Derby Day Baby!!!

[docduany]

Not that I know a feak'in thing about anything, but it's time to watch the ponies run! Taking a little jack from the Ho-Chunk Nation may take the edge off of losing Yo for a little bit. Here's how Doc Duany's laying down his hard earned cash.

 

Box trifecta w/ Colonel John

Pyro

Court Vision

 

Win/Place Recapturethe glory

 

Win/Place Denis of Cork

 

Box Exacta Colonel John

Pyro

 

Box Exacta Colonel John

Court Vision

 

Good luck to anyone else making a wager.

[burniebrewer]

Nothing fancy for me, Pyro (#9), across the board, with upset consideration given to Eight Belles, who as a filly is not being considered a concern by oddsmakers.

 

Good luck, docduany!

[lcbj68c]

I didn't put down a dime, but on a whim I'll go

 

Big Brown

Pyro

Gayego

[burniebrewer]

Looks like my longshot will pay well (not for me since I chose Pyro instead) but with a tragic ending.

[lcbj68c]

Wow, Big Brown won. But my god, I may never watch horse racing again. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive to the situation, but after hearing they had to kill that horse (Eight Belles) due to two broken ankles, I was absolutely dismayed and heart broken. That horse woke up this morning, was pushed to run and on the final stretch breaks both of it's front ankles, and continues to run to a second place finish. I asked my wife, how did the horse continue to run to a 2nd place finish on two broken ankles, to which she replied, "it's getting it ass beaten, you'd run too", to which I absoultely felt even worse about the "sport of it".

[burniebrewer]

Yeah, there's always that disheartening angle to horse racing.

 

I hate seeing that too. It is really sad.

[razzzorsharp]

I turned it off after I saw the horse was done hoping for the best.

[JoeHova]

Eight Belles dying is sad, but the way the media is ignoring it is shameful. They have numerous articles on ESPN.com about the Derby but none about the 2nd place finisher dying on the track. NBC also didn't seem to talk much about it and only one of the winners even mentioned the dead horse.

 

A heroic performance by the filly, too bad Big Brown just had a little more kick at the end (possibly because Eight Belles may have had 2 broken legs at the time).

 

My sister was at Churchill Downs today, I wonder if they mentioned the death of Eight Belles to the crowd. She hasn't texted me back yet.

[lcbj68c]

If I'm that derby winning owner, I go lay those bed of roses on that Eight Belles immediately. I'm not going to go over the top and suggest an end to horse racing, but I'm speechless as to an answer to the problem, seemingly a horse dying during the race needs to be addressed?

[Mr QL]

I failed miserably on my bets but cool to see Big Brown win. I did put $6 bet to win on Big Brown but I don't think that's going to pay out to well. Hopefully the horse can win the Triple Crown. Impressive.

 

That's too bad about Eight Belles also.

[lcbj68c]

$6.00 nets you $18.60

[LouisEly]

Horses breaking legs or parts of legs and having to be euthanized is not uncommon in this sport. These horses are only 3 years old which is very young, far from their bones being fully developed. That's why this is common. Happens every 5 years or so in one of these triple crown races - who knows how often it happens in other races; it happened two or three years ago to a horse who was vying for the triple crown (can't remember the name, but they did some surgeries but the horse died a month or so later anyway).

 

When a girl I dated about 10 years ago told me about their bones and how fragile they are at that age (she raises show horses and is very anti-horse racing) it changed my perception of this sport. I don't know why they race them at that age, but they're too young to be racing. You can say that humans playing pro sports as teenagers is equivalent, but if humans break a leg they can survive - horses for some reason can't. I don't know if the sport should be abolished, but I'm strongly leaning that way and I have been for almost a decade.

[DuWayne Steurer]

They race them at that age because they're at their physical peak, as far as musculature goes. I work with a lady who raises and breeds horses, and today was a really bad day for her. She hates racing with a passion, and the situation today made it even moreso.

 

And the reason they "can't" survive these injuries is actually a two fold answer. First of all, a thoroughbred racer doesn't want to pay for the upkeep of a horse that's never going to be able to race again. Secondly, when a horse breaks his front leg(s), he's probably going to have a miserable life. Most of their weight is supported by their front legs, and they spend 23 1/2 hours a day standing. Their bodies are not really designed to "lay down" much if ever. The real fact is their bone structure really isn't right for racing at all, but that doesn't stop people from doing it.

[burniebrewer]

it happened two or three years ago to a horse who was vying for the triple crown (can't remember the name, but they did some surgeries but the horse died a month or so later anyway).

 

I think that was Barbaro.

[Blancofan1]

From everything that I've heard and seen, Eight Belles didn't race with the broken ankles. Really gruesome and I by no means support horse racing but when something that drastic happens there is no other option than to euthanize a horse.

On sportscenter they said that the injury happened well after the race was over and somehow, no one could say why yet, she factured both front ankles with one poking through the skin. And I thought Yo's knee looked grotesque.

[SeriesFinale]

I've got a pretty strong affinity for the ole pari-mutuels, stemming back to going to jai-alai matches or to play the dogs back when I was growing up in Florida. I do enjoy a trip to the OTB.

 

That said, I'd have a real hard time cashing in a winning exacta that includes an animal that had to be euthanized immediately after the race, whether it's the Run for the Roses or the 4th race from Santa Anita on a Thursday afternoon. Awful.

[docduany]

It's always a terrible day at the track when a horse has to be put down. I'm just glad when they can put them down so quickly.

[homer]

I know they've developed some new track surface that is supposed to reduce horse injuries. It's been implemented at Keeneland in Lexington but I don't know if it's installed at Churchill Downs.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/2006-10-04-polytrack-keeneland_x.htm

[nohopspanther]

The derby is run on real dirt instead of the waxed sand and fiber sythetic.

[Katuluu]

I can't see the Derby changing the running surface anytime soon. Racing enthusiasts are so set on "tradition" that they will ignore anything that might actually improve the sport or the wellfare of the horses.

[homer]

Keeneland is steeped in tradition. If enough pressure mounts (no pun intended) they'll switch.