What would have happened if Eight Belles had won the Kentucky Derby...?

Question

And then collapsed with its two broken ankles? Would they still have euthanized the winner on the track?

Answer 1

Of course.

Answer 2

They'd have to.  No saving a race-bred Thoroughbred from that catastrophic an injury - those animals are bred for speed, not durability.

Answer 3

This was as bad of an injury as an equine athlete can get....there was absolutely nothing that could have been done for her and she would have been put down immediately.

Answer 4

Yes, they would have.  I know that if she was my horse, and she suffered such a bad injury, I would have done the same.

Answer 5

No, I do not think she would have been euthanized if she had won.  They'd have made more of an effort to save her.  She could have been put in a sling until her injuries healed, they just didn't want to spend the money.  If she had won, they would have done a cost-benefit analysis & found it worthwhile.  This industry is all about money; they don't actually care about the horses.

Answer 6

Absolutely.  It wasn't because she didn't win... it was because she was hurt.  2nd in the derby is nothing to sneeze at... it was an amazing performance and she ran wonderfully and she had a great career ahead of her... both as a racer and as a broodmare.  But with 2 broken ankles, a horse just can't recover.

Answer 7

Yes they would have euthanized her anyway because she would never be able to recover,

If she would have won that would have been so tragic, I dont even want to think about it.

Answer 8

Oh yeah, if they would have even tried to save her she would have been in sooo much pain.

Boy, just imagine if that really would have happened... so heart breaking. Well it's still heart breaking even if she would have got last! I'm still sniffling.

RIP Eight Belles.

Answer 9

Yes

Answer 10

Yes...its a sad thing to think about

Answer 11

Unfortuantly, yes.

Barbaro won the Derby, but after breaking his leg in the Preakness was never able to recover and eventually had to be euthanized.

Even by coming in second, as a filly Eight Belles would have commanded a premium price for horse breeding and by being euthanized has cost her owners a substantial sum of money. Since her injury is considered one that is impossible to recover from, she was euthanized to prevent her further pain.