R.I.P. Eight Belles

No one on this site has mentioned the tragic death of this magnificent animal who, I believe, was born and raised at tge local Three Chimneys Farm. At the moment I can%26#39;t recommend tours since I%26#39;m personally disgusted with the ';sport,'; but I thought something should be said on behalf of this valiant champion.

Hopefully enough people will be outraged as I am and call for reforms so that these wonderful creatures can run and race within NORMAL limits, once they%26#39;re properly grown and mature and without pace-quickening but life-threatening breeding and drug enhancements. It%26#39;s a very sad day in Kentucky.

R.I.P. Eight Belles

I think we should wait until the facts are presented to jump to conclusions.

R.I.P. Eight Belles

What the jockey knew and when he knew it remains to be seen and, if fact, may never be known, but we can say SOME things with certainty now... For one...

The facts'; are (and, if you%26#39;re a horse person, you know this) the legs/bones of two-year-old colts and fillies aren%26#39;t fully formed; racing isn%26#39;t allowed in Britain and Europe until age FOUR, although a horse isn%26#39;t considered ';mature'; until age six; that%26#39;s just the tip of the iceberg but, if we could raise the age limit, that%26#39;d be a tep in the right direction.

In fact, younger horses do race in the UK and in Europe. For example, one of the UK%26#39;s most famous races is the Epsom Derby which is for 3 year olds only. See today%26#39;s New York Times for an article on 2 year old and 2 year old thoroughbred racing in Europe.

鈥ytimes.com/2008/鈥?/a>

I stand corrected: it%26#39;s the pumping horses full of pain-masking and performance-enhancing drugs -- even on race day itself -- that sets us apart from the other countries (Europe) in which this is illegal; I knew there was something... ; /

However, the article does point out that the horse%26#39;s age should be considered on a case-by-case basis and that these developing bones should NOT be over-stressed... Quite possibly Eight Belle%26#39;s extraordinary size for her age and gender proved too much for those young, still undeveloped bones.

I doubt we%26#39;ll ever know the truth... Again, such as what the jockey knew and when he knew it. Very sad.

What does this have to do with travel? We%26#39;re all heartbroken over the loss of Eight Belles, but this is not an issue for discussion on TripAdvisor. Thank you, however, to Louisvillian for setting the record straight.

What it has to do with travel is that folks might want to think twice about coming here to support ';the thoroughbred industry'; until racing is made safer and more humane for the horses. A special advisory board has been assembled to begin discussing these issues -- age of the horse, drugs, track conditions, workload, etc. -- ASAP, so evidently a number of experts agree there%26#39;s a problem that needs to be addressed. I concede it%26#39;s not good PR and that ';race fans'; don%26#39;t care, but I for one won%26#39;t be patronizing Kentucky%26#39;s tracks unless and until the greed-driven abuse ends.

Not to fear, though; there are lots of other great things to do in Kentucky... : D