He acknowledged, however, that enforcement could be a challenge. Most of the enforcement for the sport comes from different state racing organizations.
"We're going to use this committee as a bully pulpit to be persuasive on certain matters, and go to other people in the industry and say, 'This is how we feel, how are you going to help us?'" Janney said.
The Jockey Club already has hosted two summits on safety and welfare in racing. Its newest safety panel will meet this month in Lexington, with the first recommendations due by August.
It hasn't stopped on the news! It is so tragic the past 3 years with horses! now they are saying the horse was injured before she entered the race ugh! I just lost a baby horse the day before i left for florida now i have another one due. It is just so tragic 
Damn, Homie.....
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