Doomsday101
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I LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- There were few smiles over at Larry Jones' barn less than two days after filly Eight Belles finished second and then broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.
"I keep looking and she ain't in there, so I know she ain't coming back," the trainer said, nodding toward his barn.
After an autopsy, the dark gray filly will be cremated. Jones was unsure of owner Rick Porter's plans to inter her ashes, although he said Churchill Downs had offered a spot at the track.
Jones accepted condolences from passers-by while still mystified about what caused Eight Belles' breakdown.
"If she'd have broke one leg, she could have definitely had a shot at trying to be saved," he said. "But with both of them going, there was no chance in the world. She was on the ground, she was never going to get up."
The trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, Rick Dutrow Jr., sympathized with Jones' loss, having been through similar situations.
"So much goes into being around them all the time and knowing them and seeing how they go out there and perform for you," he said. "It hurts."
In his own way, Jones will be rooting for Big Brown to win the Triple Crown.
"It would let our filly go out in a blaze of glory," he said.
Jones told The Associated Press on Monday that if the Derby were run again tomorrow, he'd put jockey Gabriel Saez right back on one of his horses.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for the suspension of Saez, and it faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish." The group says Saez should have pulled her up rather than finish.
PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second-place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.
"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."
But Jones says Saez acted exactly as he should have. He says the jockey started whipping the horse to prevent her from running into the rail.
"I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that," Jones told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She has her ears up, clearly galloping out."
Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.
The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.
"I keep looking and she ain't in there, so I know she ain't coming back," the trainer said, nodding toward his barn.
After an autopsy, the dark gray filly will be cremated. Jones was unsure of owner Rick Porter's plans to inter her ashes, although he said Churchill Downs had offered a spot at the track.
Jones accepted condolences from passers-by while still mystified about what caused Eight Belles' breakdown.
"If she'd have broke one leg, she could have definitely had a shot at trying to be saved," he said. "But with both of them going, there was no chance in the world. She was on the ground, she was never going to get up."
The trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, Rick Dutrow Jr., sympathized with Jones' loss, having been through similar situations.
"So much goes into being around them all the time and knowing them and seeing how they go out there and perform for you," he said. "It hurts."
In his own way, Jones will be rooting for Big Brown to win the Triple Crown.
"It would let our filly go out in a blaze of glory," he said.
Jones told The Associated Press on Monday that if the Derby were run again tomorrow, he'd put jockey Gabriel Saez right back on one of his horses.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for the suspension of Saez, and it faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish." The group says Saez should have pulled her up rather than finish.
PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second-place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.
"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."
But Jones says Saez acted exactly as he should have. He says the jockey started whipping the horse to prevent her from running into the rail.
"I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that," Jones told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She has her ears up, clearly galloping out."
Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.
The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.
