Published: May 04, 2008 12:28 am            

Filly Eight Belles euthanized after finishing second in Derby

LOUISVILLE — In the delirious aftermath of Big Brown’s triumph in the Kentucky Derby came a tragedy that cast a quiet pallor over Churchill Downs and conjured memories of Barbaro’s injury two years ago in the Preakness Stakes.

After a strong second-place finish, word came that an equine ambulance was coming for Larry Jones-trained filly Eight Belles, lying prone on the track near the start of the backstretch.

It turned out that it wasn’t needed.

Eight Belles was euthanized after suffering two broken ankles, with the fracture in her left ankle breaking the skin to allow contamination.

“She didn’t have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized,” said Dr. Larry Bramlage, a veterinarian at the track. “It was a catastrophic injury.”

While the horrifying injury was out of the ordinary, what was stranger was where it occurred. Eight Belles finished the race 4 3/4 lengths behind Big Brown and hit the wire still running strong. Jockey Gabriel Saez had already pulled the horse up, while the coronation for the Derby champion had begun in the stands.

After it was over, Bramlage addressed the media and struggled to find an explanation.

“It will happen sometimes after a race, because the horse is taking a lot of blows to the skeleton and the muscles are fatigued, so we will sometimes see a catastrophic or routine injury at the wire or when a horse is slowing down,” Bramlage said. “The difficult thing with her is that she was so far after the wire. We were at the point where everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

“In my years of racing, I’ve never seen this happen at the end of the race or during the race.”

Bramlage acknowledged that microfractures could have occurred in Eight Belles’ ankles during the race, not an uncommon occurrence among racehorses. But he also said there would never be any way to know for sure.

The filly was a popular choice among history buffs — she would have been just the fourth female to win the Derby — and among luminaries like Hillary and Chelsea Clinton who reportedly bet on her, drew plenty of sympathy from Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow.

“Our horse showed you his heart and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today,” Dutrow said. “I am deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss.”

        

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