more thoughts on the Derby
After reading articles in the Bloodhorse and the Globe, I think I have to agree with misscalculation 's comment yesterday that what happened to Eight Belles really was the worst kind of freakish accident. The track vet at Churchill Downs said he'd never seen anything like it in his years of experience, and he's a well experienced vet. If she had only broken one ankle, they would have stabilized her on the track and possibly her life could have been saved, but there's simply no way to stabilize a horse with two broken legs. Obviously her connections feel terrible, but the trainer said he had no signs at all that there was anything wrong with her, that she went into the race perfectly comfortably and naturally and had been training very well in the days before the race. I think I share the general conclusion that this was an unpreventable tragedy.
I don't think she could have caught Big Brown--I think he had a couple of gears left that he hadn't touched yet, which makes me think the Belmont is his though I'm not sure about the Preakness--but she put away 18 other colts who were among the top winning three year olds in the US, and that's saying a lot.
I don't think she could have caught Big Brown--I think he had a couple of gears left that he hadn't touched yet, which makes me think the Belmont is his though I'm not sure about the Preakness--but she put away 18 other colts who were among the top winning three year olds in the US, and that's saying a lot.