Kentucky Derby ends in tragedy

(photo from Reuters)

Big Brown, the 2-1 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, came out with an easy victory yesterday. The bay crossed the finish line 4¾ lengths ahead of the second-place finisher, filly Eight Belles. He raced the 1¼ miles in 2:01.82.

Big Brown was the first Derby winner since Regret in 1915 to only have participated in three prior races. He is also the third in 60 years to win after racing in only two Derby preps, and the second winner starting from the No. 20 post.

He became the seventh undefeated Derby winner, and the first since Barbaro in 2006.

But there were other, not so pleasant, correlations to Barbaro and the 2006 Preakness, when the colt shattered his right rear leg just after the start. After months of rehabilitation, he was euthanized due to laminitis from the injuries.

Eight Belles, who was attempting to become only the fourth filly to win the Derby, had a similarly tragic experience yesterday, falling to the track about a quarter-mile past the finish line. The first filly to run the race in nine years, she had broken both front ankles and had to be euthanized on the track.

Derby on-call veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage said Eight Belles' injuries were too severe to even move her from the track.

"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was euthanized," he said.

Bramlage also said he had never seen an injury quite like hers - where both front legs broke simultaneously.

"It's not terribly unheard of for a horse to have some problem bilaterally, but in my years in racing, I've never seen this happen at the end of the race or during a race," he said.

"She ran the race of her life," said trainer Larry Jones. "It's just the unfortunate side of this sport you're sometimes faced with... I'm heartbroken."

He also defended his decision to have her run against 19 colts.

"It wasn't that. It wasn't the distance. It wasn't a big bumping match for her. She never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."

Winning jockey Kent Desormeaux expressed both his pleasure with the win and his sympathy for the on-track tragedy: "[Big Brown] showed you his heart, and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today. I'm deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss."