Big Brown runs for Triple Crown and Legacy of Eight Belles

Photo: Matt Rourke/Associated Press

BIG BROWN wins the Preakness, the second jewel in the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred racing, at Pimlico in Baltimore this past weekend.

The horse, who would be the first horse to win the coveted title for 30 years, arrived recently at Belmont to prepare for his attempt at winning the third gem, the Belmont Stakes.

Photo: Jason Szenes/European Pressphoto Agency

Read NYT article and view their slideshow.

Good for him, and everyone at IFH wishes him a safe journey around the track, along with all of his fellow competitors.

Also good for him, Big Brown’s future safety seems assured. No slaughter house for him yet, unless of course he fails at stud, is sent off to some far flung country to give it a go there — like Ferdinand and Exceller — and ends up on someone’s dinner plate.

The Associated Press tells us about Big Brown’s future as a stud thusly:

BIG BROWN will stand at stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky whenever the Kentucky Derby winner’s racing career ends.

Three Chimneys in Midway, Ky., has purchased an undisclosed interest in Big Brown, it was announced Saturday. The bay colt was the odds-on favorite in the Preakness later in the day.

The agreement was reached Saturday between Big Brown’s ownership group headed by IEAH Stables and Three Chimneys Farm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We have entertained a variety of flattering offers but felt Three Chimneys was the best choice for us,” IEAH co-owner Michael Iavarone said in a statement.

“We were determined to participate in his breeding career and the Three Chimneys deal has given us this opportunity. We are very excited to partner with the likes of Three Chimneys and will be afforded the opportunity to stand this brilliant colt alongside the likes of Smarty Jones and Dynaformer in the breeding capital of the world.”

Big Brown went into the Preakness having won all four of his career starts by a combined margin of 33 3/4 lengths.

“Three Chimneys is thrilled to have the privilege to stand a horse of Big Brown’s caliber,” farm owner Robert Clay said. “Having won every race he’s won with such ease, I don’t think we’ve actually seen what he’s truly capable of.”

Let’s pray Big Brown delivers on both accounts.

The Death of Eight Belles

There were about 25 or so protesters from Peta at the Preakness, with a few Fund members thrown in, outside Pimlico racecourse.

They handed out leaflets stating that the horses central to the industry are “Racing to the Grave.”

The protest was motivated by the death of Eight Belles, who broke her two front ankles in the Derby and was euthanized moments after finishing second to Big Brown.

Jockeys honored the memory of Eight Belles by wearing stickers on their boots or mud pants on both May 16 and 17 at Pimlico. Each red and white adhesive label had a bell, the number 8, and the word “Belles” on it.

“It’s something to remind everybody of a great horse,” jockey John Velazquez told the Bloodhorse. “What happened was a really sad thing, and we’re sad. I think it (wearing the stickers) is a good thing to bring awareness to our game. We’ll do whatever is possible to minimize anything that happens like that.”

The idea of the memorial stickers was reportedly that of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA).

Thoroughbred Times reports that UPS has donated $10,000 to Thoroughbred Charities of America in honor of Eight Belles, and set up the TCA Eight Belles Memorial Fund “which directs donations to charities involved in Thoroughbred rescue and retraining, as well as research into catastrophic breakdowns.”

While Int’l Fund for Horses applauds the donation, why give ANY of the money to the culprits who were responsible for Eight Belles’ injuries and death. Thoroughbred racing is a multi-million dollar industry, and they should pay for research into how the horses that race for them painfully and tragically breakdown, and ultimately die for the sport. Every single penny should go to the horses, and to whomever the decision rides on how this money is spent, we call on them to ensure Thoroughbreds who have immediate needs right now benefit.

The 114-year-old Jockey Club responded to the death of Eight Belles by forming a task force to study and race horse welfare and safety, including breeding practices, medication, racing rules, and track surfaces.

The NTRA praised the Jockey Club’s action.

In an on-line diary, NTRA President Alex Waldrop said the horse racing industry must take drastic action to reverse what he called a “very disturbing trend” toward open criticism of horse racing for its perceived cruelty to animals.

Well, that will happen when events you cannot cover up occur on national television.

And what of Saez, Eight Belles’ jockey, who has been the target of so much criticism?

Johnette Howard writes this for Newsday:

A preliminary necropsy report on Eight Belles that was released a few days ago determined no structural flaws were obvious in the horse. But drug tests that Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones ordered on the filly to prove that her size and ability to run so well against colts was not a result of steroids won’t be back for at least a week. Jones, stung by criticism of him and [Gabriel] Saez, has guaranteed those results will be clear. [Editor's Note: They were. No surprise there.]

But Jones and Eight Belles owner Rick Porter had exonerated Saez, saying the horse stepped wrong. That’s it. Saez’s fellow jockeys have watched the same video and rejected the idea that Saez missed some hitch in Eight Belles’ gait and could have prevented her from breaking down.

This statement misses the point, the point being that Eight Belles was whipped repeatedly to the line to attain the high honor for second place, for which she ended up giving her life, tragically and painfully. Noticing a change in Eight Belles’ action would not have kept her from breaking down and subsequently dying, but she need not have been whipped or even ridden out to the line.

The eye was on the prize, and not on the horse.