Sportaphile » Horse Racing

Why Can’t People Accept Big Brown’s Loss?

Dell — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:27:21 +0000

So Big Brown choked at the Belmont stakes and finished dead last. I thought the story would die then and there, but three days later the discussion is still going. Reporters are scratching and clawing for a specific reason Big Brown failed.

Was it the injured hoof? Should they have injected the horse with Winstrol? Did the heat play a factor? Did the horse suffer any injuries while running? Did the ghost of Eight Belles haunt him?

How about the most logical reason…. The other horses simply ran faster. They beat him fair and square. By the time third grade rolled around I figured we should have all learned that you can’t win every footrace you enter.

There REALLY is no story here… move along.

What’s Wrong w/ Showing Eight Belles Injury On Air?

Dell — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:20:22 +0000

I want to preface this by saying I didn’t necessarily want to see an animal suffering, because in all honesty I don’t care about horse racing. In fact, I didn’t even watch the Kentucky Derby, nor will I watch next year’s race. However, seeing how everyone is patting NBC on the back for “doing the right thing” by not broadcasting the horse’s injury and death during the Kentucky Derby is quite frankly…full of horse shit.

After Big Brown crossed the finish line this weekend as the Derby winner, Eight Belles broke both ankles and collapsed on the track. The injuries were so severe that she had to be euthanized on the spot to prevent further suffering. The term that’s being thrown around in the media is that people didn’t want to see the horse “writhing in agony” in the moments before her death.

Ok…I’m assuming everyone reading this is a sports fan. How many times have we watched a football player completely snap his leg in half, with the producers showing the incident over and over before moving on? They zoom in on these *human beings* writhing in agony almost every week from their injuries and nobody bats an eyelash. How is it so different to apply the same standards to an *animal*?

This post isn’t about me wanting to see an animal suffer, it’s moreso pointing out a double standard by the sports media. I’ve seen Willis McGahee get his leg snapped in half, I’ve seen Joe Theismann get his leg snapped in half, Michael Bush, Michael Vick… I can go on and on…..

But god forbid this poor animal goes through pain on the airwaves. These thoroughbred race horses are treated better than more humans than we care to admit, I guess it’s only fitting to continue the preferential treatment to the very end right?

[Shout out to Ruth Hochberger of the Huffington Post, who shares my views on this subject]

R.I.P. Eight Belles

Dell — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:38:54 +0000

The winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby Big Brown is getting all the glory from the press, but the runner up…. well….the runner up is dead.

“LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AFP) — Big Brown defied history to win the 134th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but the race finished under a pall as runner-up Eight Belles was euthanized.

Eight Belles, trained by Larry Jones and ridden by Gabriel Saez, was trying to become just the fourth filly to win the Derby.

She collapsed just after the finish and after veterinarians found she had broken both front legs she was humanely destroyed on the track.”

LOL that’s so wrong, you get second place in the biggest horse race on the planet and you’re killed for your troubles. They at least let Barbaro lay around wasting everyone’s money for a few months before killing it.

But in any event….. lets pour out a little liquor for the fallen soldier. I dedicate “Gangsta Lean” by D.R.S.

“I tip my fooooooooooooorty to your memory…..”