Why do so many throughbred fillies since Ruffian to Eight Belles get hurt & die when they race against colts?

Question

Why do so many throughbred fillies since Ruffian to Eight Belles get hurt & die when they race against colts?

Answer 1

It's not just fillies, it is colts too. So many horses from both genders have died.

Answer 2

It's not only filllies. Barbero died also.

Answer 3

I don't think there's really a statistical correlation between fillies running against colts and injuries.  Fillies run against colts everyday, especially in Europe and really any country except the US.  I think we just pay attention more to any race where there's fillies running against colts here in the US.  And since more people are paying attention to racing, more people notice when the filly breaks down in a race against colts.  What happened to Eight Belles and what happened to Ruffian were both really freak accidents.  We'll never know what caused either of them to get hurt.  You could make an argument that fillies try harder when they run against the colts and so they put more stress on their legs... you could argue that fillies have finer bones so they break more easily... but I don't think it's anything that you can prove.  It's awful though.  I feel sick about it.  Eight Belles was a wonderful horse and put on a monster performance today.  It was the greatest race of her career and it's a shame that it ended this way.