It was to have been an exciting day for Eight Belles.
She was the only female horse—the lone philly—to appear in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. She hung in tough with the “boys,” finishing second to Big Brown, the UPS colt, in her debut race against male horses. Her handlers hardly had any time to celebrate her courageous showing before the unthinkable happened. During her cool down, she suffered irreversible injuries to both front ankles and fell to the ground. Moments later, she was euthanized. In what should have been an incredible day for the Big Brown camp, now was overshadowed by this tragedy.
Soon, I suspect, we’ll here from opposing camps regarding Eight Belles’ fate. One side may say horse racing is cruelty to animals, and that Eight Belles’ demise is a direct result of said cruelty. She shouldn’t have been rushed to the starting gate, in such a big event, on such a big stage. In short, it was too much, too soon.
Another camp might counter that these horses are treated like family members—heck, better—than the relatives of the owners and trainers who are involved in their care. They receive top-notch care and attention and are brought along slowly.
In a short time, Eight Belles triggered a lot of emotions from a lot of different people. Women, near and far, were placing bets and rooting for her as a show of support for gender pride. Men were hoping some of her “Lady Luck” would rub off on them.
When it was all over, we were only left with sadness. Our excitement had taken a fall, too.
