If Big Brown wins the triple crown 8 Belles will get some words of dedicatino and life goes on.


My Dad says that KY is stuck for tradition and steeped in stupidity for not switching to synthetic dirt.

And this is not about the filly running too hard against the colts--BS--She was beating them all except Big Brown!

They do have a filly race the day before--maybe they need to move the filly race in front of the colt race on the same day.

These horses are treated very well--but safety needs to be better applied.

It is very sad.

Murphy

PC America... Get over it.

Second place sucks. I am sure those horses are treated like kids. They are prized race horses.

Filly's Derby Death Questioned

LOL.

"Questioned"?

"Questioned" by whom?

Those atrociously ignorant and mouth-breathing fucks that comprise the membership of "PETA"?

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."

And there you have it, folks.

PETA: Tirelessly attempting to bridge the gap between reality and Walt Disney's imagination.

I'll bet Eight Belles had big doe-eyes and spoke flawless english with Renee Zellweger's voice, too.

I hate PETA. They are the biggest bunch of stupid liberals I have ever met.

Pussies..

I hate Texans. They are biggest bunch of redneck assholes I have ever met.

Fucktards.

I hate Texans

Especially when they're right.

Fucking left coast queer.

Fuckin cumsucking, donkey sodomiizing sack of Texas shit.

I have the most fun going to the OTB to bet on horse races. It's even more fun than going to greyhound races. Some horses have to get put to sleep, but its a rate of 1 out of 1,000 horses run.

If this horse was a gelding theyd at least keep it alive to stud it out. Sucks being a girl I guess.

UPDATE geldings are castrated, I meant to say if the horse was a COLT it would be left alive to stud out.

I meant to say if the horse was a COLT it would be left alive to stud out. -- Andyuhenet

Like Barbaro?

The Chelokee watch is on...

Moder8,

You're the load your mother should have swallowed.

xoxox,
a girl from Texas



P.S. - Seeing you bash Texas for 2 years gets old. Obviously we wouldn't except a flaming-ass socialists such as yourself, and now you're pouting.

Suck it up.

Correction:

Accept and Socialist. Wouldn't want you to burst into joy correcting me. I know how happy that would make you. 3am is early to flame a flamer.

PETA pays such close attention to the facts that they refer to Eight Belles as a "he." Impressive.

Maybe we should set all the thorougbreds "free" in the wild? And keeping pets - PETA would like to also eliminate that barbaric practice.

OTOH, I'm all for improving animal safety, including at racetracks. I don't think synthetic surfaces will necessarily be the cure-all, however. Breeding practices, the age at which they begin racing, the length of Triple Crown races, the length of time between the races -- all those issues and more are worth discussing.

Check with vets...horses get injured . Not just racehorses . We had to have our Morgan mare put down, after she broke her leg in a woodchuck hole. It happens.

While I support making sure animals are treated well....Peta is a whole different banana.

Just a quick question for the "horse people" out there: Why does a broken leg seem to always necessitate putting the animal down? Do they have problems healing correctly, or staying off the leg until it heals? I'm guessing because of the way the animal is built, amputation is completely out of the question.

Just something I've always been curious about.

Like Barbaro?

They tried everything they could to avoid putting Barbaro down, I think I remember them putting him down a few months after his body was shattered. Obviously, they tried to keep Barbaro alive as opposed to putting down eight belles on the spot.

Regarding barbaro:

The injury ruined any chance of a Triple Crown in 2006 and ended his racing career. The next day, he underwent surgery at the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania for his injuries. In July he developed laminitis in his left rear leg. He had an additional five surgeries, and his prognosis varied as he remained for an extraordinarily long period of time in the equine Intensive Care Unit. While his right leg eventually healed, a final risky surgery on it proved futile because the colt soon developed further laminitis in both front legs.

Yeah I think Colts get treated differently.

Texas is Kansas with.a coastline.

Just a quick question

When they fall and get hurt in a race they do a lot of internal damage and have internal bleeding. Plus, when a leg is broken the horse will be in terrible pain during the recovery process. Most owners decide the put the horse down because of this, unless their sire can pay off big time.

Horse breeders have bred these race horses that have smaller ankles with heavier bodies, Eight Belles had smaller ankles than Seattle Slew, and newer horses are more prone to injury. I DON'T blame the surface, however.

Thanks for shedding some light on the matter, Andy.

staying off the leg until it heals?

Like Andy says...Laminitis very often develops in the other legs bearing the weight. Happens in cows also. Very painful for the animals.

They tried everything they could to avoid putting Barbaro down, -- Andy

Yes, they did, and they're currently doing the same for Chelokee (the colt who broke his leg at Churchill Downs the day before Eight Belles did).

I'm not quibbling with your claim that they treat colts differently because of their stud value -- I made the same point on a different thread earlier. I'm questioning whether colts are better off for that. There's very little chance that they'll make it, and so you're subjecting them to a pretty miserable existence because there's a tiny probability that their owners can still make money off them.

Why does a broken leg seem to always necessitate putting the animal down? Do they have problems healing correctly, or staying off the leg until it heals? I'm guessing because of the way the animal is built, amputation is completely out of the question.

Laminitis/founder is the problem that's probably most unfamiliar to people. But first, yes, they tend not to obey the bed rest prescription, and so there's pretty much no chance they'll ever move the same way again. For most, this makes them expensive pets.

But keeping them off one leg typically causes serious problems in the others -- laminitis/founder being the biggest threat. Laminitis is inflammation of the tissue that connects the cannon bone (lower most bone in a horse's foot) with the hoof. Apart from being very painful by itself, it frequently leads to founder -- a rotation of the bone relative to the hoof, leaving the hoof misaligned. (Picture your foot attached at some strange angle.)

Horses are extremely vulnerable to this -- laminitis can be caused by rapid changes in body temperature (this is why you'll always see horses being walked with blankets over them immediately after a race -- you keep them warm, keep them moving, and limit their water intake) but also from having weight distributed unevenly on their feet. Barbaro was eventually put down after developing laminitis in 3 of his feet -- the 3 that were bearing most of his weight while his broken leg was healing.

Breeding practices, the age at which they begin racing, the length of Triple Crown races, the length of time between the races -- all those issues and more are worth discussing. -- CBOB

Yeah, and I'd add doping and drug testing to the list. The jockey says the breaks occurred at the finish line, but she kept running. Makes you wonder if she was loaded up on pain killers.

PETA got these issues right in their concerns regarding Barbaro:

Thoroughbreds are bred to have unnaturally delicate legs, are forced to run at ever-younger ages, and are drugged to mask injuries, which leads to horrifying and life-threatening injuries like Barbaro's.

cannon bone (lower most bone in a horse's foot)

Oops -- meant coffin bone. (Cannon bone is essentially the equivalent to our shin bone.)

What's the matter with you people? We all know Bush did it. Him and his buddy Dick.

As a Farmer who raises Beef and also have a variety of other Farm Animals including Horses I can attest that my stock are treated better than alot of Human Beings! It drives me crazy when PETA makes comments they know nothing about. When you're livelyhood depends on such animals you'd have to be an idiot to mistreat them!

No one will admit it, but everyone wants to see wrecks at the Derby and Nascar races.

Not so much at the Derby, but I already consider NASCAR pretty much a redneck train wreck anyway.

This is one of those things that I doubt very seriously even Bush or Cheney had much to do with. They've fucked up plenty of other things.

Phoenix -

PETA might be using the right language on certain issues, but it's only to mask their true agenda: to end horseracing, period. Just like they want to end meat consumption, the use of leather, or the keeping of pets. They won't be happy until all of the above are outlawed.

The site you linked has this statement:
"Few tracks in North America have remained economically viable, and many are shifting their focus to slot machines in order to remain in business."

So are slot machines "better" morally than horse racing? Not in my opinion. But then again, I happen to live in Kentucky. I don't want to see tracks lose their viability.

As I said, there are safety issues worth considering, but PETA has absolutely no credibility with me.

CBOB --

I'm just glad someone is pushing for an investigation of the issues we agree deserve attention (doping/testing, training too early, breeding, etc.).

I'm not endorsing PETA's full agenda. As I noted (maybe too politely), it boggles my mind that they're going after the jockey, especially since they seemed to have a handle on the real issues in the Barbaro case.

No one will admit it, but everyone wants to see wrecks at the Derby and Nascar races.

When Dale Earnhardt Sr died, we happened to be watching it live on TV. My wife said "What a terrible crash, I hope he's alright" and my 5-yr-old nephew at the time said "But Auntie, if he was driving so fast, he wanted to crash."

From the mouths of babes.

Posted by andyuhenet at 2008-05-06 02:55 AM

If this horse was a gelding theyd at least keep it alive to stud it out. Sucks being a girl I guess.

No one will admit it, but everyone wants to see wrecks at the Derby and Nascar races.

Posted by wisgod at 2008-05-06 11:47 AM | Reply | Flag: Flag: (Choose)
FunnyNewsworthyOffensiveAbusiv e

I can honestly say, not me.
But then, I'm twisted that way.

"No one will admit it, but everyone wants to see wrecks at the Derby....

Posted by wisgod at 2008-05-06 11:47 AM"

What? See horses go down, which usually leads to the horse's death? That's pretty sick, Wis. I can easily and honestly say you are wrong in my case.

I'll bet that some smart and enterprising guy could have bought Eight Belles and canned her, selling the meat for dog food, and to the French, or over e-bay to anyone wanting a souvenir, and made a small fortune.

My dog eats only the finest meat, made from competitive, and young and tender race horses.

I'm more sensitive than the PETA people. I can't deal with the anguished evocative sounds emitted by vegetables and fruit, when they are cruelly prepared for use as comestibles. It shocks the conscience that we can be so barbaric. Anorexia forever.

Glad to hear you weaned your dog off the flesh of human children, Johnson. I just hope you aren't eating it now instead.

Hey Pheonix, I wasn't aware of Chelokee's plight, my bad. And is bed rest something that any horse owners have tried that has worked? It would be hard to get laminitis without standing on the legs.

Mmmm, horses,