Right this second- the news isn't on the net- but Big Brown, the favored horse, won the Kentucky derby- but the second place winner, a Philly, Eight belles, broke both ankles and was euthanized on the track minutes after the race was over.

Yahoo just reported it:

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news;_ylt=Aqxn...t&type=lgns

In a way, I guess I'm glad the roofers jacked up my satellite dish and I didn't see this in real time. It would have broken my heart. I still believe Thoroughbreds, being so overbred, are still babies at 3 and aren't strong enough to go the distance in races like the Derby. This reminds me of the tragic demise of Ruffian, one of the truly great fillies of all time, undefeated and never passed in a single race before being forced into a "race of the sexes", a publicity stunt match race with Derby winner Foolish Pleasure in 1975. And even then, she was beating him when her leg snapped.

Very sad.

It makes me wonder whether we should really engage in "sports" which pose such a risk to the lives and health of conscious beings. But then I'm one of those nuts who thinks that boxing is barbaric.

A three year old horse is strong enough to run. The bones and joints are fully developed. Usually, it is a good idea to wait until a horse is two years old before riding them as they are not fully developed before two years old. You can race at two years of age. Horse do have all of their permanent teeth development until five. They are on the 'teenager' status from two until five years of age gaining some muscle mass but little height. The growth plates are closed. They are sound to run with a person on their back at two.

Horses can break their legs from running. It does not happen often. I have seen horses break their legs from kicking a wall. Using the same logic, should we discourage horses from being put in stalls? Horses also break legs from getting tied up in fences. I guess we should discourage them from being fenced in. So, the best thing for the horses by default may be open range. And we need to sedate them so they do not run.

From my experience, there is no propensity where equine are more likely to break a leg due to age considerations.

I had a call this morning at 2:30. A horse was hit by a car and died before I arrived. The driver was OK. Bad things, like death, happen. You can not use one instance of a tragic injury at the Derby to draw any conclusions. You would need to demonstrate an unusually high risk with hard numbers to decide a sport is unreasonably risky. One death does not do it. There is no such thing as no risk. Horses can die from many things and racing is down the list as far as a cause of death.

As far as the welfare of the thoroughbreds...no animal is more pampered than one which can run in the Kentucky Derby. Their standard of living is better than most people who post on AD.

I was merely voicing my opinion. Since all Thoroughbreds have the same birthday (Jan. 1) regardless of when they are born, some three year olds aren't even truly three years old. For all their size and apparent strength, they are fragile animals. And yes, they are pampered - so what? They can make millions for their owners, and it is in the owner's best interest to "pamper" them. Aren't all athletes, whether human or equine, pampered? Again, so what?

Thier breeding is what makes them so fragile. Wild horses don't have such fragile ankles.

They are the pampered poodles of the equine world.

Help out a horse racing neophyte here...what is so magic about 3 year olds, though. Why can't 4 year olds, 5 year olds, etc. run? Why not wait until they're a year older? The only reason I can come up with is money...owners want more breeding years, and less cost of upkeep until racing. Given what you said above, this sounds alot like capping the age for Olympic competitors at 15 or so.

Not really- a three year old is fully grown- about the human equivilent of a 17 year old. Some would say in thier prime- in the wild, typically though, a stallion doesn't "cover" a herd until a bit older than that- so they are probably not in thier complete prime.

the big deal here is the breed itself- it doesn't resemble a zebra or a pinto now does it? if you ever saw a range horses foot and ankle compared to a thoroughbred racer- you would see the problem.

My Uncle owns a ranch in wyoming. he doesn't like thorough breds much, as they are "too delicate" for him- of course, we herd cattle there, in bad, bad, tough enviroments.

he pointed this out to me once saying "how many horses have we had to put down for broken legs? How many dead horses have we seen with foundered legs somewhere in the range"- the answer, for us, was never. Wild and range horses take major tumbles down hillsides, stumble in gopher and prarie dog holes, and get attacked by wild animals- the reason we saw dead horses, right after birthing difficulties.

I have had horses tumble down a slope, roll over (on me once- ouch!- and people tell me motorcycle riding in the winter is dangerous- uh uh!) and come back up on thier feet and keep on running.

They have just bred these horses to far out past the original, IMHO.

Horses do race after age 3; however, the Kentucky Derby is limited to 3-year olds. John Henry, another great race horse, really didn't reach his prime until he was 8-9 years old.


I agree. "Poodles of the equine word" is a good way to put it. In my short period of horseownership, I had a 1/2 Arab, 1/2 Quarter Horse mare and she matured at about 4 years old. She was a tough old gal. And the small Arab gelding I had was an energizer bunny of a horse at 10. I bred my mare to a purebred Arab stud from a historic bloodline, and got a stunning black filly. The stud's grandsire lived to be 35, and was covering mares nearly to the end, the old rogue. Sadly, my financial status changed, and I had to sell them all. I was saddest to see that lovely black filly go. I saw her later under saddle, and she was a beauty. Ahh, having horses was fun...lots of work (and bruises), but fun nonetheless. I was a horse-crazy kid, and still love the big beasties.

A sad note about racehorses and horses in general, is that with the economic situation, a lot of people are having to get rid of their animals because they can't afford to care for them anymore, and many are winding up in the meat auctions. Just recently, I heard of a rescue group that found a fairly successful retired racehorse at one of those auctions, and rescued him from a grisly fate. I'm sure there are many others that ran their hearts out and made money for their owners, only to end up valued only for their flesh.

Thoroughbreds have been gene selected through the years for one particular trait. Guess what that is? Speed. These horses have been selected for having the best darn legs of any breed. They are not ballerinas. They are not fragile. They are powerful to the max. The problem in the thoroughbred breed is that they have been selected for the one trait and other factors, such as reproduction, have taken a backseat. Also, the gene pool has shrunken. There is a certain loss of hybrid vigor within the breed. Too many breeders concentrated upon fewer studs with similar bloodlines.

As far as weak ankles...there you need to look at the halter horse. These are horses bred to look pretty. There is where you will see the undersized feet and ankles. That is not the Thoroughbred business but the quarterhorse, paint, or other pleasure type horse.

Kentucky Derby thoroughbreds are pampered but poodles? No way. They are beasts!

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As of now there are no equine slaughter facilities. Wrong subject here but just wanted to make correction about meat auctions being in operation.

While that may be technically true (and I doubt that it is), horses in this country are still being sold for slaughter. They are just getting more creative about it. Here are just a few examples:

Tex-Mex Horse Meat
Sugarcreek Slaughter Auction
SD Wants to Open Slaughterhouse
HSUS


Horses don't have "ankles", they have fetlocks. And for all their size and power, all horses' legs are fragile.

And what are you talking about - "halter horses"??? Sure, there are conformation shows where horses are shown on halter, but that doesn't mean they are somehow different, or inferior to others of their breed. On the contrary, they are usually the creme de la creme of their breed.

Tough day at the Derby, for sure.

As my daughter is a hunter/jumper rider and we have a horse she jumps that is a smallish thoroughbred gelding, I can attest that horses are not nearly so tough as they look--they are susceptible to many conditions and diseases, and big vet bills. Even the large draught horses we use for vaulting have their problems.

Race horses are bred to run and run they do, and they are a beautiful sight to behold in full song. This is, unfortunately, an occasional result.

I have heard lots of negatives about this incident, most of which are unfounded and based upon a total lack of knowledge about horses, but I can assure you, this pretty filly, as soon as it crossed the Derby finish line in second place, became an even more valuable horse, not only as a racer but also as a breeding animal. The last thing on earth her owners wanted was for her to be put down. Nothing else could be done.

I saw the tape three times and saw no evidence the horse had any trouble before the finish line. If the horse broke down before the finish, it would have pulled up lame, as horses always do. The PETA folks are trying to crucify this jockey because he is young and relatively inexperienced and can be picked on, all as part of their goal to end horse racing. He did nothing wrong, and indeed he knew as well as anyone that this filly needed to survive, not be put down.

Eight Belles, rest in peace. You were a joy to behold.