Eight Belles....Any comments welcome...?

Question

Say what you feel....

Answer 1

While watching Eight Belles during workouts I remember thinking how odd it was that she seemed to have an unusual head-bob when the trainer was pulling her back from the gallop. The trainer was actually being very gentle with her, as it seemed she really wanted to run, and he was talking her back as well as gently tugging her back. It was obvious she did not want to slow. Anyway, while watching the finish of the workout I remember thinking how the head-bob as Eight Belles slowed seemed a bit excessive and reminded me of the way a lame horse would bob if it was limping on painful joints or bone spurs.

Answer 2

I'm done with horse racing....finished. What was weird was that before the race I thought about Barbaro and how sick I felt when I watched him break his leg on tv.Because I'm at work today we watched the race in the customers lounge.After the race I went and collected my money for Big Brown winning. When I went back to see who came in 2nd,all I saw was a far shot of a couple people and a big object lying on the track.My heart sank. I asked a friend what was going on,he said a jockey was thrown from the horse. Then he said that a horse collapsed. I walked away in tears.I'm afraid to read anything or watch the news for fear they will show a replay of the horse falling to the ground or that they will show a picture of the horse laying on the ground.

I'm done with horse racing

R.I.P. Eight Belles-you had the heart of a Champion and you are missed.

Answer 3

we are crying our eyes out.Its just horrible.

Answer 4

Many tears will be shed for this beautiful champion who died for nothing.

Answer 5

I too cried for this beautiful horse and it will be the last time I watch this terrible cruel sport the horse died and no one gave a d**n they counted their money and laughed while a few who loves animals cried it was senseless it is a greedy sport that needs to stop

Answer 6

People just sit with their money and their stupid fluffy hats with bouncing sh*t coming out of the top and dont realize what the horses are being put through! I didnt make it to the television in time but when i found out this morning i was heartbroken. Its so sad how people put young horses in like that for MONEY. Its really depressing. I would be so mordified if my favorite horse on this planet was put into a big shindig like that and had to be put down for breaking to ankles.

I'll pray for Eight Bells.

Answer 7

I can't even put my emotions into word. I have been in shock the whole night. I don't know if I ever want to watch a horse race ever again. Especially after Barbaro. and Now Eight Belles.

I remember in the beginning of the race. I decided to root for Eight Belles, as she was the only filly in the race. I wanted her to make history. When I saw how beautiful she was, and how fast she could run it took my breath away. She tried so hard and ran her heart out.

I think everyone was surprised when they heard she had been hurt, and even more surprised when she was euthanized. It was so fast, and everyone was so focused on Big Brown's amazing victory. I was almost angry when the news crew didn't give us enough information on what had happened to her.

She didn't deserve to die at such a young age. She had just placed second in the kentucky derby. she deserved to go home, honorable and proud to have done so well. Unfortunately, that is not the way things happened which is a sad part of horse racing. And so young to. She had a full life in front of her.

But she is in a better place now, racing in green fields freely.

May she rest and peace, and always be remembered as a true champion.

I love you, Eight Belles.

Answer 8

This sadden's me deepley!   Putting her down was the most humane thing to do but something I never want to see happen.  I used to really love horse racing until today when I read all of the things that go on behind the barn.  Using diaretics, stimulants, and even Cobra venom to make the horses perform?  And we think Major League Baseball has issues.  This was a great Filly and  great horse.  Perhaps, even the greatest Filly ever.  Maybe her death will shed some light on horse racing and it practices, perhaps even bring reform to this sport.  A toast Eight Belles, we celebrate your life and may your death influence others the way your life has.  Rest In Peace

Answer 9

Brokenhearted

Answer 10

I feel sick.

I don't know what to say anymore.  I've been sitting here answering questions about her for the last 2 hours.  I'm just devastated.  She was an amazing filly... she was better than the top colts this year.  It's just awful for her to run an excellent race to finish 2nd and then for her to be dead 2 minutes later.

I'd give anything to have her back.  I wish the Derby this year never happened.  I can't imagine what Larry Jones and Gabriel Saez are feeling right now.

She was an excellent horse.  I heard people saying she didn't belong in the race and that she wasn't even the best filly this year.  But she was extremely talented.  She won the Honeybee under a hand ride and finished in the same time as the colts ran the Rebel the day before.  She proved she was great when she looked the other horse in the eye in the Fantasy and ran down the stretch to end up first at the finish line.  And she was amazing today again when a lot of people said she'd be done at the quarter pole.  I can't believe she's gone.  It's just awful.  I miss her terribly.

Answer 11

Wow.Eight Belles ran her race and that's for sure! We love you down here in Kentucky and are super proud of you baby girl!GREAT JOB!=] Rest In Peace!

Answer 12

i feel very sad about it i hate horse racing for this very reason

Answer 13

What a wonderful and courageous filly. Can you even imagine what it would be like to give your life because the people you love ask you to? Jesus did the same for us.

Answer 14

Poor Belle,  Another victim to the money hungry horse race world.  Never again will I ever condone this "sport".  And yes, I was once a fan of horse racing and now feel a terrible guilt.  Too many horses "breaking down" in  such a short time should be a wake up call that something is terribly wrong.  What a tragic waste.   One can only wonder at how many other horses die in this terrible manner and no one knows because they aren't in the spotlight of the "Triple Crown" or "Breeder's Cup" catagory of racehorses.   Too much stress on too young and too delicate bone and muscle structure.   I've also heard that one reason they will keep running with  an  injury is that the legs are injected with " nerve desensitizing drugs" and that is why the injuries are so horrific. No horse (or animal) should need to suffer such a cruel and painful injury for a "sport".   Something needs to be done to monitor this "sport" more closely .....  Rest in Peace Belle, you deserved much better.

Answer 15

Very sad..I kept thinking back to Barbaro. As if it wasn't bad enough seeing it live..the tv station kept replaying it, showing her lying on the race track....that was totally uncalled for!!!!!!

[as said by susan]  

maybe some body will realize that  we need to change horse racing.

Answer 16

I could not bring my self to watch or attend another horse racing event after seeing Barbaro break down in 2006. When I heard this news about Eight Belles, I felt sick and horrified. When with the racing community learn that this race is too long for young horses? How many more horses must break down and be euthanized before they rethink the qualifications for this race?

Answer 17

I wanted to see her beat the boys, or else see Big Brown emerge as another Secretariat with Eight Belles second. I was screaming and cheering at the finish, only to be crying for hours since...elation turned to devastation and I feel sick. She was better than all the boys except for the fantastic Big Brown. She may have gone on to beat him in the Preakness. To enjoy such elation at her tremendous performance only to see her stricken on the track seconds later is devastating. How happy I was at the outcome of the race has turned to sickening devastation and sobbing.

Answer 18

Very sad..I kept thinking back to Barbaro. As if it wasn't bad enough seeing it live..the tv station kept replaying it, showing her lying on the race track....that was totally uncalled for!!!!!!

Answer 19

After following this race for many years, I think that I can say I have watched my last Kentucky Derby.

I was nauseated. I can't think of any other word. To watch that horse work to a second-place finish, in that huge pack, and then to see her prone body on the ground just moments afterward.

To hear that she had died on the track while I saw Big Brown's owners laughing and leaping and hugging. The way they whisked her off the track, "nothing to see here", while adding up her winnings. She was dead by the time they announced what she'd won them!

I just can't imagine what was going through that filly's head as she pounded down the track toward the finish. You can see her stride start to pull in toward the end (compare it to Big Brown's, you'll see what I mean), you know she was hurting. The screaming crowd, the sudden pain, the drop to the ground. And for what?

I love the excitement of horse racing, watching the horses do what they were born for, the pound of hooves on the track. I get chills when I watch it. But I can't support this any more. They breed them with fragile pasterns, weak feet, and doctor them up as long as they are fast. Special shoes, drugs, whatever. But in the end, they are money-makers, and dying on the track just after winning someone big money just makes you "ill-fated" to the announcers as they are reading out your betting results.

I can't accept that any more.