Sally Jenkins on the Kentucky Derby

Post columnist Sally Jenkins will be online Monday, May 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET to to discuss her column about the Eight Belles, who was put down on the track after the Kentucky Derby, and the future of horse racing.

Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.

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Arlington, Va.: Sally:

Excellent column. I'm a lover of all animals, though not an animal rights activist. Do you think the common use of the term "broke down" in horse racing circles acts as a way of distancing one from the life and death issues? I mean, pickup trucks break down. Horses die. it seem like a convenient way to avoid talking about certain unseemly parts of this "sport."

Sally Jenkins: Well, "break down" is a pretty expressive phrase. It pretty much sums up what Eight Belles did -- her ankles collapsed with bone breaks. That said, I think there is a certain shying away from the cost to the horses in the terms we apply to thoroughbreds. We say Eight Belles was "euthanized," which is a pretty clinical term for what happened to her. She shattered her ankles, suffered terribly for (we hope) a short time, and had to be killed to be put out of her misery. She literally ran herself to death.

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Durham, N.C.: Ms, Jenkins, in your column you stated that there are 1.5 career-ending breakdowns for every 1,000 racing starts--an average of 2 per day. One thing that wasn't made clear is the seriousness of such breakdowns. Do the majority of such injuries result in the death of the horse? Or do most horses who suffer these breakdowns have their racing careers ended but end up recovering and living normal lives afterwards?

Sally Jenkins: I should have made that statistic clearer: according to a recent study presented by Dr. Mary Scollay on behalf of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, there were 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts for synthetic surfaces and 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for dirt tracks. That's a average of two horses who die per day in racing. The study emphasizes that these are short term numbers, representing less than a year and they need more time and a larger statistical sample before they consider them absolutely conclusive. But they do provide a snapshot.

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Washington, DC: How do you see the relationship of today's horse breeding and the absence of a triple crown winner?

Thanks,

Sally Jenkins: For a really good answer read Andrew Beyer's column today in the Post. Andy suggests that the thoroughbred lines have been weakened by breeders emphasizing speed and shorter term success. Triple Crown seekers perhaps have less strength and stamina than they used to. Another interesting theory is that modern thoroughbreds aren't allowed to develope the way they should. Yearlings need to be put out to pasture to race and play in herds, its one way they develope strength. I talked to a trainer down in Ocala who says that because owners pay so much for yearlings these days -- sometimes $2 million -- they don't want to risk injury in pastures, where they could be kicked or nicked up. They want their prodigies safe in a stall.

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washingtonpost.com: Hindered By a Fragile Makeup (Post, May 5)

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Fairfax, Va.: Is there any indication as to when Eight Belles' injuries occurred? Specifically, whether or not her jockey might have mitigated her injuries by easing up or bringing her to a halt, as we saw Barbaro's jockey do in 2006, rather than whipping her on to a second place finish?

Sally Jenkins: That's such a difficult question, and I'm not qualified to answer it, I'm not a vet. And I don't think it necessarily helps anything to try to assign individual guilt or blame for what happened to Eight Belles. There are a lots of good decent jockeys, trainers and owners in racing who care deeply for the horses, and the people involved with Eight Belles are in agonies of self recrimination today, no doubt. The film seems to suggest that Eight Belles was fine as she crossed the finish line. John Ward, a very good conservative trainer, suggested that racing needs to do a better job of examing the horses before they race; he had one who seemed fine and initial x rays were clear, but when they took a closer look they found hairline fractures, the horse was a catastrophe waiting to happen. I don't have special insight into Eight Belles. I think the point is not that there are examples of abusive trainers or jockeys, the point is that there is a more pervasive problem in racing. There are measures and reforms that would make the horses safer, and if they don't do a better job of making and keeping the horses sound, the sport could be facing all kinds of ruin. I don't know about you, but every time I watch a race now, my heart is in my throat.

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Virginia Beach, Va.: I have never understood why the American horse racing industry starts training horses at the age of two vs. other countries who start them at three. At two they are not even in their "teens" developmentally, and have not really finished growing and developing bone. It would seem that this practice needs to be changed - and soon!

How do you feel about this?

Sally Jenkins: This is something everyone in North American thoroughbred racing knows, and discusses. Ask any trainer at any track, and they will tell you the Triple Crown is not good for horses in about eight different ways. In order to compete at the Debry level as a three year old, the horses have to start competing at two. They aren't much different from gymnasts or tennis players who start too young and have terrible injuries. The difference being we don't have to kill human prodigies when their bodies fail.

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Kensington, Md.: Thanks so much for the chat. As a longtime Kentucky resident and horse racing fan, I wonder if we should lend any credence to PETA's calls for suspension of the jockey? Seems as though the horse just pet everything she had into it, and there really wasn't any way the jockey could have prevented it.

Sally Jenkins: I'm with you. I think PETA's statements today are rash. I'd like to see a lot more evidence before I blame the jockey. What I'd really like to hear is a discussion from a vet who has analyzed the film, and who might tell us if Eight Belles showed any sign of injury BEFORE the finish line.

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Rochester, N.Y.: I would like to bring up a subject that warrants more discussion. I know many people place wagers on all kinds of sporting events, with the NFL being a prime example, but it seems to me, horse-racing exists for no reason other than to have something to bet on. Advocates for the sport, please tell me why I shouldn't hold this view.

Sally Jenkins: As a long time passionate racing fan, I've never been atrracted to the betting end of the sport. I was a race fan as a kid long before I was old enough to place a bet. I'd lay odds that there are scores of Triple Crown TV viewers who didn't have any money on the race.

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Fairfax, VA.: Do you think that the "industry" would entertain having these horses not run until they are 4 years old, not at 3? Wouldn't that give them more time to mature physically? How many more highly visible tragedies such as Eight Belles will it take until breeding and "sport" changes are made?

Sally Jenkins: The industry is going to have to face these questions. After Barbaro, the discussion was all about the courage of the horse, the question of whether it was the right thing to try to save him, the state of equine medicine, etc. But the death of Eight Belles raises a whole new category of question that has to do with PATTERN of casualties, not the personality of a single great horse. And I think if racing doesn't respond as a whole to these questions, people are going to defect from the sport wholesale. Scores of emails have come in from people who say, "I have watched my last race. It's just too much grief." There could be a very large informal boycott taking shape. What I don't know is the extent to which you can legislate reform in the breeding industry. To a certain extent reform is going to have to take place in the marketplace, in how owners buy and race horses, and in their own consciences.

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San Francisco, CA: Thank you for a very good column.

You mentioned what is wrong, but what can be done to correct or improve the status quo? This isn't an amateur pursuit, after all. The prize of winning and breeding could make "losing" a horse or three worthwhile.

It seems to me that we're a decade away from watching nothing but clones of Secratariat galloping around the track.

Sally Jenkins: You make a great point. But there are some concrete actions that can be taken. There is mounting evidence that synthetic tracks keep horses safer. The initial statistics on that are pretty clear. But to date 120 out of 129 tracks in north America are still dirt. Churchill Downs is a hard, fast, dirt track. And again, responsible horse people are almost unanimous that three year olds are very young to be facing the arduousness of a Triple Crown effort, they are adolescents competing in the physical equivalent of a Super Bowl.

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Arlington, VA: Naturally the media focus right now is on racehorses that are dying on the tracks or soon afterwards. Any thoughts or insights on the thousands of horses who go to slaughter AFTER their prime racing (or other working) days are over?

One USDA statistic estimated that the US slaughtered more than 100,000 horses for export to Europe and Asia in 2006 alone for food consumption.

Sally Jenkins: Another angle on the racing game. Fortunately, there are burgeoning organizations devoted to saving retired horses and giving them good homes, such as the Thoroughbred Retirement Project.

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Washington, D.C.: Sally -- You say you are a lifelong fan of thoroughbred racing. Are you not a fan of the people and the money that makes it go round? I got the distinct impression reading your column yesterday that you not only were not a fan of racing but that you had contempt for those directly involved.

Sally Jenkins: Contempt? Certainly not. I spent a wonderful year around racing when I was working on a book about Funny Cide. I was lucky; I got to hang around Barclay Tagg's barn. It's not an insult to say that thoroughbred races are run at the pleasure of wealthy people. It's a fact: the owners of these horses are sheiks, oilmen, entrepeneurs, etc., some of whom paid as much as $2 million for a yearling.

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Columbia MO: I have not seen any explanation of how the injury occurred. Was the horse simply running by itself after crossing the finish line or did it make contact with one of the pick up horses which are used to escort the race horses?

It seems odd to me that it would break both ankles without some event such as making contact with another horse.

Sally Jenkins: I haven't seen a good explanation either. There will be an autopsy, but people seem pretty baffled. Thoroughbreds are incredibly powerful but vulnerable creatures, one bad step on a dropped bobby pin can injure them. But this kind of total collapse begs some questions. One speculation is that she could have had an aneurysm, and broken her ankles in falling. But I haven't seen anything to support that.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: If the gender of every animal in the animal kingdom can be quickly identified by relative size and strength, why is it that a filly was permitted to race with colts? Wasn't she at a significant disadvantage due to her gender?

Sally Jenkins: Eight Belles was a huge horse -- 17 hands. She seemed to have the body to compete with the other 19 horses in the field. And she obviously had a great competitive heart. There didn't seem to be anything frail about her until she collapsed.

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Leesburg, VA: Does horse racing have a governing body with any teeth?

Sally Jenkins: We'll see.

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Leesburg, Va.: Do you think fillies (girl horses) should be banned from racing? Physically, they just aren't as strong as males, and perhaps the fact that Eight Belles was a girl was a factor in her fatal injury.

Sally Jenkins: Again, I don't think "filly" had anything to do with it. Horses are breaking down regardless of gender, they aren't as strong as they used to be.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm a fan (more than casual, less than rabid) and certainly understand tragic accidents occur--but twice in one weekend and twice in two years in Triple Crown races? Is there any tension between the trainers, the grooms, jockeys and others who work with the horses every day, and the owners who want faster horses at seemingly any cost? Do they feel that too much of the sport and the health of the horses is being sacrificed for a few wins and a big stud fee? And being on an unstable horse can't be safe for the jockey, either.

Sally Jenkins: There is often tension between owners and trainers. Barclay Tagg's been known to quit on an owner who pushed him to do the wrong thing with a horse, such as enter the wrong race, of overrace. Some owners just want to say they had a Derby horse, whether or not its the right thing for the horse. Tagg always said he wouldn't take a horse to the Derby just to say he'd bee there. John Ward, who trained Monarchos, is another conservative trainer.

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Anonymous: So pretty much the difference between cock fighting and horse racing, in terms of animal cruelty, is that those who own race horses are much wealthier and whiter than those who own fighting roosters.

Sally Jenkins: If you're going to say something flaming like that, why don't you use your name and take responsibility for it?

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Mt. Shasta, Calif.: Will breeders start breeding for qualities other than speed? Will they see that route racing thoroughbreds need stamina?

Sally Jenkins: The larger breeders will respond to the market demand, I'd expect. It's about what sorts of horses owners want to purchase and what they pay the highest prices for. Then there are people who both breed and own, who are already rethinking their practices. Sheik Maktoum, for instance, has said that he will restrict the breeding of his stallions. Funny Cide, incidentally, wasn't all that exquisitely bred. He was a New York bred. But as Nick Zito said, "So was was Eleanor Roosevelt."

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Pearl City, Illinois: Exactly when (point in the race) did the breaks occur? Was jockey error or collision with another horse a factor?

Thanks, no other reporter has bothered to report these facts as important to their stories.

Sally Jenkins: I don't think we know. I think we'd all like to find out.

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Omaha, Neb.: Loved your column. Would a more "sound" horse (with thicker legs and stronger skeleton) be able to compete with the more fragile, yet speedy horses? Specifically I'm trying to envision breeders and owners who will willingly breed/buy slower horses even if they are "healthier" and have longer lifespans. Are there any incentives for the racing industry to alter the type of horses they're producing other than humanitarian ones? (Side note: I heard you doing a reading of "The Real All Americans"...wonderful book!)

Sally Jenkins: Again, I refer readers who are interested in this subject to Andrew Beyer's terrific column today.

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Bowie, Md.: Obviously what happened Saturday is one of the darker sides to the sport, but is there an even darker side? I hear all sorts of terrible things about what happens to the horses who just aren't fast enough to win, but don't really know how much of that is fact vs. fiction. Do you know what happens if the horses are too slow?

Sally Jenkins: Well there are different "Grades" for horses to compete at. And there are different surfaces; some blossom on turf. Some do poorly under one trainer, only to flourish under another. And then of course they mature at different ages, just like human athletes. So it's not just a simple matter of being fast or slow. At any rate, thoroughbreds who wash out at every level can have terrible ends, yes. Which is why retirement projects are so important.

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Sally Jenkins: Okay folks, got to run. Thanks for your questions, and I hope we see some answers.

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