Eight Belles’ trainer defends safety of horse racing
Calling Derby tragedy a ‘freak thing,’ he rejects calls for a ban on the sport
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Derby death examined May 5: Experts talk about the euthanizing of Kentucky Derby second-place finisher, Eight Belles. Today show |
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 | Tragic ending for filly Eight Belles May 3: Moments after placing second at the Kentucky Derby Eight Belles collapses on the track. NBC Sports |
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 | How dangerous is horse racing? May 4: On average, thoroughbreds suffer lethal breakdowns 1 1/2 times for every thousand starts. But lately, the elite horses have come up lame more often. NBC’s Chris Jansing reports. Nightly News |
The tragic euthanizing of Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles after she broke both ankles Saturday has left some scratching their heads about the so-called sport of kings. But in an exclusive interview with TODAY's Matt Lauer, the filly's trainer defended the safety of horse racing and firmly rejected calls to ban the sport.
Two years ago, it was Barbaro breaking down at the Preakness; this year, it’s Eight Belles. It’s beginning to seem to many that every time they watch a horse race, one of the horses ends up dying. “How do you explain this?” asked Lauer, who watched the Derby at home on Saturday with his sons Jack, 7, and Romy, who is almost 4. “There’s this great race, and everybody’s having a good time, and then all of a sudden — tragedy.”
Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones, and the Derby’s on-call veterinarian, Dr. Larry Bramlage, were at just as much of a loss as Lauer to explain what happened to the only filly in the nation’s most famous horse race. She had finished ahead of 18 colts in the race. Then, as she continued her gallop after the race’s finish, both her front ankles broke almost simultaneously. As millions of horrified viewers watched, she was euthanized on the track, loaded into a trailer and hauled away.
“I’ve been in this game a long time, and I have never, ever seen a horse gallop a quarter of a mile after the finish line and this happen,” Jones told Lauer Monday from Kentucky. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it.”
“It’s a freak thing,” added Bramlage, also speaking from Kentucky. He, too, had never seen such a catastrophic injury. Because horses spend their lives on their legs — even sleeping standing up — veterinarians have no choice but to euthanize a horse with two fractures.
Charges of cruelty
Coming so close on the heels of Barbaro’s months-long fight to recover from a broken hind leg suffered at the 2006 Preakness — the second race in the sport’s Triple Crown — Eight Belles’ injury and death provoked calls to ban the sport. Among those characterizing horse racing as cruel and brutal was The New York Times, which compared the sport to animal fighting.
“I disagree wholeheartedly,” said Jones. “These horses run because they like to run. If you knew how many horses were injured in the field running and just playing with other horses — we’ve had more horses injured on the farm than we have on the racetrack.”
Jones said that people who think thoroughbreds would be better off turned out into the wild do not know anything about horses. Pastures, he said, are not as meticulously groomed as racetracks. Horses run into fences, step into holes and are injured while just playing with each other.
“The horses are more cruel to themselves in the wild and everyday life than this sport is to them,” the trainer continued. “If you just knew how horses reacted on their own. People think they should be turned in the wild. Trust me, this is a lot better life for them than that.”
The number of regular horse racing fans is small. Most people tune in only for the big races in the spring, starting with the Kentucky Derby, and to them, watching horses break down is shocking.
Fragile bones
Writers and analysts have pointed out that racehorses are bred for speed, not durability. With time and selective breeding, their bones have become lighter — and more fragile. But Bramlage said that the injury rate for horses is actually quite low.
“The injury rate is a bit under two tenths of one percent,” he told Lauer. “We’re looking at this very hard and we’re working hard on improving this situation.”
Some writers, along with PETA, the animal-rights advocates, have suggested that racetracks switch from natural dirt to synthetic surfaces, which are softer and more forgiving. Jones admitted there is some evidence that synthetic surfaces may be safer, but, he said, the dirt track at Churchill Downs was in perfect shape for Saturday’s race.
“It was as good as any racetrack you can hope to race on,” he said. “We don’t think the track was an issue that day.”
Eight Belles’ owners have said they will have an autopsy performed on the animal. But few are suggesting that a specific reason will be found for the horse’s injuries.
In a pretaped report filed by NBC’s Chris Jansing, equine surgeon Dr. Joe Morgan said that racehorses are like human athletes — with one tragic difference. “It’s just like any other high-profile athlete,” he said. “There are athletes who tear out knees and never play again. The difference in our sport is we end up with euthanasia.”
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