Well, it’s official. PETA has come out and said that a jockey intentionally broke a horse’s legs during a race. If you don’t believe me, keep reading. Now, PETA has come up with some really whacky stuff in the past, but this one–I’m not quite sure how to describe it.
PETA’s latest shenanigans consist of accusing the jockey of Eight Belles–the filly that had to be put down on the track at Churchill Downs following the Kentucky Derby–of injuring the horse. Deliberately.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles’ jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.
PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the filly was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles’ death is investigated.
“What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. “If he didn’t then we can probably blame the fact that they’re allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.”
Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones said the filly was clearly happy when she crossed the finish line.
“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.”
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.
Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Jones.
A call to the jockeys’ room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.
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.
OK. Um, what did this guy say? “What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” Um, yes he probably did feel something. He probably felt like the horse had a really good shot at winning. He probably felt like this was the greatest moment in his career.
Oh, they’re asking if Saez felt like the horse was in danger. Of course he did. That’s why he kept her thundering along at top speed, just to make sure that when Eight Belles broke her legs, it would be a thorough job. That must be why he continued “whipping her mercilessly.”
I wonder if anyone has informed these people that horses have been raced for, oh, I don’t know, hundreds of years. That the Romans–those wonderful people that they were–raced chariots that were pulled by…..um, horses. I don’t hear anybody from PETA saying we shouldn’t glamorize the Roman Empire because they used horses for their entertainment. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This is a group of people that don’t have anything better to do with their time than to go around trespassing and vandalizing.
Christ Alone Wyoming 
hey i dig your focus and enjoy the blog. however, please think twice before vilifying PETA. Jockeys do whip horses, the horse did die because after running the race, and just because horse racing has gone on since the romans is no reason for it to continue. Bull fighting in hispanic countries and dog fighting throughout the world are two very old sports yet are sports that are now considered cruel.
my main beef with the entry is that you say peta kills animals, without explaining yourself. peta is already a misunderstood activist group, and this one-off doesn’t help itself. The site you direct readers to is run by an alcohol/tobacco/restaurant lobbying group whose main goal is to prevent consumer reform to protect us from large conglomerates with unsafe, unjust practices that disregard the value of human life. check out a review site of the group:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom
cheers! keep blogging, its fun to read!
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bobo,
While I am not a huge fan of horse racing–just not into it is all–I would not equate it with bullfighting and dog fighting. See, the point of those two sports is the deliberate death of the animal. I don’t think you would find many horse owners who enjoy seeing their horse put down.
And I’m sorry, but it’s real easy to villify PETA. They just make it way too easy. They would rather see humans suffer than animals. In fact, here are some quotes from these oh-so-emlightened folks:
And as far as your statement that in regards to PETA killing animals, I did indeed “explain myself” by the link I provided. And while the site I linked to may be run by a lobbying group you disapprove of, Source Watch can be edited by people with any type of axe to grind against any company they don’t like. And who’s to say the administrators of that site don’t have their own biases? And don’t businesses have a right to counter the whacked-out claims of a group on the fringes of Communism?
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Excellent post. For more on PETA’s attack on horse racing, visit http://bolsonon.wordpress.com
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Bolson,
Thank you for the compliment. I had considered posing the question of who is the smarter animal: horses, or the average PETA member. But I restrained myself. After all, I love horses too much to insult them like that.
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