Do you think Eight Belles died from jockey error?

Question

If Eight Belles was able to make it to the finish line she couldn't have broke her ankles during the race? Did the jockey try to reign her in too quickly which broke her ankles?

Answer 1

NO WAY. I think her jockey should be admired for his quick thinking and concern for the horse. He did everything he could!

He reined her in quickly because he heard her ankles pop. The problem was, as Saez (her jockey) put it, "I tried to get her to stop. I tried.....I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't stop." He was crying after the race. He cared about Eight Belles much more than most jockeys do about their mounts, and he did everything he possibly could to save her.

If he hadn't stopped her, her pasterns and cannon bones might have broken, too. Saez's intelligence and care saved her from further pain. He held her head as she was euthanized! He didn't celebrate and join in the partying and wave his check like many jockeys would have! Instead he went to the backside and stared at her stall with tears in his eyes, according to Eight Belles' owner. I hope no one dares to try and accuse Saez of hurting her!

Answer 2

No.  She kept running after he tried to get her to stop, after he heard the pop.

Answer 3

I think that they should take x-rays of the horses before the race to make sure that they're sound and there's no stress fractures or possible problems. If they knew she had weak ankles she may have been scratched and would still be living. ]:

Answer 4

I saw her head swinging around toward the end of the race and the jockey whipping the c**p out of her on both sides.

I asked a question about this, but got boohooed.

There is not doubt, after watching it several times, that she was pushed too hard. I am not trying to take away from her accomplishment of coming in second, she did do it! But was it worth her life. I will never forget her.

I am sick of hearing..."oh, well these things happen"!

Answer 5

It didn't look to me like he was reigning her in too quickly, and even if that was the case then this was just an accident waiting to happen.  She probably had very weak ankles and the stress of the derby was just too much.

Answer 6

no

Answer 7

Yes, jockey error played a major part. Hopefully, it will be investigated.

Answer 8

No.  It's just one of those freakish accidents.  There was nothing Gabriel Saez could have done.  He was trying to pull her up to stop her from running to hurt herself more, but, like Ruffian, she tried to keep going.  We'll never know why she broke her legs, but it was no one's fault.

Answer 9

The beginning of what became the fatal injuries certainly could have started during the race, but it's something that will probably never be known.

There was a case earlier this year where Russell Blaze whipped a broken down runner over the finish line in the closing yards of a race, but this Derby tragedy wasn't a sadistic frenzy like the situation with Blaze.

Answer 10

As a horseplayer for at least 5 years and some experience with horses, the only fair thing to do is review the tape.  Eight Belles was the only filly carrying 121lbs from the 5 post.  If you have a critical mind, you would first question about her performance on this field of boys.  She was running pretty hard from the beginning and was keeping up front with the boys.  The jockey hit her(count it) incessantly at the stretch and she lugged left and right, almost too close to hitting the inside rail.  She also won by quite a few lengths in front of all the boys.  Did she need to run that hard and then win by many lenghts? Why couldn't the jockey just lead her to 2nd place without the hits?  Now, here we are, a great horse euthanized!  Why??  You may think that it has nothing to do with the jockey, watch the tape and see if you would like to whipped like that running with boys??  I say, yes, the jockey reigned her in too quickly which caused her fatality.  Jockeys are humans who also make mistakes by using poor judgment.  Sometimes they are so caught up in trying to win positions they mindlessly do what it takes to winning big races.  My condolences to the trainer, owners and fans who loved this filly dearly.