Is it possible the legs broke because he stopped too fast or the rider didn't slow her properly?

Question

Is it possible the legs broke because he stopped too fast or the rider didn't slow her properly?

Answer 1

I suppose it is possible, but from the way it happened yesterday, Eight Belles was past the point where something like that would normally happen.  Freak accident is about all you can say in yesterday's case.

Answer 2

Yeah that seems reasonable to me. But a horses legs are naturally fragile so I don't know....Also It was a female horse, not that it has anything to do with the legs breaking, just [pointing that out since you said "he". She was the first philly in the race in a decade.

Answer 3

The rider in question is a very experinces rider, the only time they stop a horse fast if there is already a problem, otherwise they slow down over 1/4 to a 1/2 mile then jog the horse to cool down.

Answer 4

No!  According to news reports, Gabriel Saez heard a pop and Eight Belles started galloping funny right after the finish line.  He was trying to pull her up quickly because she was injured.  Ordinarily, he would have allowed her to gallop out another couple furlongs before stopping her.  However, since she was hurt, he was trying to stop her.  She was already hurt when he tried to pull her up... it was not that he tried to pull her up and that's why she was hurt.

If you think back to 1999, Charismatic broke down at the finishline of the Belmont.  Chris Antley pulled up the horse immediately, jumped off, and supported the colt's weight using his own body.  Chris Antley saved Charismatic's life.  Gabriel Saez was trying to do the same thing for Eight Belles.  Unfortunately, like Ruffian, Eight Belles was unwilling to be pulled up.  Had Saez been able to pull her up more quickly, Eight Belles might still be alive.  Gabriel loved that horse... after the race he went back to her barn and stared at her empty stall.  If there was anything he could have done to save her, he would have.  The poor kid has enough to deal with... he doesn't deserve to have this speculation about his riding capabilities after such a horrendous thing happened to his filly.  I guarantee that he thinks about this day until he dies... he'll go over it in his mind repeatedly trying to find something that he could have done differently to save the horse.  Charismatic's injury deeply affected Chris Antley... he went into a deep depression and if you believe the suicide reports, losing the horse cost Antley his life.  Gabriel did everything he could.  If you watch Eight Belles' final workout, you'll see that Larry Jones, her trainer was riding her... he's about 200 pounds and it took him over a quarter mile to pull her up from her workout... the filly just refused to be stopped.  Little Gabriel did everything that he could for Eight Belles.

Answer 5

only a x-ray and a doctor can determine this

Answer 6

The previous answer suggests that she was hurt before being pulled up. I think that she was hurt during. Two opinions, at this point. Only the video will tell. The jockey is only 20 years old. He still doesn't have the mindset that an older jockey has. He obviously was attached to the filly. That doesn't mean that he didn't make a youthful mistake when asking Eight Belles to come out of the gallop. I watched her trainer gallop her during Derby week. When he asked her to come out of the gallop, she didn't pay attention. He had to patiently ask her again and again. Eight Belles was asked to go way beyond what was needed during the Derby stretch, then possibly in frustration, her rider could have pulled her up before she wanted. Which could have caused her to twist her feet. She obviously didn't switch to a slower gait easily if her trainer couldn't even get her to do it during a morning run.

Answer 7

It's possible but that isn't what happened. There has always been arguments about fillies racing with stallions.