I'd like to encourage everyone here who's greiving over Eight Belles to leave a sympathy message for the connections on the forum for her owner's horses

http://www.rockportharbor.com/forum/

Larry Jones and Rick Porter really loved this filly. It's so obvious how torn up Larry is about losing her. And Porter will be second guessed over and over for running her, but you know what? She proved she belonged. It wasn't the race....it was a freak accident.

I also think messages left in support of Gabriel Saez would be nice. He's really taking a beating from PETA and in the media right now when he had absolutely nothing to do with what happened; a completely freak thing.

I'm sure any messages left there for her groom, etc, would get passed along.

It's wonderful that everyone's here supporting each other, but these guys are the ones who knew her...they need some support from the racing community more now than ever.

 

Thanks will do now

I would like to disagree.  I posted an article on the main board written by Paul Moran who has covered throughbred racing for years (30) and I agree with him, she already showed her talent and it was just ego that caused her people to race her.  Yes, she was talented but was it the right decision for her???  No.  These races should be more than what will make the stable look good or the trainer the horse should be taken into consideration.  When reporters start worrying about other peoples horses and their welfare then something is wrong.

So, I will exercise my right, not to reward anyone that made the decision to race her.  It is my way of standing up for Eight Belles.  Please do not try to defend the "who could have know" theory to me.     

She did not need to be in that race.   For many reasons.

Karen Macmanus - Dallas, Texas      

I'm not up on all the connections, Gabriel Saez, is the groom?  Why is he taking a beating?  Why shouldn't she have been raced, because she is a filly?

Gabriel Saez is the jockey.  PETA is saying that 8 Belles was injured during the race and he choose not to stop her.  It's total nonsense.   All they have to do is watch the tape of the race.  she was strong and sure at the finish.

 

I am with you, if this is swept uner the rug as just an accident then the Tb industry wil continue the bloodbath of young horses lives for the " Sport". the industry needs to promote some responsiblity for what they do to these animals in the name of the almighty dollar. this Filly was " pushed " to the breaking pont.

That's what I heard.  I do not watch a live race. I always wait and watch the replays.  I was so happy the day was going along without any accidents.  When I turned the TV back on, I was happy for BB and then they said Eight Belles was down.

Hey there,

I completely respect your view. And if she had broken down DURING THE RACE, I would say you were spot on. But I'd like to respectfully disagree with you that the owners running her in the race killed her, for the very reason that it happened during the gallop out.

If Rick Porter had just sent Eight Belles straight to the Derby without any sort of consideration, well, then I might blame it on ego. But they debated this decision for weeks. They made a point of cross-entering her because if her post didn't set her up for success, they didn't want to push her. They considered every possible angle and whether she came into the race right.

She had already beaten up on her own division time and again. The next logical step for her was to step outside of her division and take on a bigger challenge--just as Rags did in the Belmont last year. If she had finished 10th in the Derby, I might say the owners just ran her because of ego and that she didn't belong there.

But her finish proved she belonged, and that they'd spotted her well.

She was moving at a slow gallop when the accident occured. It's not something that the stress of racing caused. That's something that could have happened in the paddock, or during a morning gallop. Hell, even galloping out after a race against fillies! People are so quick to point fingers at people for racing fillies against colts when they break down, but forget that they break down racing against their own gender (Go For Wand, Pine Island, Gallant Secret) too.

I'm a lifelong racing fan and I hope to work in the industry once I'm done with college. I don't push accidents under the rug--I think Eight Belles' death, along with Pine Island's two years ago and Chelokee's breakdown, is just more proof that Churchill needs a synthetic surface. I think Barbaro's accident should be remembered because of all the good he did for laminitis research. There is a difference between sweeping an accident under the rug....and understanding that there's nowhere to place blame for the accident.

Loving racing isn't about sweeping accidents under the rug. It's about celebrating the highs, being devastated by the lows, but not walking away because of the lows....just working to eliminate them.

I'm not afraid to lambast the connections of a horse when I think they're to blame for an accident--I absolutely ripped George's connections after the BC. But I don't believe this is one of those cases.

I sincerely hope everyone on this board understands this point of view.