Why The Jockey Would Have Stopped

Although this is usually a pet related website, I've spend this week posting and reading about the Kentucky Derby, and more specifically, Eight Belles. Although I plan to get back to my other writings, I felt this is such an emotional issue and I wanted to add in my perspective for whatever it is worth (maybe 2 cents?).

PETA is accusing the jockey of knowing something was wrong with the horse before she fell. But keep this in mind....in any race it’s in the jockey's best interest that the horse is stable and healthy. The jockey is looking out for himself. If the horse goes down on the track, a number of unfortunate things can happen. This includes the horse potentially rolling over the jockey, or the jockey getting trampled by the other horses behind him.

This is why it is unlikely that the jockey felt anything before the horse went down. A horse going down can lead to major injuries and even death for that jockey. Who would really want to risk that?

The risk of falling down on the track are way too dangerous to ever push a horse farther then an injury will let it go.

The Humane Society Reaction to Eight Belles

Here is the reaction for the Humane Society of the United States. Although I'm not sure if I agree with everything in the post, at least he is using it as an opportunity to comment on the industry as a whole and the realities of the sport. A much better way to approach it, in my opinion, then how PETA is handling the situation.

"The tragic death of Eight Belles, as discomfiting and disturbing as it was, is unlikely to reorder our priorities. We'll say a few words about horse racing, as do the commentators and industry press, but we'll return to our priorities in a couple of days. But that's a mistake for us all. This industry has not had a rigorous critic to set it in the straight and narrow, and major problems have grown and festered. It's time for the thoroughbred industry to deal with its problems, and if it does not, animal advocates may well decide they can no longer continue to give the industry a free pass."

You can read more of his response on his blog entry, http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2008/05/horse-racing.html.

Another Reason People Hate PETA

So PETA has found another target to use to push their agenda. This time, it’s a 20 year old jockey who happened to be riding in his first Kentucky Derby, finish in second place, and then have the poor horse break her two front legs.

So what is PETA doing about the situation? Asking for the jockey to be suspended!! And they are asking this without any knowledge of what happened, without stating any facts, without really focusing on the issue at hand.

And based on this: “PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the filly was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez [the jockey] be suspended while Eight Belles’ death is investigated.”

Huh??? How could they know this?

I understand that horse racing is a tough sport, and if you want to attack horse racing as a whole, then by all means, use that as your subject. Ask the hard questions of the industry and get their responses. But don’t go after the poor jockey and make him guilty before being proven innocent.

The fact is that horses get injured at race tracks across the world every day, some of which have to be euthanized. But, you don’t see PETA at every one of these tracks making a big statement. You also don’t see PETA asking for the jockeys of every one of these horses to get suspended. Nope, they instead found a high profile, nationally covered event to make their points.

And instead of making the industry their target, they are trying to make an example out of one person. They are going after a young rider who happened to finish second in the Kentucky Derby. Now, I don’t know if this jockey mishandled the horse or not, but shouldn’t we wait and find out before trying to ruin this young man’s career?

Here’s the recent AP article. http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-peta-eightbelles&prov=ap&type=lgns