Eight Belles and the Failure of Horse Breeders

I'll keep this short. Horse racing is a tough, sometimes really nasty sport, but so are all animal sports. But what is truly horrible about the death of Eight Belles is that any horse person worth their salt should have seen that Eight Belles was too big for her bones. Kim Eisler, author, journalist and horse owner states, "This is an act of folly by the owners that borders on the criminal, as nothing good will come of racing this filly at this distance against colts, with no predicate having been laid for it."

All of the horses that ran tonight are descendants of Native Dancer, a winning horse known for delicate bones and big muscles. The fatally thin bones continue to be allowed to pass down the line, forcing us to witness animals dying on the race course again and again.

With the unequivocally criminal death of Eight Belles, perhaps greater scrutiny will fall on breeders and owners to make sure animals are bred to be sound first, fast second.