Should the jockey be blamed for Eight Belles' injury?

Question

While watching the last few seconds of the race you could see that Eight Belles was powerfully extended. She accelerated hard and gained fast in those last few seconds and if a horse in a stride that powerful is pulled up and not allowed to gallop out to a gradual trot it places an enormous amount of stress on the front ankles and forelegs. I think the jockey might get a lot of blame for this injury.

Answer 1

Normally they pull up a bit, and let the horse gallop then trot, then walk.  I was thinking the same thing too- I also heard that after he got off the horse he WALKED AWAY!!!!!! That made me mad!!! I want to see the video of how he pulled up on Eight Belles so we can see how hard he did pull up and what exactly happened. He prob. should be blamed if he pulled up too hard on her because you are def. right- a horse going at that speed should be able to run it out and then slow down because of the pressure that is put on the legs.

Answer 2

No,the jockey can't be blamed,horse racing is a very energetic time and these horses and jockeys are put too their limit ,for the most important few minutes of their lives...It was a unfortunate accident and never in the history of the derby that I know of has ever happened before.

Answer 3

Absolutely not. This was a freak accident.

Answer 4

There was nothing Gabriel could have done.  Ordinarily, horses should be allowed to gallop out another eighth or quarter after the race.  However, just like Chiarismatic broke down after the wire in the Belmont, Eight Belles was injured just after the wire today.  The news reports quote Saez as saying that after they crossed the wire, she started to gallop funny... that's why he was trying to pull her up so quickly.  Had Eight Belles been willing to be pulled up, Saez could have jumped off and supported Eight Belles weight and been a hero just like Chris Antley was that day.  He knew she was hurt just after they crossed the line... he tried to stop her from running and hurting herself worse, but she's a tough horse to stop.  They showed Larry Jones riding her in the workout and she wouldn't stop then either... he's like 200 pounds and couldn't get her to stop.  Little Gabriel couldn't have done anything better than he did.

crct, I corrected you when you asked your question about that... you need to actually watch the replay of the race before commenting on it.  When the horses entered the stretch and straightened out, Kent whipped Big Brown just like every other horse in that race got whipped.  He whipped about 5 times with his right hand before switching to the left to whip a few more times.  I remember it distinctly because my mom commented on it and asked why he was still hitting it after he was already winning.  If you actually re-watched the video before continuing to talk about it, I think you'd change your mind.

Experienced Racehorse Rider, I wish I knew who you were.  Clearly you're someone who actually works in the sport of racing and you're as disturbed as I am about some of the serious misconceptions on here.  Were you a jockey or a trainer?  Either way, great answer... I hope to see more of you around here, especially after this nonsense dies down and we can get back to celebrating our horses and discussing the races.

And welcome Weapon X!  I recognize you from the hockey category... as if the goalie mask picture wouldn't have given it away anyway ;o)

Answer 5

This is something I am trying to figure out.  I definitely am leaning toward it.  If you watch her in the stretch she was straining her head off to the side.  Yet she kept running because that is what she loves BUT he should have known she was on fumes.  You just don't see a horse straining their head off to the side in the stretch run like that.

This jockey was new to the Derby, he had ridden the Oaks winner the day before along with Jones, Belles' trainer.  If he had won today they both would have made history by winning the Oaks one day and the Derby the next.  

I just can't believe he could not tell she was spent.

And to <3, he may have walked off to first avoid injury to himself and second because big, strong people were needed to HOLD HER DOWN.  And third, I have to believe because he was distraught.  I just hope it wasn't guilt.

Answer 6

Even if he made the mistake, blaming him won't bring the life of the majestic horse, sadly.

Answer 7

Absolutely not! When a horse "isn't moving right" you pull them up immediately to avoid further injury.

Answer 8

she went down still at a lope, she was galloping out.

Answer 9

Yes. The jockey not only did what you all mentioned, pulled up after the run. Look at the aerial view of the race and watch Eight Belles (#5 green). At least three times, the jockey ran her directly into the back of other horses -- which you'll see no other jockey doing. When other horses get trapped in a traffic jam, other jockeys push them BETWEEN other horses -- not directly behind other horses where they can get kicked. Eight Belles clearly was getting kicked by the horses in front of her. She reacts once for sure; I haven't been able to see the tape enough to identify more than one hit. If she was even hit just once by the jockey's greedy push against other horses, she could have broken the other ankle by favoring that one foot. The jockey was willing to sacrifice the horse's safety to win. He's a monster and the race professional naturally will try to cover this up since they maimed Barbaro two years go in the Preakness accident. All horses should have to have their forelegs taped. All jockeys should be required to take a cool-down lap after a race. Another question, why don't jockeys -- including winners -- get off their horses after the race to give the horses a real rest? We need to demand some answers because the horse racing pros won't want to talk about this. It's sickening that another beautiful horse died for nothing.

Answer 10

I don't think so.  She apparently injured herself almost immediately after she crossed the finish line and the jockey pulled up right away to avoid further injury.  That seems like the best thing to do at that point.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't pull up quickly and, at that point, probably did the worst of the damage, where the bones actually boke the skin (guaranteeing an infection from the dirt and making rehab/treatment pretty much fruitless).

The only real blame here is the argument (probably correct) that these horses are just too young to be taking this kind of a pounding.

As a traditionalist, I would hate to see the Triple Crown changed in any way -- any future winners couldn't be compared at all to the older ones, obviously.

However, if I had to vote on it, I'd probably change the rules, basically "retire" the Triple Crown as it sits, and start another series, with older horses and a NEW NAME.

Answer 11

NO!!! The ignorant , owners and especially, the trainer are 1000% to blame. Here is why. They ran her in a big stakes race the day before the Derby.

I should know, I come out of a family who were involved and owned many race horses over a 15 year period of time. The rule is , horses need at least 2 weeks to recover from just one race. It breaks them down when they compete.

Always, there is an owner and trainer trying to get rich off of a horse by running them back, stupidly, after one week. (note thats at least a seven day rest). Those are the horses that decent jockeys refuse to mount. They usually die on the track as a result. Comm-on every horse person will tell you  that you MUST give horses 2 weeks between races. Another thing to note. The practice of giving horses the anti-bleeding coagulent LASIC  just before a race. This is because most horse's lungs fill with their own blood due to the punishing endurance demanded from horses in a race of any length.  It's a rare horse that can run without it.

The bottom of the barrel horses, that are run in cheap claiming races, far below their purchase price,  are usually injured, which is why betters can get good odds on them if they are able to have one more good day and run back a race similar to their pre-injured days. Now if a race is this tough on an animal, who could conceive of the stupidity and arrogance that this owner, trainer team were willing to do?, To run a magnificent animal like this in back to back races is heartless. I can tell you from years of experience that an animal like this one and so many other top notch winners , have one element that sets them apart. It's called heart. Yes, these champions will give their all even to death to beat the other horses. They have the heart of a winner and are on top of the natural species pecking order for their breed. Not too many of these gems do you find. The tragic loss of Eight Bells was both predictable and sadly totally preventable. Google "recommended lay off time of thoroughbreds between races". It's standard practice in the industry. Every trainer knows this.

Respectfully

L. Katzenmeier

Answer 12

I immediately thought the same thing. Jockey error. There is no other reasoning for this horse to break both ankles?? Hearing that this was jockey's first Derby. He was inexperienced and wanted so badly to win. Horse was overstretched and should not have been pulled up so quickly. I agree. Heard that jockey left course without even going to locker to change clothes. Guilt?

Answer 13

Having spent some good time with horses and owning a retired racing mare (one of the loves of my Life), AND after watching the replays over and over, I saw her shaking her head (unlike the other horses who were not) toward the end and the jockey whipping the c**p out of her on both sides.

I watched a slow mo replay with Big Brown's jockey giving a play by play of his experience, and never once saw him take his hands off the reigns, i.e. use his whip.

He said he pretty much let the horse do what he wanted.

I am very proud of Eight Belles, the only Filly, for her accomplishment, but there is no doubt that she was pushed beyond her limits OBVIOUSLY!

I felt guilty watching it anyway, but love horses so much i just wanted to look at their beauty. I rooted for her like h**l (being the only filly) and now I am devastated...I will never forget her!

Answer 14

He walked away.

Crying.

Answer 15

These horses are bred for enormous speed and stamina.  Unfortunately, their leg bones are disproportionately fragile and these types of injuries happen frequently enough that, in my opinion, the whole "sport" should be called into question.  My recollection is that the jockey didn't do anything unusual to slow Eight Belles down at the end of the race, but I'm sure this will be reviewed.

Answer 16

Also, I noticed that the horse's legs weren't wrapped which, is usually normal for a race.

Answer 17

maybe he'll get the blame who knows ; ; it was Hillary Clintons horsey ; instead of her being busy with election bs/stuff like that ; she should be going to see what happened to the horsey ; and investigate the problem on what caused it and who was to blame on not preparing the horsey ; the right way to race that day ; the horse should have been protected with the proper equipment and so on

Answer 18

Listen I understand that most of you are sad because a beautiful  horse died today in a freak accident which, let me assure you, had nothing whatsoever to do with the jockey. First, when was the last time you heard of any animal or person simultaneously breaking two legs at the same time? It was a freak occurrence. I rode race horses for a decade and let me help you out with a few misconceptions I see here in these postings. First, leg wraps are generally only worn when the horse needs additional support or protection because it strikes itself while running, so they're not "normal for a race" it's up to the trainer and the needs of the horse. Next, race horses are not like your average saddle horse. When riding a saddle horse if you pull back on the reins the horse will slow down and stop, a race horse is taught to run against the bit so the harder you pull back the faster they run, the jockey wouldn't have been able to stop her if he had wanted to, she'll stop on her own at her own pace.The use of the whip is for the bettor's benefit, it is written in the racing rules that if a jockey is not going to use the whip it has to be announced prior to the race so the bettor's have the benefit of knowing before they place their bets, if you watch closely at enough horse races you will see that many jockey's do not actually hit the horse with the whip they swing it back and forth to "show" the horse the whip and satisfy the betting crowd, having rode racehorses for many years I use this same "talent" to stay within the rules and save my horse at the same time. Not all jockey's do this but many do.However, it was not the cause of Eight Belles injuries. Just to put some of your collective minds at ease, racehorses are commonly run on a pain killer commonly called "bute" which basically "covers" the horse from experiencing any agonizing pain in the event of an injury such as this. Unfortunately it can also cause a horse to continue to run well after it's injury has occurred because it is not made aware by the usual pain response. Belle's injuries, from what I could see in the pictures provided so far on the web, were severe. Her left front ankle had completely collapsed backward toward her hind end and the right appeared to have broken similarly but it was hard to see for certain since it was partially buried in the track dirt in the picture I saw. Without any way for the horse to stand, since both her front legs had been broken, she would not have had any chance of surviving and euthanizing her on the spot, tragic as it was, was the most humane thing to do. The legs and feet of a racehorse traveling at race speed ~40 mph experience intense pressures up to 10,000 lbs/in sq on the outside legs and 15,000 lbs/in sq on the inside legs. No doubt about it, horse racing is hard on the horse but so are other horse sports like jumping and eventing. A horse is not fully mature until it is ~4 1/2 years old. The tragedy here is the racing of "babies" and that I will not defend. If you're interested and feel like doing a little research you will find that in the beginning of horse racing in the US it used to be illegal to race horses under the age of four. Obviously those laws were abolished many years ago but it is days like this that bring the need to have such laws placed back into the discussion because spotlighted events such as Belle's tragic accident do not bode well for the future of horse racing. So please do not blame the rider, there was absolutely nothing he could have done that would have changed the circumstances or outcome, he did all he could and I am sure he wishes there was some way he could have prevented it as we all do.

Answer 19

No the whole racing world should be!  Just shows how stupid and inhuman this is......really really stupid!  For what the almight buckaroo at the cost of what an animals life!

Answer 20

Well I think he should be part of the blame but I really feel sorry for the guy...but you know I feel sorry for the poor horse more

Answer 21

I agree with some of you, these horses legs are extremely fragile and disproportionate to the rest of their body...they are specifically bred for have long, lean legs to aide them in long strides, thus making their work less. The jockey pulled up immediately, thats what you do to avoid injuring the horse further. And him walking away was what you are supposed to do, if he stuck around he could have spooked the filly even more and cause her to hurt herself even more, he didnt know the extend of her injuries. Unfortionately, race horses breaking their legs is part of the sport, horses in general have very fragile legs compaired to the rest of their bodies. I can only be thankful that they put her out of her misery and didn't make her suffer further.