Eight Belles Tragedy Is Hard to Take

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First Person: Trainer Accepts 'Eight Belles' End

'Eight Belles' trainer Larry Jones says he was not contacted before emergency personnel put down the filly, but says it was the humane decision.

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"Obviously, on the biggest day in racing, I can understand it," Dragone said of the focus on the breakdowns, "but I hope it doesn't take away from the chance to have a real champion in Big Brown."

Asked if he worries about another catastrophe taking place, he said, "I think that's always a worry in this game. It's a worry day to day."

The three Triple Crown races are run on conventional dirt courses and many tracks around the country recently have switched to artificial surfaces to try to address the frequency of injuries. The development has created deep divisions within the sport, between traditionalists who believe in safe dirt tracks and those who say Polytrack and other synthetic surfaces are an ethical imperative.

No long-term data has been compiled on the viability of synthetic tracks.

"The verdict is still out on the Polytrack," Dragone said. "If it shows it's a safer surface in the long run, the industry will make some changes. They just haven't been around long enough. The whole industry is in a wait-and-see mode."

Larry Jones, the trainer of Eight Belles, arrived with his wife, Cindy, at the Churchill Downs backstretch Sunday, still emotional after the loss of his horse. He planned to leave town Monday, vanning his Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell back to his base at Delaware Park.

Jones said he was ready to resume racing.

"We've got three in today, and we're going to race them," he said. "You've got to get to business as normal. We're not scratching those other three, afraid to lead them over. It's going to be very depressing for several days around here. We're going to do the work because we have to, not because it's going to be fun to do."