PETA demands jockey be suspended!

[halfbridled]

this is what I posted on the thread about her video:
I don't know how accurate the Huffington post is but this is their article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/0 ... 99987.html

"Eight Belles actually ended up finishing second in the race, just behind Big Brown. But in a shocking and tragic development, just as Eight Belles crossed the finish line, jockey Gabriel Saez "heard the worst sound possible - a pop."

Saez said the filly did not take a bad step, but he heard the pop and tried to pull her up.

"I tried to get her to stop," he said. "I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't stop." "

This is the only source I can find that states what Saez supposedly heard during the race.
Either way, I cannot see blaming the jockey. If what is above is the truth it fits Eight Belles to a "T". Jones repeatedly made mention that this filly was very hard to pull up, even after a long gallop.

I would hazard a guess against better judgement, and say maybe the adrenaline just ran out..we saw last year Indian Flare make it all the way back to be unsaddled only to drop dead of a pelvic fracture. Who knows? Out of all the people to pick on in this event, they choose a young jock who went down with his horse and accuse him of whipping her till the point of endangering his own life.

[geowarrior]

I don't think Saez was over using the whip on Eight Belles by North American standards. I don't know what a scat bat is, Tiz, but it sounds interesting. Can you elaborate?

In fact I agree that the best North American jockeys make far less use of the whip than British riders do. In fact that's one of the few things I have liked about horse racing here. In Britain and Ireland, whip infractions are far more common than they are here both in flat racing and in steeplechasing (do they even have them here?), but the jockeys just take their suspensions and keep slashing away.

[Barbaro06]

geo, i can't recall any jockey on this side of the pond given a suspension for excessive whipping...

[Nerd]

What pisses me off most is that PETA mixes innocent, reasonable suggestions in with complete BS. Banning 2yo racing, racing on synthetic tracks? I think these are suggestions that are worth considering, studying, etc. Suspending Saez because of... what exactly? (insert normal PETA bullsh*t)

Throwing in their utterly childish crap removes credibility from what I think are reasonable suggestions. For shame, PETA. By being so petulant, you are hurting your chances of having a positive influence on the sport of TB racing. Are you proud of that now?

[geowarrior]

Well PETA seems to feel that Saez knew there was something wrong during the race and thus should be held responsible for what they see as him pushing her to finish the race when he knew there was a problem. Don't they realise that if he did do that, he'd be risking his own life, not to mention millions of dollars worth of broodmare potential? If he felt there was a problem he'd have certainly pulled her up during the race, and he still might have been tossed from the horse as Eight Belles clearly had her sights set on Big Brown and probably would have objected to being slowed down.

Don't they know about Rafael Bejarano who recently felt something was wrong during a race and began to pull the horse up, but since the problem was mid race (adrenaline racing in the horse), he did not get it pulled up in time before it dropped dead of a heart attack? Result, bad fall for Bejarano, damaged vertebrae and he was fortunate to be able to come back so soon.

This poor young man (Saez) seems to be a clever and sensitive rider, and to be taking all this flak, just after he had to watch his fantastic filly being put down, because he did have to watch it, seems more than unfair.

[gotpaints]

PETA is the stupid group that took the halter off my horse when she was tied up then actually HIT her (we had eye witnesses) to make her run. The only thing that saved her from going on to a busy highway was someone coming in the gate and stopping, even then it was hard to catch her because she was scared to death and didn't have anything on her to grab. They are crazy and stupid and the laughing stock of all true animal people that know what is going on.

[geowarrior]

Gotpaints, what was PETA's reason for taking the halter of your horse and hitting her?

[gotpaints]

Gotpaints, what was PETA's reason for taking the halter of your horse and hitting her?

They were "protesting" a barrel race that I was at. I've got tons of horror stories about PETA that would probably be enough to write a book or 2.

[shatanka]

well that is ridiculous that PETA did that to your horse. god THEY are the ones that almost killed her!
look at the poster held by the person in the background in this link of their demonstration in front of the KRHA office monday....

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.asp ... =22&src=RA

(note: if you can't access this, you might have to sign up to thehorse.com to view it and other articles.)

they are on a freakin ROLL now with this incident with Eight Belles. they are going to be demonstrating at the Preakness and Belmont!!!

i love the response from the attorney to PETA's allegations about this being ABUSE...

Alan Foreman, an equine attorney and board member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said animal-cruelty charges typically involve abandonment, physical abuse, and neglect.
"That's typically what you see in these cases," he said. "There have also been cases where somebody puts a cat in a microwave--that sort of thing."

But Thoroughbreds, Foreman said, are cared for meticulously, get the best veterinary care, are well-fed, and are checked by state vets. He also said there was "nothing unusual or untoward with what the jockey did" aboard Eight Belles.

"They are bred to race, and accidents happen," Foreman said of Thoroughbreds. "It's not cruelty. To allege cruelty, they have to have specific allegations. This is an unfortunate tragedy, and it should be recognized for what it is."