I was wondering if anybody saw the Kentucky Derby this past weekend?

Question

Even though I dfon't gamble, horses are one the most beautiful animals and it was heartbreaking and gutwrenching to know that 8 Bells was uthanized because they made a mistake for putting her in a race with all male horses and as a result, she fractured her ankles. Have you seen it and heard of that incident.

Answer 1

I saw the race, but didn't see Eight Belles go down.  She didn't break her legs because she was running against male horses.  It was something that just happened.  It's a sad deal, but stuff happens.  It wasn't the owner's, trainer's, or jockey's fault.  It just happened.

Answer 2

It had nothing to do with racing males ... these horses are bred for speed ... to the detriment of other factors needed for the horses well being .. The poor horse was not used to running on the hard surface used at Churchill Downs ... and now after breaking both front ankles the poor thing is dead.

    And it's all about money .. The owners of 8 bells lost a mint when she was euthanized...

Answer 3

No.  No one saw it or heard about it.

Answer 4

I have loved the Kentucky Derby all my life. It was a yearly tradition to watch it with my Dad.

Eight Bells was the prettiest horse out there, and her death left me shocked and saddened.

Other female horses have run there, and several have won, so I feel Bells simply had a terrible accident. It could have happened to any horse out there, male or female.

Peta is making a big stink over it, and want to ban horse racing and betting altogether.

Well, I once owned a retired race horse, and they absolutely love racing. That is what they were born for, and I don't think it is a cruel sport, as Peta claims.

Answer 5

Yes I saw it. That was very sad. I couldn't believe it happened. What a horrible trade-off for her owners. Just think about it. They came with a healthy horse and left with just a second place trophy. Although there was nothing that anybody could do, cause even if she had ran in a different race the same thing probably would have happened. And racing against the colts had nothing to do with it. Eight Belles went down because she had to much heart to lose, so she kept on running to get the lead. But yeah it was pretty sad.

Answer 6

Eight Belles ran a magnificent race against the colts and finishing 2nd, in my opinion, was no loser for a filly when considering that she ran away from 18 powerful colts in pursuit of Big Brown to the finish. And since Eight Belles' breakdown occurred a quarter-mile after the finish, while galloping out in the turn, her injury had nothing to do with running against all male horses. I am sure that the mystery to how she was injured will be in answering why she changed lead legs from the inside lead leg on the bend to the outside leg midway around the bend. It is not unusual for a horse to change lead legs in mid-gallop, but since it is the inside foreleg that leads in a turn, it is extremely unusual to see a horse change lead legs from the inside lead leg on a bend to the outside leg. But Eight Belles did exactly that, putting her right foreleg down immediately after the left foreleg, and it is clear that her right foreleg broke when she did, probably breaking the left in the fall.

Answer 7

Yes, I saw the Derby and no, I'm not a gambler.

Eight Belles fractured her legs as a result of a terrible accident, not because she was racing against colts.  She raced her heart out, and unfortunately had a misstep after crossig the wire.

I saw many articles about the Derby and the tragedy of Eight Belles online.

Answer 8

Until necropsy results are in no one really knows what happened to Eight Belles. However, racing against the boys had nothing to do w/her death. She was a BIG filly, bigger than some of the colts that ran.

Horse racing is dangerous for both the horses and the jockeys. Thoroughbreds have been selectively bred to run. Races for three year-olds pit young, still maturing horses against each other doing what they were born to do - run and, hopefully, do well.

Horses have to be put down at tracks every year b/c of injuries.  This time it happened to a great horse who may have had a brilliant future in front of her while millions of people watched. Very sad but not a reason to stop horse racing.

Sports can be dangerous for any athlete whether human or animal.  That does not mean that sports should be stopped. Striving for perfection in any endeavor should be celebrated. Buying into the notion that b/c something bad might happen means nothing should be tried limits us.

Instead of concentrating on how Eight Belles died, think instead of how beautifully she ran.

Answer 9

I did see it and it was heartbreaking. I watch horseracing on a regular basis and I feel horrible everytime one is injured. However, I do not believe it had anything to do with a mistake because she was racing male horses. Where did you hear that? Although horses USUALLY race against same s*x, frequently males and females race alongside one another. I believe you were misinformed.

After answering this question, I wanted to post what the "asker" sent to me:

Message: She was the only female in that particular race. It's not like there were other female horses in it. The answer to your question is pretty much self-expanatory. It's for the same reason human females find difficult to race against human males. The only race a female could win against another male is if he's a child and she's an adult. So please, don't be a know-it-all if you answer my questions by asking me a question.

Answer 10

It was tragic, but she ran an awesome race, coming in second.  The accident had nothing to do with her running with the boys, by the way.  The same thing could have happened if she ran in the Kentucky Oaks, with the girls,  the day before.  The difference is, the press would not have covered it like this and she would have been just another race horse casualty.

Answer 11

yes i have seen on TV , because i am from Kentucky.

but they are wrong for that.