Since I moved to Kentucky I've picked the winner of the Derby two out of three times.
Not today.
Eight Belles placed second, broke both front ankles and was euthanized less than five minutes after the race.
She was Hillary Clinton's pick, too.
Not a good day for the ladies. Not a good day at all.
:(
Ms. P
I've never understood this. Killed less than five minutes after the race? Why can't you just knock her out for a while? A nice morphine drip. Put her in one of those hammock slings. Maybe she'd still have to be put down, but five minutes? Sheesh. It all looks so genteel on tv...
ReplyDeletei won't be watching the derby again. i think i was just in shock after writing that post but now - the whole spectacle just feels barbaric. and sad.
ReplyDeleteSomeone wrote, "she died for our enjoyment." What the ---- does that say about all of us?
ReplyDeleteWell, once a horse breaks a leg it is only humane to put it down. I once say a program where they attempted to "rescue" a horse with a single broken leg, and it was absolutely cruel and in the end the horse had to be put down anyway. Horses are such a part of our culture, and this type of thing can happen just joy riding so calling this barbaric just not going to be acceptable. I would think that bull fighting would be more in the barbaric relm!
ReplyDeleteSo those who work with horses/thoroughbreds and know them better than any of us, and say they do enjoy it (racing) are wrong, and we are right to say it's barbaric? Please.
ReplyDeleteIt's the typical knee-jerk reaction to say it's barbaric... don't get caught up in the hype. Yes, it's sad, and really sucks, but it's what the horse wants to do. Run, compete, push the extremes. It's not just horses that do it either - humans are just as guilty of pushing themselves so hard their bodies can't handles it and they die. See the college kid who died running the NYC marathon a couple years ago. You just don't hear of it as much.
Like the trainer said, she died doing what she loved - I hope I go out the same way as opposed to a slow death in a hospital.
I had tears too, and got a little chocked up, because, yeah, it's sad, but she died doing what she loved - racing.
Well, I'm sorry to hear that you, too, were a "little chocked up," but I disagree with your analogy. People choose what they do with their lives. Horses don't. I agree these horses must love to run, they're bred for it.
ReplyDeleteThough I believe in my opinions (and accept that they're not always right), I'm not quite sure why you feel the need to change my mind by being derisive.
I hope you get to go out the "same way", too.
Not trying to change your mind, and not trying to be derisive, just wanted to give you another way to look at it.
ReplyDeleteIt's fine with me though, you go ahead and do what you want, if never watching the derby (and I'm just guessing that means any other horse race too) is what you want to do, I could really care less.
Let's just agree that it was a sad event to lose Eight Belles and agree that we have differing opinions when it comes to thoroughbred racing.
That sounds fair to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like my life is going to drastically change (or yours, since you couldn't care less). The Derby is the only race I watched and only because I now live in Kentucky.
Differing opinions make the world go round.
Horses do love to play and run but they do not choose a career in racing. Eight Belles died doing what her trainer & jockey wanted her to do; not what "doing what she loved". It IS barbaric to push a young horse whose bones are still soft. But hey, who cares right? It's about the money, don't fool yourself!
ReplyDeleteAnd, unfortunately, putting her down quickly was the humane thing to do. The pain and the fear is terrible. A scared horse that's in pain is so sad.
well said, anon.
ReplyDelete