Anti-Racing Outcry after Death of Eight Belles
We all felt for the brave filly Eight Belles last Sunday when she had to be put down after breaking both of her front ankles in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. It was even harder to see that outcome after she ran such a gallant race for second place. It wasn’t long after the tragedy that animal rights organizations began to criticize trainer Larry Jones, jockey Gabriel Saez, and horse racing in general.
On Tuesday, animal rights protesters demonstrated in Lexington, Kentucky. They feel that Eight Belles’ jockey should have recognized that she was injured and pulled her back from finishing the race, instead of giving her the whip down the stretch. “I remain heartbroken over Eight Belles, and I want to let her many fans know that she never gave me the slightest indication before or during the race that there was anything bothering her,” said Saez in a written statement after the Derby.
Horse owners and trainers love the horses they’re involved with, and racing organizations have addressed dangers within the sport, like new synthetic racing surfaces, that have increased safety for horse and jockey.
As difficult as this tragedy was for everyone to experience, accidents do happen in all sports. Horse racing is a dangerous sport that dates back to a time when the treatment of animals was not as big of an issue in our society. Have we evolved to the point that the tradition of a 134-year-old event means less to us than the life of a farmed animal? This is, after all, still a billion-dollar industry.
There will always be that small percentage of people who have more compassion for animals than the average person, but their compassion usually leads to improvements to the industry.
