It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The famous line from Dickens could not ring any truer for the post race atmosphere at Churchill Downs following the 134th Kentucky Derby. The overwhelming favorite, Big Brown, turned in a jaw-dropping performance en route to a crushing victory – prompting immediate visions of a potential Triple Crown run this season. On the other side of the spectrum, trainer Larry Jones was unavailable for comment following the news that his prized filly, Eight Belles, who had fought on valiantly for 2nd place, had to be euthanized on the track after suffering compound fractures to both front ankles.
The race itself was a sight to behold. Big Brown made it look easy as he stalked the field heading into the far turn. When asked for his run, it took him a few strides to get fully into gear, but once he found that gear it was clear that no one else on the track was in the same league. In just his 4th career start, the impressive Rick Dutrow trainee has defeated all of his rivals by a combined 34 lengths. Talk about impressive. All the talk about his feet, about the outside post position, and about a potential pace duel – none of it mattered as he proved to the world he is a force to be reckoned with. The colt hit the wire in a final time of 2:01.82, winning by 4 3/4 lengths. Big Brown returned $6.80 for the win.
Just 24 hours earlier trainer Larry Jones had experienced a glimpse of the Derby glory he was seeking with Eight Belles. His other prized filly, Proud Spell, had run away with the Kentucky Oaks. I can’t even imagine what went through his mind after watching Eight Belles fight on for second place while Big Brown exploded to the wire. About 100 yards or so past the finish line she collapsed, tossing jockey Gabriel Saez to the dirt. Once down she did not get up. Minutes seemed like ages as we waited for word from the track veterinarians, who eventually confirmed that the amazing filly had been euthanized on the track.
“There was no possible way to save her,” on-call veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage said. “She broke both front ankles. That’s a bad injury.” (source: the Associated Press: Filly Eight Belles breaks down after 2nd -place Derby finish).
Big Brown became the first colt since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929 to break from the 20th post position and prevail. Additionally, he became the first Derby winner since the filly Regret in 1915 to win the Derby after running in only 3 previous races lifetime. Like you’ll hear all the time, folks: The game is changing.
Denis of Cork finished 3rd with winning jockey of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel.
The undefeated Big Brown will be headed to Pimlico next to compete in the Preakness Stakes on May 17. Congratulations to Big Brown and his connections. My heart goes out for Eight Belles and her people. She fought on valiantly and showed the spirit of a warrior. She shall be missed greatly.
Eight Belles, rest in peace love. You won’t be forgotten.
Amazing race – sad ending. I was all pumped up to watch my first Kentucky Derby. My pick – Denis of Cork – made an amazing run to finish third. Then the news about Eight Belles came. I don’t know enough about horses to understand what happened – I just know that I feel so bad for the trainer and owner of that beautiful horse.
The fracture in Eight Belles’ left front ankle opened the skin, allowing contamination to set in. At least one of her sesamoid bones was broken, too.
She didn’t have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized.
Been crying my eyes out, K, but still glad you brought this to my little world.
So devasted ~ but as you said with Dicken’s prose…”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.
Big Brown was AMAZING.
~ Rest in peace, Eight Belles ~
I wouldn’t have even known by watching the video that Eight Belles was injured. The horse just kept going? What a sad ending. I know you love your horses kstafford. Sorry.
she was injured after the race, when she was being pulled up.
if it had only been the left front injury (a condylar fracture) that could have been repaired enough to even go back to racing. it’s the breaking of both that lead to being euthanized. sesamoid injuries are common in race horses, in other athletics in horses as well. she may well have had inflammation there already, weakening her right side. not sure we’ll ever know. an autopsy is being performed so maybe we will.
Why do we have to push these horses when they’re underdeveloped? Can’t we wait a few more years until there bone structure is more stable? RIP eight belles, my heart breaks when this stuff happens. I just don’t understand why the horse racing world has to start these colts and fillies so early.
greed comes to mind.
War Pass was pulled from the Kentucky Derby after sustaining a small fracture in a left front sesamoid. They didn’t chance his breaking down. kudos to them on that decision.
where did Pyro place?
Wasn’t Pyro 10th? Man, was he ever cut off at the start.
Hi guys. It was most distressing to see that happen. I think it was even sadder considering the footage they showed of Jones (her trainer) riding her during a workout earlier in the week. Anyone see that clip? Jones talked to her just like a person. In a sad portent of things to come, he had trouble getting her to pull up after the workout, and was saying things like “c’mon sweetheart, pull-up, hello- Larry to Eight Belles.”
It was touching to see that before the race, and then made the ending all the more sad.
I think she just gave it her all and was a bit too exhausted when it was all said and done.
It’s a great loss for the entire horse racing community, and certainly not something anybody wanted to see on Derby day.
Pyro was 8th or 9th, I believe. He got absolutely sandwiched at the start of the race, and then shuffeled over to the rail in an attempt to save ground. We’re kind of lucky about him not getting hurt as well.
As far as Eight Belles is concerned, Jones had this to say about enterring her in the Derby and whether it was pushing her too hard. I don’t think anyone doubts that he loved his filly:
“It wasn’t that. It wasn’t the distance. It wasn’t a big bumping match for her. She never got touched,” he said. “She passed all those questions … with flying colours. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn’t happen.”
It just breaks your heart.
On the flip side – Big Brown looks like the safest bet in ages come Preakness day. There’s no one that can run with him in this crop. The Belmont will be the tricky one when he has to stretch out to 1 1/2 miles.
First reaction, upon reading titles: HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!
So sad, what happened to Eight Belles. A fast track is a dangerous track, and these three-year-olds are just babies, really. She ran a mighty race. If only veterinary medicine were more advanced, it could have saved her.
Which I remember thinking when I watched Ruffian lose to Foolish Pleasure.
Kstaff is there video on the net of her trainer riding her, the footage you described? I didn’t catch that and I’d sure love to see it.
this has footage of Belles going down
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24445049/
kstaff check your spam thingy – every time I post a link my comment doesn’t show up. I should have another one in there where I picked Big Brown and there is a link with that one too – it never posted
Two in two days. Hopefully the same fate does not await Chelokee. For anyone interested, I posted pace and speed figures for the top 3 at the above link.
This is how the horses finished:
1. Big Brown
2. Eight Belles
3. Denis of Cork
4. Tale of Ekati
5. Recapturetheglory
6. Colonel John
7. Anak Nakal
8. Pyro
9. Cowboy Cal
10. Z Fortune
11. Smooth Air
12. Visionaire
13. Court Vision
14. Z Humor
15. Cool Coal Man
16. Bob Black Jack
17. Gayego
18. Big Truck
19. Adriano
20. Monba
Absolutely tragic what happened today—trainer Larry Jones and owner Rick Porter don’t deserve this, nor the idiotic criticism that will undoubtedly arise from racing Eight Belles against the colts. Only in America do we foolishly cling to misconceptions of gender segregation in racing horses. I’ve written extensively (and will do so more in the future) about how fillies and mares routinely—and I mean, every single day in multiple races—race against the boys, and win in Australia, for example. Anyone who knows anything about horses we tell you that two-year-old fillies matured much faster than males of their age; that’s why, in a more limited way, we see American fillies at that age race against their male counterparts. Then the segregation factor kicks in, so when we see a filly run against colts in the Derby, it is viewed as an anomaly—which it should not.
What happened today was certainly a combination of factors—most notably the continuing overbreeding of big-name stallions by greedy breeders who pass on unsoundness to their progeny and idiotic owners who buy these horses. This has been a key criticism of Unbridled’s Song, Eight Belles’ sire, forever, and yet rather than focus on hardier stock, in American breeding it’s all about speed and greed. Additionally, consider American racing’s dependence of drugging horses—in Australia, horse racing is completely medication free. Do you honestly think every single horse in the Kentucky Derby needed to be racing on Lasix, ostensibly to prevent bleeding? Our horses are overmedicated because no one likes to think anyone else has an advantage over them, and of course that leads to cheating.
Finally, like it or not, it was just damn unfortunate that she took a bad step after the race was over. There is nothing that happened during the race itself to indicate injury—in fact, she was much the best of 18 of the 19 other horses in the field. Just bad luck…it could have happened to any horse, and it happens with more regularity than most people would be comfortable with on racetracks every day in this country.
@Diss – I haven’t been able to find the footage they showed on NBC before the race with Jones and Eight Belles. It was in the pre-race build up at least a 1/2 hour or so before post.
Sorry about that Askimet stuff. I found a comment yesterday burried in the Spam filter and enabled it – just found another from you. I think that’s all of them that were in the queue. You know how it is.
@Rain – I thought of Ruffian as well. God I hate seeing that.
@Don – Oh man, let’s not even think about Chelokee. Matz has been through enough over the years (Barbaro, plane crashes, etc.). I hope we get a better day at Preakness to help ease the pain of this weekend. Maybe Big Brown will be the horse to bring us all back together with a Triple Crown winner?
@Val – if you could hear me now I’m giving you a standing applause. Well said. I wish we didn’t have drugging in our game and I wish the current trends in breeding were reversed.
Edit: Dang, we sure are some night owls here!
thanks kstaff- you found my 4/30 comment where I picked Big Brown to win
Now I can brag. Didn’t have proof before you dug that out. Go me!
I picked the derby correctly…I picked 2 horses to come in after BB….
The Tri pleasently surprised…After church i will journey out to Lone Star
and be very thankfull !!!!!
Last year I was shocked Curlin didn’t win!!!
This year everything went well !!!! And those two could meet in the Classic
WOW
@Diss and Greg – round of applause for you guys as well. I hit on Big Brown winning, but the trifecta play was out the window.
Nice score on the tri, Gregg – that was a whopping payout!
Greg’s pick was a beautiful thing to see.
spot on – and that was no easy thing to predict with a field of 20 horses.
@Greg – let me know if you ever want to do some guest posting here!
watching so many horses start was almost terrifying. it looked like a raid!
Greg’s prediction is just freaking freakish… I keep reading it over and over. That belongs on one of those major mags now. It’s just so amazing.
I agree – Greg, you should do yourself a favor and get published if predictions like that are anything like the norm for you. Hats off to you, my good man.
Eight Belles was being steadied on the far turn as Big Brown was making his run in the clear on the outside. It could have been a lot closer. I’m sure you’ve watched the replay plenty of times, Kevin. It was kind of like last year when Curlin got passed by Street Sense on the turn while he was blocked. By the time he was able to get going, Street Sense was already gone. Big Brown was really impressive though. When I saw him go five wide into the first turn, I thought Eight Belles was going to win, but he was able to overcome that with ease. As they passed the wire I was thinking she was the only one with a shot at him in the Preakness. Then she fell. I feel so bad for her connections. They seemed to really love the horse, not just the money she earned them. Most of us know the pain of losing a pet, but this one had achieved greatness, making it so much more tragic.
Gregg, you’re the man. Congrads on the triple! I was wrong about the pace. I thought it would be faster.
Don / Kstaff… Chelokee was also injured on May 3rd at Churchill Downs.
http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?storyID=685761&newsdate=5/4/2008&BCCode=MBTA
These horses that are breaking down are all running with no support on their front legs, only their back legs. Even in training. There is not support for their sesamoid bones, etc. Even on those deep tracks. WTF? In barrel racing we always support the front, as well as the rear. Different kind of racing yes, but they still need support at the front.
I’m surprised. Here are Hastings Park you see wrapped legs on the front routinely. Not sure it would have made any difference to Eight Belles, but it sure couldn’t hurt.
PETA wants Eight Belles jockey suspended after filly’s death
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hPMfMd18T4TD0dJIq49LqC7dNWEAD90F41J00
I really cannot stand this group of animal killers.
I found some updates:
-Tale of Ekati is not running in the Preakness, but will be in the Belmont
-Big Truck is not running in the Preakness, next is expected to be a state-bred grass race, possibly NY since NY bred.
-Denis of Cork is not running in the Preakness, will be in the Belmont.
-Colonel John; trip to Preakness “highly unlikely” but they’re remaining @ Kentucky for now as they’re currently undecided.
-Anak Nakal not going to Preakness, heading to Belmont
-Cool Coal Man – not running in Preakness, giving time off
-Court Vision not expected in Preakness
-Z Humor not expected in Preakness
-Adriano will run in the Virginia Derby on July 19, they’re not putting him on dirt anymore.”probably”
no definitive word on the others, outside of them going to get some rest.
Kevin,
The trainer for Big Brown is taking a more caution approach for the Preakness.
He is more concerned about the 2 weeks between races….He would much
prefer to do it his way….But i have no choice….Also, he also said he came out
of derby in good shape—–Sure would have liked him to say he came out
of it in great or super shape.
When i heard him on the phone with hrtv explaining way he stayed in
Florida to watch Big brown instead of being in Dubia-I heard a trainer
express things like i never heard before….A little caution in the wind!!!
Harlem Rocker ran a 106 beyer in last…
BB got a 109 at derby
[...] Too soon? Come and “jam” with fellow creatives, both technical and non-technical, from 6pm to 9pm. There’s activities for right and left brainers, er, themers and coders, alike! The plan is for coders to focus on methods for adding mobile content and themers to focus on the creation of a mobile-friendly black-on-white theme. Don’t worry about your skill level, everyone can participate. [...]
gayego home in la. owners werent happy with the pimlico track. will run BC 1 1/8